No words . . .

In April, Shiro Obata (the minister of Haruna Church of Christ), Joel and I traveled to Sendai to visit with some church members there and assess where we might be able to work and how we might be able to partner with other Christian workers in Miyagi prefecture to help in the relief efforts. That was over two months ago and I still struggle to find words to express what my heart felt there. I can tell you that I saw cars flipped and leaned up against houses or floating in swimming pools, houses turned on their sides or missing everything from the first floor except the beams that were still holding up the second floor and, closer to the ocean, one loan house still standing in the midst of dozens of empty foundations. I can say that, but there are no words to describe how it feels to realize that those things are all evidence of lives left devastated.

But God led us to work, and by the prayers and generosity of brothers and sisters all over the world, we are doing what we can to bring relief to the people of Ishinomaki (a city a little north of Sendai that was badly damaged by the tsunami) in partnership with the Be One network of churches and with workers from Asian Access.

At the beginning of May, a group of 13 volunteers traveled to Miyagi prefecture to volunteer in Ishinomaki over 10 days. We stayed at Sendai church and we were able to meet with and encourage several of our friends in Sendai. Most of the team traveled to Ishinomaki (about a 1.5 hour drive north of Sendai) every day (except Sunday) to distribute food and other goods, clean up debris and put on BBQs for the people of Ishinomaki. I stayed behind in Sendai to cook for the team, do shopping and laundry. It was a lot of work and a lot of long days for everyone, but our team was able to do a lot of good work and bring glory to our Father.

The funds that came to the churches of Christ in Japan are being held by Mito church, because we are centrally located and a strong enough church to handle that responsibility. However, the funds are being managed and distributed to the volunteers by the Church of Christ East Japan Disaster Relief Committee, a committee of 10 members from 8 churches -- I was humbled to be chosen as one of the representatives of Mito church on that committee. I am one of two who are managing the relief account, incoming donations and other financial records. Please pray for me as I try to serve God in that role and learn as we go along.

The committee has chosen three young adults, who live in Mito, to work part-time with the relief efforts, under Joel's supervision, for the next year. It has been a blessing to begin working with Emiko, Gaku and Hiro and to watch as they grow into their roles and their relationships. I am so thankful for their service and the opportunity to work with them in serving God and bringing love and relief to the people of Ishinomaki.

Since the beginning of June, Joel, Gaku and Hiro have been going up to Ishinomaki every week from Sunday night to Wednesday to work and build relationships. With help from a couple of people here in Mito, I have been preparing the food that they need for their breakfasts and lunches to take with them. It helps to keep the cost down and makes sure that they are eating very healthy meals while they are working their little tails off.

I was able to join them last week. It had been about three weeks since the last time I went to Ishinomaki. And this time was different somehow. I was physically tired, which is normal -- we worked hard. But this time I also felt even more emotionally and spiritually tired. I think that it may be because this time I could see more of the long term needs of the people. Of course, there is still so much cleaning to be done, and there are still lots of people who need food and other things like that, but there is so much hurting -- people who will need help rebuilding their lives from the heart up, people whose lives were broken before the tsunami came, and people who need someone to love them through their loss, someone to teach them how to grieve, someone to work beside them as they pick up the pieces and start again. And when I think about their faces and their hearts, my heart feels broken, and I feel small and helpless, and the truth is that I am tired. But I know that God is calling us to this task. I know that he will equip us and refresh us. And I know that through him, we can bring hope and healing.

So please keep praying for Japan. We need your prayers.

Joel, Hiro and I will be going up to Sendai and Ishinomaki from July 10th until the 22nd. Gaku and Emiko and several other volunteers from Mito and the Tokyo area will be coming in and out during that time. Please cover this work with your prayers.