Prepared by Grace Lee
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On 8th July, 11 of us from 6 different churches arrived at Narita airport in Tokyo as part of the July missions team sent out by the English Presbytery to support the tsunami recovery work in the Tohoku (north-eastern) region of Japan under CRASH Japan (www.crashjapan.com).

 

We were assigned to work with the CRASH Sendai base at Morigo camp but apart from this and knowing that we would be involved in “cleaning” work, none of us really had a clear idea of what we would be doing or how or where we would be working during our time with the base.  Doubtless, we each had our own fears of not knowing what to expect and it was helpful that at our first meeting with the Sendai base camp leader, Mayumi Matsushita, she asked us to share our fears and to release them in prayer to the Lord.  This helped to set the tone for our next 2 weeks, as the Lord would repeatedly remind our team and volunteers from other teams that HE is the One doing the restoration work in the hearts and lives of the Japanese people in the Tohoku region.  What a privilege for us to be channels of His blessings to the people as we obeyed His call to love and serve them.

 

As I reflect on the 2 weeks in Miyagi Prefecture, I realized how easy it is to see and hear with human eyes and ears and to feel overwhelmed or apathetic, because we think our little efforts won’t make much of a difference.  So I thank the Lord for the many devotions and testimonies that were shared at the start and end of each work day that kept our focus on Him.  Although words cannot fully describe what we saw, heard and experienced, this article seeks to capture some of the precious experiences and learning the Lord has blessed our team with.