Crisis Relief Team 3 Report

14 April, Arrival in Tokyo and commute to Kurihara

The team of 15 members led by Pastors Patrick and Hazel arrived safely at Narita Airport. There had only been 50 people on the plane from Singapore, and the equally deserted airport was easily cleared. The team met up with Pastor Caleb and Asae-san in Tokyo, and also welcomed Mitsuko Nakamura and Hacci from Shinjuku Shalom Church to join in the efforts for the week. After a long drive up to Miyagi Prefecture, and meeting up with Kei in Kurihara, the team of 20 was complete and rested before beginning work the following day.

Friday, 15 April

After a time of worship in the early morning, Ps Patrick shared Matthew 25 with the team:

³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ 1 needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ³⁷ "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? ⁴⁰ "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

He encouraged the team to serve with an eager heart and shared that even though many tasks we would conduct would seem small to us, that each and every act would be an act of service and out of love for the Lord and the people of Japan.

The team's assignments for the day would be in 2 stricken areas - one team would head to Kesennuma with Pastor Caleb, while the other team would go to Ishinomaki with Ps Patrick. Kesennuma A team of 4 men went with Ps Caleb and Asae-san to Kesennuma. There, we helped to clean up the exterior of "Outlet-J", a denim shop due to re-open for business for the first time after the tsunami that day. The team cleared out the walkway of sludge and debris just in time for the re-opening of the shop at noon. Just prior to business hours, the team had the privilege of praying a blessing on the business and staff working in the shop. This was indeed an opportune moment to demonstrate the love of God for the people in the shop. As the team was leaving, some members were moved to show support to bless the shop in another, quintessentially Singaporean way - by shopping! The team blessed the owners and staff by being the first customers in the newly re-opened shop.

After this, the team moved to another area of Kesennuma that was severely devastated. Here, we met Ps Minegishi, who showed us the ruins of what had been the church sanctuary of Kesennuma First Bible Baptist Church. The team cleared the debris to reveal the foundation of the church.

Ishinomaki

In one of the towns most significantly affected by the disaster, the other members of the team helped the Chubachi family clean their house which had been flooded in the tsunami. We spent the morning hauling out items that had been flooded from a shed adjacent to the house - anything from sodden wood cabinets to old records and tools and bedding had to be discarded after being ruined by water. For many in the team, the pile of material created by the exercise was a real reminder of the wisdom of "storing one's treasures in heaven and not on earth".

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the exterior of the house from the sludge and mud as well as clearing the driveway which had been chock full of earthy debris.

Chuba-san and family were really grateful for the efforts of the team, and we were blessed with an afternoon tea break of fresh ichigo (strawberries). The team took the opportunity to pray over the family. Nearing the end of the activities, the team sang the soon-to-be ubiquitous "Ichiban", the Japanese translation of Hokkien song "Jin Chia Ho" for Chuba-san. It was then that the window of opportunity was open to pray over him and his family. As the sun began to set and a breeze blew over the team, Chuba-san was visibly touched by the prayer. It was a moving way to end the day as language barriers began to waver as we demonstrated God's love through words and actions.

Along the Coast of Miyagi

At the end of the day, both teams drove along the coast of Miyagi prefecture on the way back to Kurihara. In bearing witness to the extent of the devastation, many of us were struck silent in the midst of the disaster zone. The Lord's wrath and mercy was displayed in equal measure within the destruction of the land. Sato-sensei, a local pastor shared with some members on the way back that his concern now was not so much the physical recovery but the journey of emotional and spiritual healing that the people of Japan would have to go through in order to emerge from the pain.

Saturday 16 April

After a time of worship and ministry, the team set out once again, returning to Chuba-son's house to continue the work began the day before. Today the team sorted the garbage for transportation to the dumpsite.

Amid the manual labour, some members were given the opportunity to minister to a neighbour of the Chubachi family who has been struggling with depression for many years.

A smaller team set off to another part of Ishinomaki where the destruction was more pronounced - parts of the town still flood at each high tide. There they cleaned the house belonging to an elderly couple living on their own. It was hard work removing the sludge-soaked tatami mats, scrubbing out the mud and removing all the doors for cleaning, which made the satisfaction of the clean floorboards at the end of the afternoon one to savour. We blessed them and granddaughter Mami Sasaki who lives in Sendai in prayer before departing.

Sunday 17 April

Throughout the few days in Miyagi, the team, of which the majority composition was men, was eager to offer their strength and manual labour. Even after working all afternoon shovelling debris off a driveway or hauling tatami mats out of a house, many were heard asking for more work, more labour. However, the Lord had a special treat in store in an alternative plan - a reminder of the purpose of the Sabbath - to fellowship with the church and the Father. We were blessed to be invited to join the Kurihara church for service outdoors and a picnic in the mountains. The church members had prepared a wonderful picnic lunch, a real testament to Japanese hospitality, after which worship and the word. The team sang "Ichiban" and a few other worship songs as a ministry to the local church. "The Buffalos", a 5-man singing group which included the 2 pastors of the churches present also performed a special item, and shared a testimony of a man who survived 3 major accidents because of God's mercy.

It was a real blessing to be welcomed by the local church and to be included in their Sunday celebration. Among the crowd were Chuba-san's wife, and the neighbours that the team had ministered to on Saturday - they came to join the
service as well because they had been moved by the actions of the Christians who came to serve them. Ps Kishinami's mother was also in the congregation - she is elderly and a Buddhist, she has yet to receive the Lord. Two men in the team served her by bearing her on their backs for the long walk to the picnic grounds, winning the hearts and approval of all observers.

The team was still itching for more clean-up action, but again the Lord was leading us elsewhere - to the onsen (hot springs) of the father of Chuba-san! The family had been so grateful to the team for helping to clean up their home that they invited all for a relaxing soak in the sulphuric waters of their family onsen. We don't think we need to give details of the afternoon - suffice to say the team was spoiled by the treat.

Monday, 18 April

The general mood of the team so far had been robust and eager. Given that there were more men than women on the team, it was indeed apt that they were hankering to contribute their strength and labour. The Lord was pleased with the team for their willingness to serve, but had a pertinent reminder for the members of the team. Just as He had planned for the Sabbath to be spent in fellowship, He wished to remind everyone not to miss out on the opportunity to fellowship with the Japanese and to feel His heart for them. Ps Caleb shared that the Lord had impressed on him the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10: 38-42 - perhaps the team, in their eagerness to offer their services has neglected "the better thing" to be sensitive to the spirit 's desire for us to commune with Him and the people of Japan.

In the Lord's grace and goodness, we had one more opportunity to put this in practice before departing for Tokyo. It was a divine appointment that we had the chance to visit the Yoshida family, friends of the Chubachis in Ishinomaki. On arrival at the house, we found Mr. Yoshida and his wife, Chuba-san's wife and the one of Yoshida's daughters-in-law, Yuri with her 3 children aged 6, 3 and 18 months. Yuri's daughter Riona suffers from delayed development because of brain-shrinking caused by a high fever she had once. Yuri and her family were forced to move back with the Yoshidas when the tsunami flooded the house they had moved in to only 20 days before it struck.

While one of the members entertained the 2 older children with balloon sculptures, the team began talking to Riona's mother; she broke down almost immediately and was receptive to ministry and the Lord Jesus. We prayed for a miracle in Riona's life and led her mother to the Lord soon after.

While this w as going on, the men in the team engaged Mr. Yoshida in conversation over his elder son who had only recently purchased a new home suffered the misfortune of losing his house in the tsunami. Mr. Yoshida's wife has been attending church and now, it was his turn for salvation. To add to the joy at this last stop in Ishinomaki, Chuba-san's wife also made a decision to accept Jesus into her life, as she shared that she experienced the peace and strength of the Lord during the Sunday service and when the team prayed for her.

Back to Tokyo via Sendai

We set off for Sendai from the Yoshidas in order to meet Ps Caleb in Sendai to adjourn to Tokyo.

Arriving at Sendai, the Lord had one last surprise blessing for the team - the opportunity for hanami (Sakura viewing). The cherry blossoms had not yet bloomed in Kurihara, and were already fading fast in Tokyo, and it was an unexpected treat to be able to enjoy the flowers in full bloom. Seeing such opulent beauty after having been in the disaster zone certainly had a pathos to it, but it was a clear blessing from the Lord, a reminder to fellowship with him, to sit at His feet, just as Mary had chosen.

Team Reflections

The Lord's goodness and mercy were constant forces during the week, and with each small action in service, and with each special encounter with the Lord of the Sabbath, we saw the sovereignty of the Lord. Included here are a few snippets of individual reflections from the week- through the hard physical labour, the unexpected surprises and the precious opportunities to minister to others and spread His word, we learned about and relied on the grace of our Lord in the week leading up to Good Friday.

"God is indeed faithful and the trip was very fruitful. Through the people that we met and fellow team members, God worked in mean a daily basis. One of the things that God did was to soften my heart to the Japanese people."

"It was indeed a humbling experience for me .... We had forgotten to appreciate the moments where we managed to connect and build relationship with the affected home. The owner was indeed very appreciative and touched by our actions especially a helping hand from the foreigners. I believe that God setup this friendship so that ultimately lives would be touched and hearts opened to Him. This was probably the most important mission our team were called to do, although we achieved it in the end, but some of us initially missed out understanding it."

"This whole experience was a hum bling one for me. After seeing all the things that we have cleared & disposed, I asked myself, 'what am I building on this earth? Have been pursuing the material things that I don't actually need? ‘My perspective in life has since changed. I have begun to appreciate the little that I have and not to chase after what the world is pursuing. I began to thank God for His mercy over Singapore & knowing that our existence has a purpose."

Team 3 Report - Guan Hock, Hong Sang, Tiong Guan, Joseph, Daniel, Ethan, Aaron, Bobby, Patrick, Hazel, Jennifer, Jenny, Lynn, Peck Kuan, Jireh, with Pastor Caleb, Asae, Mitsuko, Hacci and Kei.