August 5-7, 2019 Tohoku Road Trip

This Monday Marked our road trip to Tohoku, one of the areas affected by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami.

We departed, and passed by Fukushima, one of the areas still covered In radiation. We also stopped at one of the areas that were hit by the Tsunami and wiped out. We walked up to the sea wall, and looked back at the land. What I saw was a vast land that was cleared out. We learned that the land used to be covered with houses, but that they all got desolated from the water and waves. The expected height of the waves was 10m but was actually 15m, and so most of the affected areas were not at all prepared for it. It was a very somber moment for me and the team, and it made me reflect on why we are in Japan in the first place. A lot of the people of Japan do not live with true hope and a lot of the people who died from the disaster might have never heard of Jesus before. People need Jesus and it is up to us to be His hands and feet.

We arrived at J’s Cafe, which turned out to be a church! It is in the middle of Ishinomaki, another area affected by the Tsunami. Apparently, the church is used as a cafe on the weekdays, and then is used as a church on the weekend, while the pastor would evangelize and create relationships throughout the week. We don’t really see that in the states, and was a moment for me to reflect on how we as Christians could potentially utilize the talents and space given to us to further his kingdom in a creative way.

This would be our third VBS in which we are serving, and it started out with only 2 children. As we prayed throughout the VBS for more children to hear of Jesus, our prayers were being answered. As the VBS went on, we ended up with 6 children, praise God! It was a blessing moment to see some of the children immersed with the stories of Jesus, and to see a church in the middle of a town that is recovering so faithfully preaching the Gospel and reaching out to the community. We will be heading back to our host house in Yokohama and hope to have a safe trip back!

Prayer Requests:

-For God to continuously use J’s Cafe and Pastor Rich in Ishinomaki, and for them to spread God’s truth to those who may not have ever heard of Him.

-For the affected areas and communities hit by the Tsunami to recover and be made whole again, and with workers sent by God to share the message of true and never-failing Hope to those that need it.