Japan Mission Summary 2011

Click HERE to see some photos of the trip.

Click on the video to watch a clip of me helping the carpenters rebuild a home.

Another short video of our relief work in Japan.

Wow. Thirteen days of non-stop movement!!! It was an amazing and exhausting trip and well worth both the cost and the effort. How can I summarize such a diverse and life-changing two weeks?

Here's a day by day summary:

1. Wed. 11/16 – The Wrights (Kathie, William, Lewis and I) rose early morning to get to the airport at 8:30 AM. We spent the next 18 hours en route to Japan. We arrived at 4:30pm Thursday 11/17 (yep a day later) in Tokyo. We then took a cab to the hotel and had a delightful but expensive dinner.
2. Fri. 11/18 – We slept well and then met up with Dennis and Kaku Sager who came to pick us up at the hotel. As a special treat to the boys we spent the day in Tokyo Disney. For those who know us, Disney is a family tradition, and since it is right on the way we indulged in this as a motivation to overcome jet lag ... it worked. We had a fun time. Then left Tokyo around 5 pm for the 3 hour drive to the Sager's home.
3. Sat. 11/19 – This was our least busy day. It rained non-stop and we spent much of the time recovering from the journey and helping the Sagers prepare for the trip to Sendai area for the tsunami relief.
4. Sun. 11/20 – We rose early to go to church. I ministered at their Sunday morning service. Afterward we had a Birthday Party for the Sagers and Kathie and I – as all our birthdays fall within the week. We then spent the entire day preparing the food and materials for the trip. We did not make it back to the Sager's home until 7 pm, 11 hours after leaving.
5. Mon. 11/21 – We rose early and met up with a truck loaded with supplies that drove in late the night before. With two vans and the truck we depart for Yokohama to pick up the team from New Day who flew in on Sunday. After some confusion in Yokohama, we find the hotel and load up the team and a third van and drove to our lodging at a Bible training center about 1 ½ hours out of Sendai. We arrived at 8:30 pm at the bath house (Onsen) for a delightful but quick wash before going to the camp to settle for the night. Oh, it was sunny and warm at the Sager's but the last 2 hours of driving was in the snow. The climate is much colder there.
6. Tues. 11/22 – The ladies slept upstairs and froze, as the room heater was broke. The guys downstairs had a wood stove and were comfortable (but noisy). We all woke up early to load up for the big day of working in the tsunami area. We drove through the area where nothing but foundations were left prior to reaching the homes where we ministered. The devastation, even this many months latter was staggering. In the distance we could see many mountainous piles of debris and ruined vehicles as they sorted it out to recycle. About half the team set up and cooked a feast for those who live in the remaining homes – all of which were heavily damaged. The other half of the team either helped clean out mud, or helped the carpenters. I was fortunate to have carpentry skills and was put to work prepping walls for drywall installation. I worked all day with four other carpenters in one small home. While working everything was all business – no chatting. But during the breaks, it was pleasant to get to know these guys who have given months of their lives to rebuild other's lives. During lunch we all gathered for the BBQ. I was able to hear the story of one woman who survived, although her nephew, a police officer, perished while trying to save others. His bride is overcome with depression. This woman cried on my shoulder as I prayed for her (a very un-Japanese behavior). We served the first beef that these people have eaten since the disaster and the first fresh cooked rice (not prepackaged). You could see the delight on their faces. We also had a large quantity of food to give away, and once we announced it was free to take, the people rushed to get the fresh fruit, rice and other stuff. This caused Kaku Sager to cry, as it was so un-Japanese behavior. You could see their desperation. After a long day we loaded everything back up in the trucks and vans and at sunset headed out. After a brief dinner we again went to the bath house for an amazing Japanese Onsen!
7. Wed. 11/23 – Another day of travel. But the big truck would not start and we eventually had to leave it behind to wait for a service vehicle. The time waiting for them to try to get it to work ended up becoming an intense time of prayer and intercession for the region and especially for those who live in Japan that were with our team. There were a total of six pastors on the team, each representing a different church – what a great expression of unity. It was warmer and sunny and the fall colors were at their peak in this area. The drive back to Yokohama was long, but pleasant. After nine hours on the road we finally arrived late in Yokohama in time to eat dinner and crash for the night. Although some of the young ones went out and explored the city a bit.
8. Thur. 11/24 – We woke to a delightfully sunny and warm (low 60's) day in Yokohama. We spent the morning and early afternoon prayer-walking the city. We prayed at Yokohama Grace Bible Church with Pastor Scott and his team – it was a powerful time of intercession. We then prayer-walked through a very old part of the city, and the original Christian section – the first “modern” Christians to resettle after over 400 years of exclusion were restricted to this part of the city. It no longer has much visible Christian influence, yet we believe the prayers of those who went before are still heard in heaven. We also prayer-walked through China town. Afterward we left at about 2 pm for the several hour journey back to Izu city (where the Sager's live) on the Izu Pennisula. After arriving there we unloaded everything and got the team members to their host families and said our goodbyes to the other pastors that had come with us to do the relief work. We were all exhausted after so much travel and hard work – but we all felt fulfilled and glad to have been able to help.
9. Frid. 11/25 – In the morning the New Day team along with the Sagers went to Hope International Church to spend the morning in prayer and intercession. I stayed back at the Sager's home to work on my teachings for Sunday. The prayer time ended up going much longer than expected with many prophetic words and pictures being shared. Kaku Sager picked me up to join the team for lunch at a favorite dinning spot – Jib Curry. After dinner we had some free time for shopping and then the team members had dinner and spent the evening with their host families.
10. Sat. 11/26 – This was a busy day as the trip was winding down. A group of us hiked up the Castle Rock mountain – about an hour hike up a steep path. This mountain overlooked the entire city and region and is a great spot to pray. Heather Hays also arrived via train from where she is living in Japan teaching English. It took her 5 hours to get to us – but we were all so happy to see her. After descending the mountain we had lunch and then prayer-walked a local Shrine, school and the area around where the Sager's lived. I always find the times praying in the temples and shrines to be especially powerful. At 3 pm the entire team along with many from Hope International met at a church members new home as it was only about half constructed. They desired to not have the Buddhist monks perform the regular rituals during the construction of their home, and asked that we do Christian alternatives. So the Sagers had prayed and anointed the ground before groundbreaking, and now were were blessing the home and placing Bibles and prayers in the framework before the finish work was done. It was another powerful time of prayer. Following this we all packed into vans and visited a very old Buddhist Temple and town nearby. This temple in Shuzenji is the primary temple in this region and has “zen” in its name as it was the place where Zen Buddhism was established in the region. This was the first time I visited in the evening and although it got very cold, it was beautiful seeing the town all lit up with festive lights. After returning late, some of the team couldn't resist going to the Onsen, for a delightful time soaking in the hot springs – Japanese style!
11. Sun. 11/27 – We again rose early to go to Hope International Church. Some of the team assisted the worship team, others ministered in prayer, and some helped with the children. I again preached the sermon. After church we had another wonderful meal prepared by the church members. We then had an additional teaching time in the afternoon so that I could finish up my series on “Relationships – It's Complicated” -- an abbreviated version of what I recently preached in Kalamazoo. We finished the afternoon session and had just an hour or so before heading out to dinner. The day was again concluded with a visit to the Onsen for one last refreshing and relaxing soak. I was glad that both my boys and Kathie enjoyed the Onsen as much, if not more than I do!
12. Mon. 11/28 – Again we rose early to load up the vans for the long drive to the airport. We left the house by about 10 am and got lunch on the way at a rest stop (which are much different than in the states – most have stores, sit-down restaurants, as well as fast food and even cart vendors, and of course the ever present vending machines). The Wrights departed from Terminal 1 whereas the rest of the team from Terminal 2, so we said our good-byes when we were dropped off at the terminal. We spent about 4 hours waiting for our flights and finally departing at 6:45 pm Monday. We landed in Chicago ahead of time (literally) at 3 PM the same day (due to crossing the dateline). Rather than waiting until 10 pm for our flight to Kalamazoo we rented a car and drove home, getting here around 8 pm. We were all exhausted even though we all slept some on the plane.

Thank you to all who helped through prayer and financial support. We, along with many others, have used this disaster to minister the love of God and the hope of the Gospel to the people of Japan. The pastor in the Sendai area was overwhelmed at the openness of the people in the aftermath of the disaster. Now with a continual stream of Christians coming to help – more has been done for Christ's sake than we could have ever imagined.

Click HERE to see some photos of the trip.