Day 16-19:
Thursday: Left Koenji at about 12 and headed to the CRASH center to meet with Cam and Steve who were heading the relief trip this weekend. We got on the road at about 1 to head up to Tohoku where we would be staying. Sunday was more or less driving as it took up about 8 hours to get there with stops. By the time we got to the house we were staying at, it was about 930pm. We pretty much got ready for bed and called it a night.
Friday: Relief work started for us today. We got going at about 8am and headed to the volunteer site where we got our tools and assignment for the day. We then headed over to a small apartment building to basically help shovel out all the sledge that had been sitting there the past 3 months. We worked hard and shoveled and filled up bags and then piled them up with all the others and shoveled and filled up more bags and piled them even higher. It took up pretty much til 3 to finish up. We then headed back to the volunteer center to wash off the tools and then picked up dinner and headed back to the house. Something that hit me today was as we were shoveling, we would find random personal belongings like cell phones, make-up, Wii remotes, just things that I knew at once belonged to someone and pretty much just got washed away, not knowing the story or people behind each of these items. It was a pretty exhausting day so I pretty much went back, showered off, ate dinner, and went to bed while some of the team just hung out at the house, while others went to the onsen (Japanese bath). Felt two more earthquakes that night :)
Saturday: Today marked exactly 3 months since the tsunami. Today for me hit harder as we headed to our assignment area after stopping by the volunteer center again. We were much closer to the water this time and even as we were driving by, we saw just destruction like no other. The crazy thing was seeing massive ships washed up way inland and knowing that 3 months ago, this place was just covered in water, there was and is sooooo much work still to be done. We pulled up to the house we would be working on and the older couple was there working on things on their own. We spent the day helping them shovel up their driveway of mud and sledge. Again, we worked HARD but as we were doing this, watching this old couple work at rebuilding their house broke my heart. It made me thing about their lives and what they were going to do once they finished their home. As I looked all around them, their neighborhood and community completely destroyed... even if they finished their home in the next few years and things started to get cleaned up around them, what were they going to do? It broke my heart to think that this is all they have left. I understand that to rebuild this house is everything to them because of all the memories and life stories that go with it... as an older couple what more could they do with their lives? Even as we were working, to us, it was helping them out, but to them it was having strangers come into their lives, watching us rip apart their driveway, throwing things out that to us, just seemed like trash but to them could mean the world... my eyes were completely opened and my heart broke for them to know Jesus. My prayer is that as we worked, we were able to bless them and bring the hope of Jesus to them... please continue to pray for this city and the people there, that they would encounter so much more and of eternal investment...
That night, we met Tommy Dyo his team and got to grab dinner with them and it was just an awesome time getting to see him and his team! Then we headed home and went to bed!
Sunday: We went to an old church of about 10 people in the morning. We finished at about 12 and then hit the road again to head back into Koenji. We got back late last night, unpacked, showered up, and went to bed!
It was an amazing weekend and my heart definitely broke for this place and the people! Continue to pray that even 3 months after the earthquake and tsunami, it is so easy for us to move forward and forget all that has happened. Having seen everything, it is still SO fresh and there is much work to be done! Check out the pictures that I have posted... this is what I was left with this weekend...
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Thursday: Left Koenji at about 12 and headed to the CRASH center to meet with Cam and Steve who were heading the relief trip this weekend. We got on the road at about 1 to head up to Tohoku where we would be staying. Sunday was more or less driving as it took up about 8 hours to get there with stops. By the time we got to the house we were staying at, it was about 930pm. We pretty much got ready for bed and called it a night.
Friday: Relief work started for us today. We got going at about 8am and headed to the volunteer site where we got our tools and assignment for the day. We then headed over to a small apartment building to basically help shovel out all the sledge that had been sitting there the past 3 months. We worked hard and shoveled and filled up bags and then piled them up with all the others and shoveled and filled up more bags and piled them even higher. It took up pretty much til 3 to finish up. We then headed back to the volunteer center to wash off the tools and then picked up dinner and headed back to the house. Something that hit me today was as we were shoveling, we would find random personal belongings like cell phones, make-up, Wii remotes, just things that I knew at once belonged to someone and pretty much just got washed away, not knowing the story or people behind each of these items. It was a pretty exhausting day so I pretty much went back, showered off, ate dinner, and went to bed while some of the team just hung out at the house, while others went to the onsen (Japanese bath). Felt two more earthquakes that night :)
Saturday: Today marked exactly 3 months since the tsunami. Today for me hit harder as we headed to our assignment area after stopping by the volunteer center again. We were much closer to the water this time and even as we were driving by, we saw just destruction like no other. The crazy thing was seeing massive ships washed up way inland and knowing that 3 months ago, this place was just covered in water, there was and is sooooo much work still to be done. We pulled up to the house we would be working on and the older couple was there working on things on their own. We spent the day helping them shovel up their driveway of mud and sledge. Again, we worked HARD but as we were doing this, watching this old couple work at rebuilding their house broke my heart. It made me thing about their lives and what they were going to do once they finished their home. As I looked all around them, their neighborhood and community completely destroyed... even if they finished their home in the next few years and things started to get cleaned up around them, what were they going to do? It broke my heart to think that this is all they have left. I understand that to rebuild this house is everything to them because of all the memories and life stories that go with it... as an older couple what more could they do with their lives? Even as we were working, to us, it was helping them out, but to them it was having strangers come into their lives, watching us rip apart their driveway, throwing things out that to us, just seemed like trash but to them could mean the world... my eyes were completely opened and my heart broke for them to know Jesus. My prayer is that as we worked, we were able to bless them and bring the hope of Jesus to them... please continue to pray for this city and the people there, that they would encounter so much more and of eternal investment...
That night, we met Tommy Dyo his team and got to grab dinner with them and it was just an awesome time getting to see him and his team! Then we headed home and went to bed!
Sunday: We went to an old church of about 10 people in the morning. We finished at about 12 and then hit the road again to head back into Koenji. We got back late last night, unpacked, showered up, and went to bed!
It was an amazing weekend and my heart definitely broke for this place and the people! Continue to pray that even 3 months after the earthquake and tsunami, it is so easy for us to move forward and forget all that has happened. Having seen everything, it is still SO fresh and there is much work to be done! Check out the pictures that I have posted... this is what I was left with this weekend...
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
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