"Yoroo!"

*Japanese for "Let's Go!"

With the last full day in Japan almost over, it will definitely be harder to leave after all that has happened over this past week. The three events that took a majority of our time was 1. Temporary housing visits 2. Making tents with Samaritan's Purse and 3. Oyster farming.

As a warning, this one is going to be long and may take a few sessions to get through..

On the 24th, we went to two temporary housing facilities for those who have lost potentially everything from the earthquake/tsunami. We did a short program of our Gospel music and two testimonies and it was super sweet to see such joy and laughter from those who have lost so much. At the second temporary housing facility, despite some awkward moments, I talked a little bit with a lady, who before I left, looked at me and through a translator told me that she saw herself as one of my mothers. It kind of took me of guard and at the same time made me feel so loved.

Temporary housing facility

The next day and throughout the week we broke into two groups, one who went to temporary housing facilities and one who worked in a different ministry area. The second day, a group of us worked with Samaritan's Purse and a passionate Korean pastor to construct large tents that they can use as churches throughout the area until they can construct an actual building. It was surprisingly exhausting, but super great to work with our hands and see a piece of our results from the hard work and were rewarded with a great ramen restaurant afterwards.

This is the sunrise we witnessed on our way to the Oyster Farm

Now onto my favorite day, on the 26th (for us), I had the privilege of working with oyster farmers. At the "beautiful" time of 5 a.m. a group of us loaded into two vehicles and trekked two hours away to help Jun, an 31-yr old Japanese man who had to quit his job as a junior high teacher to come back and take over the Oyster Farming business for his family. It's a longer process that I can explain better in person, but synopsis: We put the scallop shells, with baby oysters attached to them, tightly into an interwoven rope and made 200 of these lines. After around 9 tubs or about forty-five or so lines were made we went out onto their boat onto the Pacific to tie their lines up. This was an absolutely amazing experience and I wish that I could go back again. (*There are a ton of great pictures that one of our guides took that will hopefully one day make it on here)

This is the restaurant we went to Sunday night where you make the meal you ordered.

....Almost Done
On Saturday, I went with a group to clean/touch up a city park. We had weedwackers, sickles, various other tools, and many hands working to have it in its prime.
Never in my life have I said, "Many hands make light work" as much as I did this past week (all credit goes to my father for saying that to me throughout my childhood).

Boat ride to Matsushima

On Sunday, we went to a church in Sendai, which had an abundance of love and graciousness to shower upon us. We sang most of our songs for them and were blessed by them coming around us and sending us off with prayer and a song of blessing that the pastor's wife had wrote. Because Monday is Japan's Saturday and our day off, yesterday we went to Matsushima (Pine Tree Island), which is one of the must-see/most beautiful places of Japan.

Current update:
Today we finished our work in the park and started packing and cleaning up where we've been staying and tomorrow night we will head back to Tokyo and will fly to Singapore with a layover on our way to Thailand where we will be staying for the whole month of November-get excited :]


A few things I am thankful for:
-Knowing Jesus
-Our team leader/driver (Janet) who appeased my massive craving for a cheeseburger and fries at McDonald's after an intense day of Oyster Farming.
-Parents who taught me how to work hard (Dad, all of those days of the grain bin and buffalo burs have   paid off and Mom, all those days of pulling weeds has made me a pro.)
-The blessing of getting to talk to a few family and friends throughout my time here.

Matsushima

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in trimphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a gragrance form life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak Christ."-II Corinthians 2:14-17 (ESV)

The group at Matsushima before we left.

"We are never so vulnerable as when we love."-Sigmund Freud