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VIDEO ARCHIVE
Contact info
Committed Relief Calvary Chapel La Habra - 714.446.6222
email
scottleecrawford@gmail.com
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Involved!
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upcoming outreach opportunities
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Monday, June 13 2011
5/30 - 6/1 (MON - WED)
DAY 1: With a very strong typhoon threatening to
come up from it's earlier sweeping of Okinawa, we
were in deep prayer for the Lord's direction on this
trip. We were not sure if we should go for it, or
hang back and let the weather blow through. We were
told Ishinomaki was flooding and landslides were
likely. This was also combined with high tides and
the sinking of the coastline. It was total
dependence on Him. So, with final peace, we decided
on going, though one team member dropped out in the
final hours.
We had retrieved the team van from Pastor Chizuo's
house the night before, and so we were ready to make
our way from our church building in Machida on
Monday morning. Our team of four consisted of: Eriya
Kato (our drummer), Keiju Otani, Alex Robinson (CCBC
Okinawa student/missionary), and myself. We loaded
up the van with donated supplies of food, clothing,
diapers, and more and we departed at 11:30am for
Haneda Airport to retrieve Alex and Eriya. The drive
went smooth and easy. Finally, the four of us were
headed out of Tokyo and up the Tohoku Expressway,
bound for Sendai L'Abri Bible Church.
We arrived early enough to get dinner at the
Tonkatsu Restaurant and then returned to the Sendai
base to get prepared and prayed up for the next day
in Ishinomaki.
DAY 2: After some prayer and devotion time, we
headed out for Ishinomaki, but drove through Arahama
to asses the damages there. It was like a desert,
totally devastated by the tsunami and nothing
remained but scattered work crews. It was my first
time through that seaside town, less than 5km from
our base at L'Abri. Very close indeed.
We then began the drive out to Ishinomaki, calling
some of our contacts again, along the way. One
contact told us he finished up the cleaning he
needed, but would think of other needs and return
our call. Another call was to an answering service,
and one more to Makoto-san at the Watanoha
Evacuation Center at the elementary school.
Makoto-san told us to come and he would have
projects for us.
None of the other three guys on our team had been to
Ishinomaki before, though they had served at
Matsushima, Iwaki, and Sendai. When we reached
Ishinomaki, the extent of the damage was surprising
to them, especially considering it had been almost 3
months since the tsunami. Roadways have cleared,
debris is being piled high, but still a mess
everywhere one looks.
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There still remains rubble and debris,
almost 3 months later in Ishinomaki. Many
needs, big job, but we serve a BIG God. We
are seeing His hand move in the hearts of
people; changing lives one at a time... |
We went by the Kawanami's house first to see if they
were home. It looked like they may have moved out.
They were among only 9 survivors in their
neighborhood and the only 2 to stay in their home
months after the tsunami. They were so happy our
teams had helped them to recover most of their yard
and clean inside their house.
We drove through the danchi area we call 'B' Section
and it looked much cleaner, power had been restored,
and not too many people appeared around there. We
drove on.
Our first stop in Watanoha was at the former wetsuit
building that our CTR team has considered for an
outpost/cafe/base in the community. We went in and
looked around at the 2 floors and a bit outside. It
looked like a great possibility in reaching out to
the people in the area.
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Inside CTR's future cafe site in Watanoha,
Ishinomaki |
Next, we went to the evacuation center at Watanoha
Elementary School across the street from the CTR
site. The ground was covered in water and mud
following the heavy wind and rain brought my the
typhoon. The first people we talked with warned of
the coming 3:30PM high tide and flood waters that
were expected. We had our gear on and were ready for
what may come. More prayers went up to the Lord to
lead us.
We met Makato-san, the kancho (shelter leader) and
he asked if we could build a new canopy/awning for
the outdoor food area. The typhoon had destroyed
their's the day before. We considered it a privilege
to do this for them and knew the Lord would use it
to further build trust and relationship with the
people in this community. We worked alongside the
guys there and had good conversation, learning of
their experiences and stories of survival. Our
leader was Takeyama-san, and his son, Kouki joined
us later.
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The June 5th typhoon destroyed Watanoha
Shelter's outside awnings...so the kancho-san,
Makoto asked our team to work together with
Takeyama-san to build a new and better one.
Praise the Lord, He had a plan for us!! The
typhoon could not stop it! |
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Putting on the finishing touches along with
our new friend we call, "the Boss." He was a
great guy and glad to help our team. |
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Keiju and Alex using cordless drill that
Takeyama-san rescued from the tsunami with
some of his things. |
As we began this project, the food line was nearby
as meals were served from the portable building next
to the one we working on. As we pulled old nails,
cut wood, assembled the beams, and chatted with the
guys, the food line dwindled to the end. It finally
closed and left only our team working on the
project.
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The CTR team and Watanoha Evacuee crew;
building friendships in the community.
Sharing the love of Jesus in practical ways. |
A woman soon arrived on a bicycle and asked if she
could get lunch. But, it was all gone, and she was
told nothing was left. Our team heard this
conversation, and called out to her as she peddled
off. She stopped and we invited her to take food
that we brought. She was suddenly hopeful and eager
to see. Alex took her over to our van and began to
bag up the fresh baked bread that was given by our
local Tokyo bakery. Soon another woman arrived and
had need for food and clothing. We filled them up
with a variety of fruit, bread, canned goods,
clothing, and more.
It was so much for the little lady, Tomiko-san, that
we offered to put her bicycle in the van and drive
her home with the goodies. So, Eriya and I loaded
the van and Tomiko directed us to her home several
blocks away. She was so, so, so thrilled! We were
praying along the way for an opening to speak of
Jesus to her.
When we arrived, as we unloaded, a neighbor came out
of her house to see what was happening. She told us
she was Kyoko and that she has a baby. Well, we had
a box full of diapers! It was just what she needed!
We welcomed her to food, and clothing too. She took
what she needed and then the two ladies stood there
grabbing our hands, and hugging and crying. Tomiko-san
did not want to let go; she just cried and thanked
us. Eriya asked if we could pray for them and they
agreed. We got to give them tracts that talk about
Jesus and times of trouble. They thanked us over and
over again. It was a highlight for us!
We rejoined Alex and Keiju at the project and
continued to work together until the awning was
finished. It was strong and much bigger than the one
that was destroyed by the typhoon. The old guys
thanked us and we took a group picture. We were able
to talk about many things and planted seeds, we
hope, in their hearts.
With the project Makoto-san asked us to do, now
finished, we wondered what was next. It was after
4PM, still early, but we were told the tide had come
in high and the areas around 'A' Section were
flooded. We would not be able to go see
Takahashi-san or others we knew, nor could we seek
for others in that zone.
So, feeling led by the Lord, we called Travis Lear,
a man Pastor Rick Barnett had met and that lived in
the Shiogama/Tagajo area, south from Ishinomaki. He
told us of great need in that area damaged by the
tsunami. We headed his way to meet for some dinner,
as it would take an hour of more. We made one more
stop at Kawanami-san's house with hopes to encourage
them, but there was no sign of them at all. So,
through heavy 'rush hour' traffic we moved like a
snail through the tunnel out of Ishinamaki's beach
areas and toward's the expressway south.
We arrived in Tagajo and met with Travis at a local
restaurant. He was glad to see brothers from Calvary
Chapel and it encouraged us all to share all the
Lord had done. He told us more about the needs in
his town and how we could get involved through the
Tagajo City Hall. We discussed this, prayed, and
decided to return the next morning and see how we
could help in a place totally new to us. Part of the
decision was that this was only 20 minutes from our
Sendai base and from Tagajo, we would be headed
south back to Tokyo for our late Wednesday night
return.
DAY 3:
We cleared out of the Sendai base early Wednesday
morning and headed for the Tagajo City Hall. We were
told to arrived by 8:30am to get in the volunteers
line. Outside, we saw a few people geared up for
clean-up and all the equipment organized under
canopies. Nearby, the Japan Self-Defense Force had
an encampment, that among other things had
baths/showers free to use. That would be good after
doing rubble/debris clean-up all day.
We went through the process with other volunteers, a
briefing, and instructions given, then we were
called up in certain numbers of people needed for
certain jobs. The next one needed 6 people, so they
added two ladies to our group of four and we were
informed of what we'd be doing. Eriya was designated
as group leader, so he got the details and then we
all went down to the outside equipment/supply area
and gather the things we'd need. Everything was very
organized as the center staff called out each item
and a checklist marked down everything we took. A
driver waited with a van, we loaded it up, and then
he took us to the place we would work at.
It was an Indian Restaurant, Jyoti, that had filled
with mud and water, leaving broken windows, toppled
equipment, and related tsunami damage. Our main job
was to muck out the rooms filled with smelly 3-month
old mud. It was an opportunity to bless the owner
and show the love of Jesus in a practical way.
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We were asked to remove the mud and mess
from under a woman's house. Her husband is
in the hospital and she cannot do it. We
were blessed to help her and in the end, we
cleaned her walkway up to the road too. It
meant so much to her that we'd go the extra
effort and do more than she asked for. |
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Careful washing of the less-damaged
restaurant items... |
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Alex and Eriya resting for a break as we
work in Tagajo City, south of Ishinomaki.
The owner of Jyoti Indian Restaurant asked
our team to help him. The place was filled
with water and mud. |
We also had the opportunity to talk to the two
ladies that joined with us. While sharing with one
of them during a break, her eyes filled with tears
and she said she would think about what I said of
why we were doing this. It seemed to touch her
deeply. The experience of working together opened
doors to reach out to these volunteers from Nagano
and Yokohama. We exchanged contact information and
sent photos of the day.
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CTR team with owner of Jyoti Indian
Restaurant. We were able to share with the
two ladies who joined in helping our team,
telling them we were sharing the love of
Jesus because He loves the people in Tohoku
and them too! One was in tears as we told
her about God's love during our morning
break. |
This job was finished up, we returned to the city
hall, had our obento lunch there and then offered to
go out again for another job before our return to
Tokyo. The next job was at a house along the
riverside, which had overflowed and damaged homes
along it. This home was filled with mud underneath
and so we cleaned out all the mud and debris beneath
its floors. It smelled bad, but the lady had
remained living in it since the tsunami with no
place to go. We did more than she asked, as we
cleaned her walkway going out to the road. She was
very blessed by our team.
And, finally, we returned to city hall for our van,
drove over to the JSDF showers and got all cleaned
up. Alex was surprised to read Okinawan greetings on
their signs and to find out they came from Okinawa!
They were glad to help this way. The baths were very
nice in those plain green army tents. It was like a
sento, or onsen even! Only a towel was needed,
everything else was supplied!
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After our mission in Tagajo City, we were
able to shower in the army tents. These were
fully set up with proper sento amenities,
including a large ofuro! Very refreshing!
and, these troops were sent to Tohoku from
Okinawa! |
So, refreshed and tired at the same time, we headed
back for Tokyo, but very, very encouraged by our
experience and all the Lord did in our hearts and
the hearts of the people we served. It was a good
time of ministry.
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Keiju Otani, Alex Robinson, Jeremiah Boek,
Eriya Kato
Horizon INT'L Fellowship |
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The only word that comes to mind when reflecting on the
last two days of Trip #7 is Gratefulness. We are
grateful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for
bringing such people together who united this week in
the Spirit with such speed and ease. We are grateful
for the opportunity to accomplish two simultaneous
outreach projects in one day in different, vital areas.
We are most especially grateful for the harvest that
became clear during these outreaches. Finally, we are
grateful for the promises He has given for future
ministry.
There are way too many blessings to fully recount here,
but some highlights are:
THURSDAY- New horizons, strong connections,
Kingdom business
We split our team of 20 into two groups to conduct two
BBQs at the same time in Ishinomaki- the larger team
reached the multi-story low income apartment complex
area, the smaller team repeated last week's outreach
event at the evacuation center where we have a strong
relationship.
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The apartment
complex park area, once a site where dead bodies
floated in tsunami waters, now sacred ground
claimed in the name of Jesus. |
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The apartment
complex team prays before setup begins. |
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At the same time,
the second team reached the evacuation center,
at which a BBQ had been conducted the previous
week, and we were invited back to bless them
again. |
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The evac center
BBQ team begins their prep with prayer, as well. |
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Back at the
apartment complex, setup begins which also
affords time to reach out to interested people.
Ron from CC Pocatello uses a wonderful resource
given to the team by Pastor Jack Bell of CC
Kamakura which has key Christian words and
sentences in easy to pronounce romaji Japanese. |
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A real first was
the level of assistance the apartment complex
team received from men and women residents.
Here, some of the local ladies fold and sort
blankets to give away to their waiting
neighbors. Love in action spreading out between
those most affected; that is how new fellowships
get started! |
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Cooking commences
at the apartment complex. 100 kilograms of beef
and vegetables were prepared and served to eager
recipients. |
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While waiting,
the crowds heard praises to Jesus through
continuous worship, as well as direct gospel
presentations in between worship sets. |
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Back at the evac
center, the smaller team prepared 30 kilograms
of chicken and beef. |
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Evac center
residents waited patiently in line to receive
their food, and many conversations cemented our
relationship with this project's leaders and
residents, and several Bible were distributed. |
The above give some of the bigger picture, but here are
a few specific stories:
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Kelli from CC
Pocatello has fellowship with Aoki-san, who
prayed to receive Jesus Christ during this
outreach, praise the Lord! This harvest only
came through the fertilizing prayers of everyone
participating in this ministry, those in Japan
and those in the States, so thank you! |
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Ben from CC
Pocatello and Takahashi-san, who is the same man
who told Chizuo-san a few weeks ago he wanted to
know more about Christianity. Apparently he had
heard enough, because he also accepted Christ
this day! |
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At the evac
center, Tanya from CC Pocatello and Sarah and
Haru from CC Rancho Santa Margarita with
Kao-san, who spent well over an hour sharing her
story with Tanya, accepted a Bible, and showed
how she is truly seeking the Lord. We pray for
her quick surrender to Jesus into live eternal. |
As the two teams reunited back at the apartment complex
area, the blessings did not go down with the sun but
instead kept going strong into the night.
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Our Lord is so in
love with details! No one thought about what
would happen to the apartment complex outreach
once darkness came, except for the Lord! We
centered our grills and worship underneath the
only working streetlight on the entire block,
and we were able to serve people until they were
all gone, and with a little food left over,
thank you God! |
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Last picture of
the night, the whole team at the apartment
complex site. There is Aoki-san in front
wearing a mask. He refused to leave us alone
all night until we literally drove away from the
site. Though he said his wife was waiting for
him at home, he said he felt duty-bound to stand
with us Christians who came to his home until we
had left. How sweet and attractive is the love
and unity of the brethren, which Aoki-san is
beginning to understand, praise the Lord! |
FRIDAY- a ministry of internal tasks
As we prepared to return to Tokyo, Friday morning was
spent wrapping things up properly, always a vital part
to any short term missions trip. But what a blessing it
was a blessing cement newfound friendships made this
week as we labored together one more morning within our
body of brothers and sisters. With our host site
cleaned, our relief supplies inventories, and cooking
grills cleaned and stored, we returned to Tokyo to bid
bittersweet farewells to each other with a spirit which
touched everyone's hearts for eternity
with...gratefulness.
God bless you all. In closing this trip's chronicles,
it must be stressed again how it is absolutely certain
nothing could have been accomplished without your
prayers of support. Thank you so much for your
faithfulness to this ministry. In addition to these
photos, there are a couple new videos on the youtube
channel if you care to check them out, in the group at
the top of the right hand column of the blog page.
Until the next time, praise the Lord!
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Wednesday was a full day where the group split into
teams to meet divine appointments, mostly to perform
cleaning projects for citizens of Ishinomaki who we had
met before and also for new friends. Along the way,
many teams met Japanese relief workers from various
agencies and there were awesome opportunities for
fellowship and sharing the Gospel. Below are a lot of
photos gathered by many team members. There were so
many stories, so many blessings, it is hard to capture
them all in this post, so please enjoy what is here and
know that for every scene on this post there were 100
more testimonies of blessings as the group labored
physically apart but completely united in the Holy
Spirit. Thank you Jesus!
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At the storage
units, praying for the Lord to cast His net wide
and deep today. |
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Jon and Charity
share with young relief workers working on the
same site. |
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The neighborhood
of one of the cleaning projects. |
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Jon shares with
the Japanese relief workers...they were so
receptive and friendly. |
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There were many
opportunities for one-to-one ministry in the
midst of cleaning. |
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There was also
lots of cleaning work to be done. Ron and Mike
hard at it. |
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Haru digging
deep! |
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Now that's
teamwork! |
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Steve and Haru
share the Gospel with a new friend. |
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Ron and a new
friend. |
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Sarah, Haru, and
Steve encourage a family at the evacuation
center. |
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Inside one of the
house projects, before the cleaning began. |
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Tanya and Kelli
taking a moment to chill. |
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Jack and Tanya
outside the home cleaning site. |
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Kelli and Tanya
share with and encourages one of the Japanese
relief workers also on site. |
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Another work
site, the before picture, with the task being to
clear out the gutter lane along the wall. |
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Same project, the
after shot. The team gave the family more than
they asked for! |
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Herb, Ryan, John,
Joe, Chris, and Ben, the team the Lord used to
make the above pictures possible. |
Overall, CTR (Calvary Tohoku Relief) has not yet seen a
day with so many simultaneous ministries happening, it
was awesome! Also awesome to witness has been the speed
with which the Lord has united these 20 people from so
many churches in the love of the body of Christ, thank
you God! And the Lord has given the group an even
bolder plan for Thursday- two BBQ outreaches in two
areas at the same time! But we are confident in our
Lord Jesus to provide the Holy Spirit to guide our every
step as we discover the plan He has already established
before us. We desire your prayers as we enter into this
new level of ministry the rest of the week. God bless
you, we'll have another praise report soon!
Monday, April 26th, 2011
Wednesday, the
group was able to once again return to the home
of one of our new friends, Mr. Kawanami. You may
remember him as the man whose hobby was raising
bonsai trees.
Brian (on the
top) currently serves in the US Air force. He
used to work in the construction field and his
specialization was building framework. The Lord
knew what He had for him before he came to
Ishinomaki.
This time, the group helped Mr. Kawanami clear out
his yard. Thanks to great team work, Pastor Chizuo
was able to leave the group under the leadership of
Glen Phipps from Calvary Chapel Okinawa. This
allowed Pastor Chizuo to take care of some
logistical business - our Emergency Relief Worker
toll road passes!
Our passes were set to expire at the end of the day.
These permits have been a HUGE blessing since they
have saved the groups hundreds of dollars in toll
road fees between Tokyo and Ishinomaki. So, we were
eager to renew them. We had been given renewal forms
and directed to City Hall. Since Pastor Chizuo had
visited City Hall the day before, he knew
bureaucracy was awaiting him. He remembered how a
worker from the evacuation center gave him the local
congressman's contact information. He said a prayer
and dialed the congressman's phone number. Pastor
Chizuo told the congressman how the groups have been
traveling back and forth between Tokyo and
Ishinomaki every week in order to help with relief
work. He told him how much money the passes saved
the group each week. Pastor Chizuo then asked the
congressman if he would like the group to continue
taking the money saved and investing into the people
of his city or if he would like the money to be
spent on toll road fees. The congressman told Pastor
Chizuo he would meet him at City Hall and make sure
the passes were renewed.
Here's Pastor Chizuo with the
city official in charge of issuing permits. Once
at City Hall, we were able to maneuver through
the red tape thanks to the help of the
congressman. Praise God we were given renewed
passes for each vehicle and even a few spares!!!
The LORD provides!!!
But remember it happened all because the Lord
sent the rain on our team.
Thank you, Father! Praise the Lord, Jesus!
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
Trip 5: "Ask and You Shall Receive!"
For the past month, Calvary Tohoku Relief has sent
groups weekly to the Tohoku area to reach out to
those affected by the March 11 disasters. Praise the
LORD, a church located in Sendai opened its doors to
us and has allowed us to stay in and use an onsite
home as our base camp. We have been SO blessed by
this church and its hospitality. Since the church is
located in Sendai, the groups must travel roughly 90
minutes north to the city of Ishinomaki where much
of our work has taken place. So, many of us have
been praying that the LORD would open up a place in
Ishinomaki where we could set up another base camp
in the future. This week, the LORD answered our
prayers!!! We will continue to use the local church
in Sendai while we prepare the future location.
Here's what happened...
The day started out much like other days -
devotions, loading up the truck, and getting
ready for whatever the LORD brought our way! We
broke up into three groups that could easily be
dispersed to different locations if multiple
opportunities to help arose.
As we drove through the
streets of Ishinomaki, it began to rain. We
arrived at Mr. Takahashi's house and helped him
and his son, Nobuharu, remove heavy furniture
from their property. When we finished, Nobuharu
bowed 90 degrees in deep appreciation for the
work.
Due to the weather, most people stayed back at
the evacuation centers. As the LORD would have
it, on our way to the centers, the group found
the Tsuda brothers who accepted our offer to
help clean.
Pastor Chizuo left the group working on clearing out
the Tsuda's garage area and continued on to the
evacuation centers where he hoped to find more
families to assist.
ZOnce at the evacuation
site (formerly an elementary school), Pastor
Chizuo was able to meet some key people who the
LORD would later use to open doors of blessing.
Here is Pastor Chizuo with the unofficial
"director" of one of the area evacuation centers
as well as a social welfare leader who eagerly
desired to help Calvary Tohoku Relief in any way
he could.
Meanwhile, the group
finished helping the Tsuda brothers and moved on
to the Tanno home. The Tanno family has a 17
year-old son named Hiroshi who showed up at the
site wanting to help clean. He couldn't believe
strangers wanted to help clean his house! Him
and his family are currently living in one of
the evacuation centers.
With the groups on a roll in helping area
residents, Pastor Chizuo and Mr. Tatsushi
Sasaki, a real estate agent by profession and
member of Calvary Chapel Kokubunji, set out for
the other side of town where they planned to
meet the a realtor. In our own human thinking,
we assumed that if we are looking for a rental
property in an unfamiliar area, we should see an
agent. However, the LORD had His own plan! The
realtor offered no hope saying Ishinomaki was
devastated and nothing was available. He
suggested inquiring at City Hall for any
municipal buildings that could possibly be of
use. However, the only thing City Hall seemed to
offer was red tape! Pastor Chizuo didn't feel
right in his spirit and so they left.
Remembering a conversation he had with another
volunteer group leader, Pastor Chizuo and Mr.
Sasaki went back to the evacuation center. The
volunteer leader had mentioned that his group
had received some help from a local congressman.
Pastor Chizuo hoped to find this contact
information. In the process of seeking out the
local congressman's phone number, Pastor Chizuo
was introduced to another man, Mr. Utsumi.
Mr. Utsumi is a local
business in Ishinomaki. He had a brand new house
which was washed away by the tsunami. Now, he is
living in an office space he owns that is
located behind one of the evacuation centers.
Turns out Mr. Utsumi owns four different
properties in Ishinomaki; all of which, need to
be gutted and cleaned. Pastor Chizuo said the
groups would help him clean his buildings... one
of which is located directly behind a house/shop
that the group had helped clean just one week
ago! The unofficial "director" Pastor Chizuo had
met earlier in the day told Mr. Utsumi that the
group was looking for a place they could operate
out of in Ishinomaki. Mr Utsumi turned to Pastor
Chizuo and said, "You can live here," and
pointed to the second floor of the office
building.
Mr. Utsumi said the
building was under renovation before the tsunami
hit so it's just a skeleton and needs to be
finished. However, surprisingly, the 2nd floor
sustained little damage in the tsunami and the
group is welcome to use it and renovate it
however they like. Pastor Chizuo was shocked.
Mr. Utsumi didn't stop there... he said he had
another property that he would take Pastor
Chizuo to look at and see if it could be of use.
AMAZING! Only the LORD could open doors so
easily!
Once the team finished their cleaning project at
the Tanno family home, they invited Hiroshi to
join them for the BBQ planned at another
evacuation center. He happily agreed to join the
group and asked if he could help serve as well.
The evacuees were grateful
and happy for the BBQ since they hadn't had
anything but bread and rice balls in over a
month.
During the BBQ event, Yusuke from CC Kokubunji
gave Hiroshi Tanno a flashlight with Roman's
8:12 printed on an attached tag. Glenn from CC
Okinawa shared with Hiroshi the meaning of the
cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hiroshi
received a Bible and said, "I'll read it every
day!" At the end, he thanked the team by saying,
"Thank you for everything you have done today.
I've heard about Jesus Christ, and I want to
believe in Him. The next time you come back, I'd
like to know more about Jesus Christ." Praise
the LORD!
Monday, April 18th, 2011
With this week being a first attempt at a more regular
schedule able to sustain a large group of about 20
people, it is important to share with you all the
aspects of what makes such a week of ministry work.
This includes the perhaps less than glamorous jobs of
cleaning up, doing inventory of supplies, and other
logistical things that are absolutely necessary to
ensure the next trip can be just as successful.
The morning was spent with one team cleaning the house
and BBQ grills, one team transferring supply items to
our storage unit and doing a detailed inventory, and one
team making connections with other groups working in the
area. Though all three of these events were awesome in
their own right, it was the outside connection that was
the unexpected blessing.
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Chizuo and Pancho in front
of the new Calvary Touhoku Relief utility truck.
This unexpected blessing was given to us by
Samaritan's Purse, who we met with in the
morning at their Sendai warehouse headquarters.
Not only that, they filled the truck bed with
cleaning supplies including a 2000 watt
generator. We are incredibly blessed by the
generosity of this terrific ministry, and we
will most certainly put this truck and the
supplies to good use beginning the next trip. |
After everything was put back in order, it was time to
get back to Tokyo where the team could separate and
return to their homes. What a terrific week! We are so
encourged by the prayers and support by everyone who has
connected with us on this blog. Thank you so much, and
stay tuned for trip number five, beginning Monday, April
18, where we will share with you how the Lord will
continue to grow and refine this ministry.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday was another prayer answered as the three
teams joined into one group to witness the Lord move
in two specific locations.
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The group at our Sendai
base, ready for the day! |
As Pastors Chizuo and Pancho and Kevin from Okinawa
went ahead to scout out the location in our main
area of Ishinomaki for our afternoon outreach event,
the rest of us went back to the Shuto residence in
the port area of Ishinomaki (where Larry, Kiko,
Takako, Richard, and Maxx had been the previous day)
to make good on a promise. There was a parking area
covered in dirt and mud that we had been asked to
clean. We arrived and got to work, meeting the
community leader Yamagata-san immediately and
starting to grow our relationship in this
neighborhood deeper and deeper.
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Lots of mud to scoop out
in that parking lot. Many of the team said this
was one of the highlights of this trip, being
able to something physical and real to help the
neighborhood in a tangible and immediate way. |
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|
Takako speaks to Shutou-san
the grandma. In her hand is a flashlight Takako
gave her with Scripture written on an attached
tag. Takako explained the Gospel to her clearly
and she listened appreciatively. One to one is
where it starts, because this lovely lady will
take the experience she just had with Takako and
share it with her neighbors. Not every
neighborhood is as close this one, which is why
we feel the Lord has chosen this location to
continue to build relationships. |
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|
Bob and Takako speak with
Yamagata-san's wife. The Yamagatas own the soy
sauce factory which is next to the apartment
building in the photo, and the Yamagatas are
also the landlords of the apartment building.
Making contact and deepening relationships with
these informal community leaders is absolutely
essential to a fruitful ministry. And yes, Bob
is really that big, though Yamagata-san is
rather short. |
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|
An unexpected blessing for
the men- we got to throw cars around!
Yamagata-san gave us permission to move these
two cars over the side of the lot so that we
could clean up the dirt underneath. Oh, yeah! |
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|
After we moved those other
two cars, another neighbor asked us to move a
third car in a different area. You betcha! |
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The finished product.
Through our almost three hours there, many of
the neighbors came to watch the action. Many
good conversations led to promises to return
again for more projects identified. Praise the
Lord for a real work begun in this area, which
has received no government clean-up support yet. |
The team then packed the gear and went around the
hill to the other Ishinomaki area we have invested a
lot of time in. Chizuo, Pancho and Kevin had found a
location for the main outreach event, a BBQ with
worship music and passing out of supply items.
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|
Pancho on the grill and in
the groove. We had hot dogs, shish-kabob cubes
and steaks, as well as tea to offer the
attendees. |
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In all, the outreach was a
major success, mainly because we were able to
coordinate all the elements of the event for the
very first time. Unfortunately, the weather was
not cooperating completely with us, being a
little cold and very windy, and in the future
prayerfully adjusting the timeframe and perhaps
the location will allow us to provide this event
in a sustained manner, and to let it grow as the
Lord wills. As Pancho shared with us at the
event's conclusion, God only desires our
faithfulness to complete the work He
accomplishes through us, and He does not wish us
to focus on what we think the results should be.
Praise the Lord that His burden truly is light,
we were all so blessed by the day.
There are two other stories to share which
illustrate perfectly what the Lord's vision is
for Calvary Touhoku Relief at this time.
Meet the Shirade family.
Before the tragedies of March 11, Mrs. Shirade
had her own catering business. Like so many
others, the family's home and shop were ravaged
by the tsunami. The team met the Shirade's
neighbor, Mr. Takahashi. We were driving down a
street and saw him outside with his wife trying
to clean their home. When we asked him if we
could help him, he selflessly pointed across the
street at his neighbor's home. He told us how
the day before, he saw Mrs. Shirade in tears as
she saw the state of her shop for the first time
since the disaster. She was more than
overwhelmed and didn't think it would ever be
possible to clean or salvage anything inside the
home. Mr. Takahashi asked us to please help her.
We got to work with shovels and wheelbarrows.
The amount of muck, trash and debris seemed
endless. Four hours later, we were short on
sunlight and called it a day. Praise God the
whole team came together and was able to clear
away the refuse! (see before
and after pictures on
yesterday's blog post)
Today, Pastor Chizuo and Pastor Pancho had the
joy of returning to the Shirade home and shop.
They arrived just in time to meet the older
couple and one of their relatives. The family
had come back to the house in an effort to try
and clean what they could. When Mr. Takahashi
told them that Pastor Chizuo and Pastor Pancho
were part of the group that cleaned the house,
Mrs. Shirade began to cry. Mr. Shirade explained
how they were shocked and almost fainted when
they arrived at the house earlier. They had no
idea the group had been there the previous day.
The Shirade's shared how they felt like two
tsunamis came through the shop; the first one
destroyed it and the second one restored it. Mr.
Shirade said he had no words to express his
gratitude, he can only say, Thank You.
Praise God! May HIS love sweep through this
land!!!
|
The second story involves another man by the name of
Mr. Takahashi - a common Japanese suname. Mr.
Takhashi is one of eight leaders at this low-income
housing unit. Pastor Chizuo asked
him if it would be OK to announce the scheduled BBQ
to residents who had come back to their apartments.
Mr. Takahashi gladly gave permission and even handed
Pastor Chizuo a blow-horn to use in order to make
the announcing easier. When finished, Pastor Chizuo
went back to Mr. Takahashi's apartment to say thank
you and return the blow-horn. He handed Mr.
Takahashi a small flashlight with a scripture verse
attached to it. It read, "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life." (John
8:12 NIV) Mr. Takahashi told Pastor Chizuo that he
listens to the radio every Sunday and sometimes,
there are Christian programs on in the morning.
Occasionally he listens. He said he has this sense
that there is one true God. He continued on saying
that for the past 2000 years, religion has failed,
but he believes that the one true God is just and
righteous. He told Pastor Chizuo that he would like
to discuss the One True God the next time they meet.
Pastor Chizuo was elated since he had been praying
for doors such as this one to open.
Meeting the spiritual needs of the people here in
Ishinomaki is the most important work we have set
before us. We pray that as we reach out in love, the
people of this land would see Jesus and come to know
His love, grace and peace. Please continue to pray
with us!
We wrapped up this wonderful day pretty late with
worship, sharing, and fellowship back at base
(reason for the late posting). Only video was taken
of the day, actually, and that was to wish happy
birthday to Pastor Chizuo! So check out the video
channel with the latest videos to view that one.
Today's blessings were so many, this post
will be a little long, but how else to begin
to convey what has been going on here? It
was an answer to so much prayer, ours and
yours, that lead to this day where we were
blessed to witness the Lord multiplying our
efforts in Ishinomaki.
In this post, we wish to convey a sense of
the flow of the day's activities, which ran
in the Lord's perfect timing and in His
vision to us as to how future mission trips
might progress. Of course, all things may
change as He leads, but today we felt that
this is how the Lord wishes to use this
ministry for the near term.
We operated in the afternoon as three
separate teams in three separate areas, then
we came together in the evening. Here is how
it all went down:
Even before breakfast, we needed to
unload our truck of supplies,
inventory them, and sort them into
three vans which the teams would use
to reach the designated areas for
the day's work. |
After breakfast and fellowship, the
team was briefed on the day's plan.
Only five of the 18 members had been
here before, so there was much to
discuss about the area and what to
expect. This was followed by a
wonderful time of worship and a
devotion study by Pastor Chizuo.
wonderful time of worship and a
devotion study by Pastor Chizuo.
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The teams then departed Sendai and
arrived in Ishinomaki with no delay,
praise the Lord. With excellent
communication equipment in the vans,
the team stayed in contact through
the day in their different areas.
One team began their afternoon by
discovering this lookout area over
the port section of devastation,
which gives a glimpse into the
severity of the damage. Every one of
the new members agreed that pictures
don't even come to close to reality.
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A picture of one of the areas in
which we served. The tatami mats are
piled high on the side of the road,
soaked with water and useless,
waiting to be picked up and disposed
of, though no one knows when that
part of the cleanup will begin.
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One team arrives at a house which
has been visited in the past. The
roads in these neighborhoods have
been cleared, mainly done by the
residents themselves but also done
by municipal work crews and Japanese
Self Defense Force personnel.
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A team prays together after meeting
the family they wish to bless with
doing a cleanup project, just before
the work begins. Prayer throughout
the day is absolutely essential. |
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The team begins the work the Lord
has given them: mucking out a very
narrow space between the family's
house and the neighborhood small
business building. The whole family
was there to see us laboring with
them.
|
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The trench of tsunami muck was about
eight inches deep, wet and sticky,
and the project lasted a couple of
hours. It was awesome to see the
team stretched and come together in
unity to work out how to best
complete this cleaning.
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The team with our grateful friends,
the Shutou family. The team members
were Nao, Kiko, Richard, Larry, and
Maxx (taking picture). Note: that is
not the family's BMW behind them,
just the back of their house. The
car was washed into that spot during
the tsunami and is waiting to be
claimed and moved.
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Ministering in Japan takes an extra
amount of patience and persistence
in terms of building relationships
with those who are reached out to.
This project was an excellent
example. Though this family had been
visited by teams in the past, it
still took a little time for them to
allow us to do a cleanup project for
them. But as the project continued,
they came to us with another project
for their neighbors for us to
consider and do another day. Before
the cleanup began, we had asked the
family if they needed any supplies,
which we had in the back of the van;
the only thing they said they needed
was propane canisters for their
portable stove. Yet, after all the
cleanup was done and we were able to
show them all the things we had,
they accepted more and more items,
and even accepted items they said
they would share with their
neighbors! This is an answered
prayer- that they have caught a bit
of the Lord's vision for how to
begin reaching out to others in the
community. They are not Christians
(yet!) but they also welcomed us to
pray over them and the young boy
accepted a Bible from Kiko. What a
blessed afternoon!
|
The other two teams had very similar
experiences this afternoon, each going
into separate neighborhoods, identifying
cleanup projects, and connecting with
residents one to one, and two by two.
There are too many stories to relate in
this small space of how these tsunami
victims opened their hearts and shared
their honest feelings with the teams,
who were blessed to just listen and
offer prayers of encouragement. This
type of ministry is particularly
effective here in sowing seeds in deep
rich soil, yet at the same time a
harvest is reaped with every encounter;
not the least of which is the
edification and encouragement to the
team members, many of whom experienced
their first outreach ministry today.
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Here is a particularly awesome
story. This catering shop was
found by the team consisting of
Chizuo, Pancho, Kevin, Amy,
Yasutomo, Sou, Hana, and Bob.
The neighbor man across the
street directed them here, and
said that the elderly lady who
owned the shop was yesterday
despairing over the damage with
much crying. She was gone for
the day, so it became very clear
this was the work the Lord had
for the team. Here is the before
picture of the main store area
worked on.
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| The team labored for four hours
straight to haul out the
garbage. With about a hour of
daylight left, the other two
teams arrived on the scene after
their projects had ended, and
with the whole group tackling
it, the task was completed
beyond anyone's expectations. |
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The after photo; the garbage is
outside with the rest of the
heaps of refuse, the floors are
swept, what pottery items that
could be salvaged are back on
the shelves, and the store is
waiting for the owner to return
the next day to see what the
Lord has done for her- love in
action, uninvited grace, awesome
power to heal and restore, and a
clear beacon of hope for the
future. The team hopes to meet
her the next day to further
encourage and pray for her in
the name of Jesus Christ, who
has clearly visited this house
today.
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The shop that was cleaned is the
pink building behind the truck.
As the sun set, after talking to
the neighbors some more, the
group opened the truck of
supplies and met physical needs.
It amazed everyone when more
neighbors began appearing around
the corners, who we did not know
were living in their homes, to
come and receive the supplies we
have been blessed to distribute
in the name of the Lord Jesus.
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Yet with all this wonderful work done
while the sun was up, the day's
experiences were not yet over, and it is
important to relate how the day
concluded. It takes about two hours to
return to our Sendai base from this
Ishinomaki location, and after dark it
is not socially proper or very practical
to do this kind of ministry work. So at
8:30 p.m., the group traveled to a
restaurant for a late dinner and
fellowship. After that, we returned to
our base, where we worshiped and then
went carefully around the entire group
of 18, each person sharing their
thoughts of what had occurred that day.
With 18 people sharing, this meant the
day did not end until around 11:30 p.m.
Nevertheless, everyone went to bed
refreshed, ready to get some sleep but
more ready to see what the next day held
for us, so very blessed by how the Lord
used us today.
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| Committed Relief | 1370 S. Euclid Street • La Habra CA 90631
| 714.446.6222 |
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