by the way, it's MAY. how weird is that? it's MAY. that means i only have 2 more months of my first year of STINT. that's crazy. AHHH. ok freak out time later. for now, i'll write about what you really want to read.
so, Tohoku.
April 28, Thursday night for us, we all met at Shinjuku Shalom Church, one of the churches involved in Hope Japan, to load up a truck of supplies to bring to the tsunami survivors, as well as meet our team and have orientation/ briefing. the members of my team: STINTERs- me, Esther, Mike, AJ, and Ariel + Yusuke (a friend of Mike's and mine whom we met at the homeless church- he's not Christian but has a huge heart for people) and Makoto (a high school student friend of ours from ICU High School), then the rest of our team was Tomo (or Tomo-chan as we call her), Maiko, Michiyo (our official translator), Hiro, Mency (or Auntie Mency), Ingo (from Germany), Toshi, Rachel (from England) and our team leader, Nobu. i think i said in my last post that there were 17 of us- there were actually only 16. we had 2 guys driving the truck but they were only with us for the first 2 days, and to be honest i never got their names. anyway after they explained what our schedule would be like, we had some introduction time as well as prayer time, then we loaded the cars and were off! my car included Mike, Yusuke, Esther, Mency, Tomochan and Nobu. Nobu was so patient with us. we had a lot of fun though. we left about 2 am and drove 10 hours through the night to Yamada-cho, where we served udon to 400 people at Minami Elementary School, one of the schools being used as an evacuation center. we were all pretty tired but the need for speed spurred us on since we had so many people to feed. didn't really get to talk to too many of the evacuees because i was working so much but a few of the Japanese volunteers were able to talk to them a bit. it was a bit difficult to hear their stories because they weren't very willing to open up to strangers, but some were more willing to talk. we ended work about 4 pm, then we loaded the truck and headed to Ishinomaki, our home for the next 4 days. Ishinomaki was about a 5 hour drive from Yamada-cho, so we stopped and got dinner along the way. we arrived at the elementary school evacuation center about 10 pm and claimed our "rooms"- basically cardboard boxes.
my box- #59. it was actually rather cozy (but i was surrounded by boy boxes and they snored, especially Nobu, Mike and Yusuke...) 
my box all fixed up 
the evacuation center- elementary school gym the next morning woke up at 4:15 am because we had to leave by 5 am to get to Ofunato, Iwate by 10 am. Ofunato is a coastal city that was devastated by the tsunami. we went to Sakan-cho Kameria Hall, one of the evacuation centers and handed out clothes and supplies, as well as cooked soup and BBQ for 350 people.
people lining up for food 
this lady told us how she and her coworkers saw the water coming and had to run away from the tsunami up a hill...so crazy... the coolest part of the day was that one girl we met accepted Christ! she had been sitting nearby where we were setting up the supplies to hand out, apparently waiting for someone. we tried talking to her a couple times but she seemed reluctant to talk. finally lyndsey and tomochan started talking with her more and heard her story- she was actually waiting for a guy she'd met online because she was so lonely and didn't have anyone she could trust, so lyndsey and tomochan started sharing the Gospel with her and she said- "how do i have this?" it was awesome. great way to end the day! we left about 5 pm, grabbed dinner at a combini along the way, and got back to the evacuation center about 9 pm, where we were able to meet some of the evacuees and talk with them a bit. i really wished i knew more Japanese but thankfully we had several people on our team who could speak both Japanese and English so they were able to translate. i gave out some candy and chocolate to the people who were still awake (some of the older people went to sleep pretty early)- the great thing about candy is you don't have to speak much Japanese to give it out. there were 4 kids in the evacuation center- Misaki, who's about 7, her older sister Mirai, 9 years old, Shoto, a boy who's 10 years old, and his brother Toya, who is 15. we got to hang out with them quite a bit which was a lot of fun. they had way too much energy though. probably because they're living in boxes in a gym and have very little to entertain them...
anyway, Sunday we left about 7:30 am for church- we drove to Kensennuma and had church in someone's home because the actual building had been completely destroyed in the tsunami.
but it was so amazing to be with the survivors- they still had so much joy and love and hope even though their church and many of their homes had been wiped away. in fact, right after the service, one of the guys came up and accepted Christ! it was so incredible to see- his whole family came up and hugged him and were crying for joy. 
after church we had lunch and fellowship time, and got to hear many stories from the survivors. after church we explored the area a bit- it was so surreal to walk among the devastation... to drive past it every day is one thing- you're looking out the window, and while it's heartbreaking, it's a bit difficult to take in because you're separated from it still...but when you're walking around, and you can touch the broken wood and see broken homes and smell the rotting fish and mud...it starts to hit you.
pile of debris with a submerged house in the river...after we explored, we went to a sento (public bath house) for a shower and a bit of rest- we hadn't been able to shower since thursday because the evacuation center didn't have showers (as it is an elementary school). not gonna lie, it was nice to be clean. after we had all showered, we ate dinner and returned to Ishinomaki to spend the evening hanging out with the evacuees. gave out some more candy, hung out with the kids...made balloon animals and origami, etc. then me, Ariel, AJ, Michiyo and Yusuke had Bible study. it was so cool to see Yusuke's face start to understand more of the Bible and see his excitement to learn! he wants to start doing Bible study more and get involved in Student Impact! so awesome! then we had a team meeting where we divided into 2 teams for the next day- cleaning team and caring team. then we met with our teams ( i was the only girl on the cleaning team but i had already bought a jumpsuit, gloves, a heavy duty mask and a headlamp so i wanted to make use of them) then headed to bed. woke up at 4:30 am because some of the evacuees were already awake, dozed until 6 am then got up because we had to be ready by 7 am anyway for breakfast. we left at 7:30 am to go clean Nao Abe's sushi restaurant (he was one of the evacuees). it was the first time he'd been back since the tsunami, and we had to pry open the gate/door thing to get in. there was no electricity so it was really dark- thank goodness for headlamps. it was so helpful. when we first walked in, there was a ton of mud all over the floor, and the counter had at least 5-6 inches of mud. our first mission was to clean the counter and get the stuff off the shelves. Abe-san didn't want to keep any of it though- he had us throw everything in one of the wrecked cars in front of the restaurant. he didn't even want to keep any of the beautiful pottery or glass- it was sickening hearing the sound of shattering bowls and glasses as we threw bucket after bucket of things into the car. i think he partly just didn't want to keep anything that was a reminder of the tsunami- it was easier to start fresh. then we started on cleaning the mud off the stairs and the tetami section. the water line reached almost to the ceiling so there was mud on everything. the back room was the worst though- the mud was so thick and high that it almost took my boots off. we shoveled some into buckets, but we had to move out all the equipment before we could shovel the rest. there was an enormous fridge that had toppled over so the guys moved that out, then we were able to move out the tables/counters and sink, etc. so we could shovel all the mud and debris from the floor. Yusuke and i became shoveling machines- i think it was just adrenaline but also a sense of "i can't stop now." the feeling after we were done was indescribable. when we could look around the room and see no more mud...it was amazing. after we finished the back room, we cleaned the floor in the main room (being able to see the floor- also an incredibly exciting moment) and shoveled all the mud into bags. here are some pictures-
the back room after we'd taken stuff off the shelves but still blocked by the fridge 
the clean sushi restaurant! 
the car stuffed to overflowing w/ stuff from the restaurant 
bags full of mud so heavy they were impossible to lift 
cleaning team with the 2 owners of the restaurant - i'm on the far right if you couldn't tell. if you notice, the top of my jumpsuit is light grey- the rest of it was that color at the beginning of the morning, but 4 hours of shoveling left it black with mud. my boots were black too until Mike washed them off for me. it was quite a day. the mud had so much rotting stuff in it that there were chemicals and some type of most likely toxic film stuff on it, and i was pretty covered in it by the end. it was even in my hair somehow. we smelled foul. and we couldn't shower. but the guys respected me i think for working so hard with them. and it was all so worth it, just to see the hope on Abe-san's face that yes, perhaps he could reopen his restaurant, he could rebuild, he could start anew and there was life after the tsunami. and when we got back to the evacuation center i scrubbed my arms and legs with soap and water, and wiped off with wet wipes, and washed my hair in the sink...while it all left something to be desired, it did feel better. i had to throw away my watch though- the band was kind denim/leather and it smelled putrid. i threw away my jumpsuit and gloves and am still debating whether or not to keep my boots. after we returned to the evacuation center and cleaned up a bit, we had lunch and then took a tour through Ishinomaki, basically to get a closer look at the devastation around us. then we returned and cooked dinner for the evacuees/ played with the kids. it was really sweet- even though i really couldn't talk to the girls, everywhere i was they would come running up to me saying "Kimichan Kimichan! come play!" (but in Japanese) so that made me feel good. they even called me on Tuesday when i was back in Tokyo just to say hi. Mirai especially loved piggy back/shoulder rides...i have never been a pony so much in my life, and my shoulders are still feeling it. but it was so worth it once again, just to hear the girls laugh and see their smiles. a lot of us went outside and played tag with the kids as well. after dinner we all made origami cranes and wrote "May God bless you" and "We're praying for you" in Japanese on the wings and then Makoto and i went around to each evacuee and gave them out along with a vitamin drink and told them just how thankful we were to be able to stay there and we hope to come back. everyone was so sweet and appreciative. one of the little old men asked to trade his crane for a kiss from me, which was a bit awkward but sweet just the same. i think. in the end i kissed my hand and touched his cheek. after we finished passing out cranes, we packed up our stuff and it was time to head home. we said our goodbyes (Misaki and Mirai took it rather hard and so we gave them our phone #s to call us) and then we were off! AJ joined our car for the ride home, so it was rather rambunctious but fun. we arrived back in Tokyo about 6 am, and it was difficult to say goodbye to the team. we had all bonded so much over just a few days. thankfully everyone goes to New Hope so we'll get to see them again at church and i'm sure we'll all hang out more again.
the whole team i think i'm just starting to process it all. it's still a bit weird for me to sleep in a bed and take a shower, to actually be able to use the tap water and not brush my teeth with a water bottle...and as i look through my pictures i'm just starting to realize, wow, i was THERE. the places the news has been taking pictures of...i was there. but the pictures i took weren't to preserve memories- they were so i could share with you all what it's really like. even after almost 2 months, a huge part of Japan still looks like this. yes, people are beginning to pick up the pieces, but very, very slowly. people are still in shock. many have no hope of any future. their livelihoods, their homes, their families are gone. they have nothing left. many suicides have already been reported. so what can you do? you can share these pictures with others. you can pray for God to work miracles in this country. you can send money to organizations like www.crashjapan.com and www.worldvision.org and the Red Cross. you can even come and help.
and you can remember. you can keep the world from forgetting this happened even though the news is no longer reporting it. we have a bad habit of only paying attention to "fad news." don't let yourself fall into apathy. this earthquake and tsunami shook up not just one nation, but the world. don't ever forget that something like this could happen anywhere, even (gasp!) America. will you be ready? will your friends and family? do they know of a hope and future that surpasses this life? do they know who to cling to when everything in their lives has been destroyed? if they do not, then your mission is clear- to share with them that Jesus Christ offers them something much better than this life, an eternal life in Paradise, and a love that conquers earthquakes, tsunamis, and even death.
here are some pictures of the destruction: for more, please feel free to look at my Facebook album (if you have Facebook) - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1639637880437.2062795.1521480060
"Ganbarou" - probably the most used phrase in Japan right now, along the lines of "You can do it" or "You can get through this" but can also mean "Do your best" or "Hang in there" prayer requests:
- for the over 200,000 evacuees of the Tohoku region
- for Misaki, Mirai, Shoto, Toya and all the other children who have lost their homes and families -- may the Lord prevent this trauma from negatively affecting their mental states
- for people like Nao Abe who's businesses have been destroyed- may the Lord rebuild them on a foundation that cannot be shaken
- for God to send many many more workers to be His hands and feet in Tohoku!
- for Yusuke's heart to be opened to the Gospel soon!
God bless you all!
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