A New Normal

As you may be able to guess, there are tons of things that have happened since the last time I was able to send out a report to all of you, my dear friends and faithful supporters. So in the interest of keeping this report under control, I am going to give you the highlights with an option to follow a link to the more detailed account. So just click on the highlighted bits, if you would like to read the rest of the story . . .

On March 11th, there was a devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. Mito, the city in which I live, was without power and water for several days. There was minor damage to almost all the houses, businesses and roads and major damage to some older buildings and roadways. We also experienced gasoline shortages and minor food shortages in the first couple of weeks after the disaster. However, compared with Sendai and other cities to the north -- especially those hit hard by the tsunami, we received a rather low level of damage overall. I was also blessed to be able to let my family know of my safety by email within hours of the earthquake. And God was glorified as the members of Mito church pulled together to take care of one another. We were able to get our church family stabilized, and then shift our focus to reaching out into the community of Mito and over the past three months we have been able to join with the nationwide Churches of Christ in reaching out to the north -- to the cities that were severely damaged by the tsunami.

On the 29th of May, I was finally able to share my testimony at Mito church -- I had been asked to share in January, but ended up in the hospital due to my scooter accident; I was on the schedule again in March, but in the days after the earthquake and tsunami it seemed like my testimony was not the message the church needed at the time. So at the end of May, I was back on the schedule again. And the message that God gave me to share about my experience of meeting him and giving my life to him was the same as it had been in January, but somehow the timing of sharing it seemed much better.

Joel, Gaku and I got a new housemate -- Hiro moved in at the end of April. So now there are three boys living on the second floor of my house, and I continue to be amazed at the blessings that God has given me by allowing me to live in community with three men who are really kind to, patient with and appreciative of me. The Holy Spirit continues to make our home a place where we can serve him and praise him and bring others into his presence and his love.

There is so much that I want to share about the relief work that is going on, so I hardly know where to start. Three of us went up to Sendai in mid-April to seek God's guidance about where to help. Then the Churches of Christ in Japan established a nationwide committee to decide how to manage all the financial support that has been pouring in from all over the world. Starting with a 10-day trip at the beginning of April, we have begun sending teams of volunteers to work (mostly in a town north of Sendai, called Ishinomaki). From the beginning of June, we have sent volunteers nearly every week. And God is doing amazing work as we partner with the Be One and Asian Access groups to serve the people of the Tohoku region. (And that is the very, very short version -- for the long version click here and also here.)

I have been given a fairly active role in the relief work, but had to step back a little in the last month in order to concentrate on one of my main responsibilities at Mito church. We decided to start the English Bible Class ministry in June this year (since starting in September last year seemed very late), so I stayed in Mito for a few weeks to focus on preparing the text, organizing the teachers and running student registration for EBC. This year we have 7 teachers and a little over 30 students (plus about 5 kids in the EBC kids' class). We have had two classes so far, and everyone seems to be enjoying getting to know one another and practicing English conversation.

And I imagine that some of you have been wondering about my spleen, so here is a quick update: Of course it took quite a while to get my strength back up after being basically immobile for a few weeks in January, but God protected me and faithfully healed me. Now, especially since I started riding my bike to work a few times a week, my body is strong again and there is no pain or other murmurings from my spleen. I will go in this week for my last CT scan, just to make sure that it is continuing to heal properly (apparently the absorption of the 'dead' part of my spleen could take 6 months or more) before I go to Thailand in a few weeks. So thank you so much for all your prayers and support. I have been so blessed and encouraged by everyone's concern and love.

At the end of this month I will be traveling to Thailand to attend the 50th anniversary of the Asian Mission Forum. Atsushi, the minister of Mito church, will be one of the keynote speakers. Joel, Debi and several other friends and workers from Japan and other parts of Asia will be attending as well. I am very much looking forward to this time of equipping and refreshing in the midst of more hard work than I have ever had the opportunity to do at any other time in my whole life.

Please pray with me . . .

~a praise to God for all of the good things he has done this year. We have been showered with blessings and have been so blessed to see God doing amazing work in Japan. He is so good and so faithful. Praise God for being the bringer of light and hope and joy.

~for all the people whose lives have been changed by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. Please pray especially for those who have lost their family members and other loved ones. Please pray for the children who have lost their parents. Please pray for the families that have lost their homes -- for those living with friends and relatives, for those living in emergency shelters. Please pray for those who are working so hard to clean the muck off of their lives and start again. Please pray that God will lead us to those who need someone to help them, so that they will know that they don't have to face this difficult time alone.

~that God will protect his workers in Japan from the spiritual attacks of the devil. We are all working so hard and some are getting tired and weak, both physically and spiritually. Please pray that we will continue to find strength and protection in the Holy Spirit, because this is a time when we can so easily become vulnerable to temptation and evil.

~for Mito church. God is being glorified in the way that the Mito church family is coming together to support and send workers out. Please pray with me that God will continue to unify and strengthen this little part of his church as we grow and serve.

~Please pray that I will depend on God for his guidance as I try to balance my responsibilities to Mito church and my new responsibilities in the relief work. I need his strength, his wisdom and his love and patience for myself and for others.