Helping Hands

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March 18, 2012

The past year has brought a lot of people into our lives.  We were surrounded by many Christians who took great care of us in South Korea.  We were also blessed by those who came to Japan to help with the cleaning, rebuilding, and rehabilitation of this country.  We are truly thankful for each and every person that God has placed along our path during this long and often difficult process.  One particular courageous soul is Naomi who helped us last weekend.  Naomi lives in Hawaii whose grandparents were originally from Japan. We first met her last December when we were in Hawaii to share with Olivet Baptist Church about our work.  Prior to this trip, she had taken several trips to Japan to learn the culture and get to know people here.  This trip was very special for her because this was her first time to help with the disaster relief work in the tsunami-hit areas.

Saturday morning we set out to Oshika Peninsula to visit about 80 temporary housing units that would be receiving food, flowers, and time with us and church members from Sendai.  Naomi had been planing on this trip for a few months.  She prepared gifts for every household and homemade cookies.  We had a great time sharing with each other about our lives as we made the two hour trip to the peninsula.

Thank you for coming all the way to Sendai to love and encourage those in need.  We enjoyed our time together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope many of you will pray about coming to Japan.  There are many ways to serve- visiting the temporary housings to meet people, delivering food, playing with children, teaching English, encouraging Japanese Christians, sharing your testimonies, and spending time with us! We love having guests!  Even though we love this country and people, we do get homesick and miss our family and friends in the US.  So having our friends here means so much to us.  Thank you in advance for praying about coming here in the future.  We understand some of you may not be able to come physically.  There are other ways to help with the ministries here.  Just contact us and we will find a way for you to be involved.  We LOVE getting e-mails, letters, phone calls, and packages!!!

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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It has been 6 months…

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September 24, 2011

September 11th was a special day for us in many ways.  We remembered those who died in New York on September 11th, 2001.  It was also a day to remember those who died in the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.  It has been six months since that day and many people are still hurting and grieving.  In fact, some of our church members lost their relatives and the girls in our youth group are having a difficult time accepting their grandparents’ passing.

Many people in the tsunami-hit areas have moved to the temporary housing, but it’s hard to get used to this new living environment, especially for older people.  They don’t get food and supplies from the government anymore.  Many of them live alone.  They are too old to drive or their cars were washed away by the tsunami.  They have to go to the stores, doctor’s office, bank, and all the other places by themselves.  THEY NEED HELP!!!

That’s why we keep visiting them.  Many of them are lonely and hopeless.  We want them to know that we love them and care for them.  Even though we may not be able to do much, we know our GOD can save and heal them.

Here are some photos from our visit in August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was the last time we visited this temporary shelter (middle school).  These ladies have moved to the temporary housing and live alone now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke loved playing with them.  The lady on the right lost her husband in the tsunami and misses him a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We helped with the yard work and gave those ladies some time to rest.  There was a lot to do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poster from the kids in the US.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We delivered some children’s clothes that were donated by our FBCA family.  Please pray for Miyuki.  She has many questions about God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visit this family every time we go to Oshika Peninsula.  Their relative (this old lady’s nephew) is a strong Christian and we want them to come to know the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love Shuri (girl) and Raiki (boy).  Their grandfather is a leader in the community.  Shuri shared that most of her friends had moved to other cities after the tsunami.  We  try to give them a gift every time we go there and we love seeing their cute smile!

Please continue to pray that the seeds that have been planted will grow someday. We know God has a special plan for each of them!

We will post another update next week!  Have a blessed weekend!

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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