bout a week ago I found myself on a 747 on my second transpacific flight in the last two months. As I sat cramped and sandwiched between two pretty big dudes I started to ask myself how in the world did I end up here.
A week ago I was at a wedding, the week before that UMARMY (a mission trip for youth), and in the 4 weeks before that I pretty much alternated between mission trips and weddings. The time in between was spent either trying to meet up with great friends and family I have seen far too little recently or trying to figure out what do do with all the free time an unemployed 23 year old finds himself with.
About 3 weeks earlier sandwiched between a wedding and a mission trip I ran out of excuses and started job hunting. Eventually I found my was to a Samaritan’s purse job posting. As I read over it my heart lept. The work was for a good organization doing the Lord’s work I would get to lead teams of volunteers doing disaster relief, I would get to swing a hammer again. In short it was everything I was looking for and one more thing I wasn’t really looking for…..in Japan.
I was really hoping to be able to find something close to home as I have spent the better part of the last year at least 8 time zones away from my family. But as I finished reading what they were looking for I really had a sense of peace about it so I started the application and sent it in. Turns out there is a ton of work to do here in Japan and they wanted to waste no time in getting started.
God has a funny way of answering prayers. So a week and a half later I have the job and start the crazy ridiculous process of moving across the world in 12 days with only 3 of those days at home. God also has a funny way of making his plans happen and I got pretty much everything done in plenty of time.
As I sat there I just wished I had just a little more time to get one thing done before I left. Change my middle seat! But in all honesty I was amazed by God’s provisions for me. A sweet new job, a new country to explore, lots of work to do in His name, and new people to meet.
After arriving in Tokyo and traveling by bullet train (180 mph!) seeing Japanese construction techniques (this will need its own blog) and moving twice I settled in a cabin that sits high on cliffs overlooking the ocean and the areas hardest by the tsuanmi. I am helping set up a new base that will house somewhere around 40 staff and volunteers at a time over the next 6 months.
We wake up before 7 every day and work till well after dark, but there is so much to do time is short and the work is made great by the 3 people I share it with. Also the Japanese are huge fans of western breakfasts so the bacon and OJ in the morning makes it better too. The view isn’t bad either.
The dots on the beach are shipping containers that have been buried at least half way down in the sand.
We were able to go around to some of the hardest hit areas yesterday but that really needs a blog of its own too. The devistation is absolutely stunning.
Here is a video of the tsuanmi in one of the areas we are working in. It was surreal watching it with our interpretor sharing what the people were crying out in Japanese. I really feel fortunate to be able to be a small part of helping the people of this amazing and interesting country put their lives back together.
There is so much work that needs to be done and we all need prayers for safety doing it. Also, Japan is one of the places in the world least touched by Christianity, so we need lots of prayers to be able to share Christ’s love. The other day after we inspected a house and told the owner we would fix it for free, she was confused. It seems shoe couldn’t figure out why foreigners would want to come and give away work and materials. She asked our interpretor “is this ok?” The idea of love like this is so foreign here she thinks it may be illegal! Lets just hope and pray that here people keep asking those kinds of questions.
