Missions and Outreach

When we arrived here at our CRASH Japan’s base house in the town of Tono we were pleased to join a team of 12 Japanese pastors from the western side of Japan. We’ll be serving together this week. I am looking forward to learning to know them and to share lives.

On Tuesday morning we drove to the town of Kamaishi on the eastern coast of Japan in the area where the earthquake and Tsunami hit. As we drove though the town I was struck by the devastation that was still evident after 6 months. The area we worked in had water up to the 2nd floors. All the buildings had the first floors damaged due to the water that rose to the 10 ft. mark.

For the day our team worked in an elderly lady’s first floor apartment that needed all the sheetrock and ceiling tiles along with insulation torn out. We gutted everything back to the studs and rafters. Our face masks were covered in dirt from all the mold and dust that was in the air where we worked.

In the afternoon I had a chance to talk with the pastor of the church we used as our base for the day. He shared about the day the Tsunami hit. He tried to call his church members to warn them but the phones weren’t working. He then went to the back of the church property to help an elderly lady up the hill to safe ground. He started back down the hill to help other but he doesn’t remember anything else about the Tsunami until the next morning when he went down the hill to help find survivors. I am amazed that he has a total blank memory of when the waters hit. I sensed his hesitation to share more so we stood together for a spell in quiet meditation.

Jerry and Robin, as part of “kokoro no kea” (“heart care”…helping people deal with their trauma and losses) served at a temporary housing complex with crafts and the mobile café for the residents who had been displaced from their homes.
Bo Bowman

We’re in Japan! The flight was smooth, the service was good, and the trip was shorter than expected. With a tailwind from Los Angeles to Tokyo most of the way we arrived about an hour before schedule. That helped because becoming familiar with Narita airport took some doing. We eventually got on the train headed for Komagome and our missionary friends at the Assembly of God Bible College. They had arranged for rooms (and didn’t charge us anything!) for the night.

We were amazed at what returning to Japan means to us. The sights, sounds, and familiar looking streets and housing have brought back such wonderful memories. We are excited about sharing this part of our lives with the team and with you.

Today we met with CRASH Japan who explained they have had 1,500 volunteers for the summer. Their concern is that with the coming of Fall the number of volunteers will fall off. But the needs are as great as ever. They sent us on our 9-hour drive to Tono which is our base camp for the next two weeks. Please pray as God’s plan unfolds for us.

From the team:

Just a really quick note to let you know we arrived at Narita airport an hour early. Good food, great flight.

Arrived in Komagome and met up with our friends who brought us to our overnight accommodations. A quick bite to eat, shopped for breakfast groceries, confirmed our schedule for the morning, and now trying to stay awake until I get into bed. Thank you for your prayers. We will have a long drive tomorrow and see lots of sights that will be new for everyone.

A team of six from River City will be departing tomorrow for Japan to work with Crash Japan in the tsunami relief effort.  The team has spent three months praying, training, and raising funds for the trip.   During their preparation the Lord prepared the team in different ways.  Following is a story from team member Kristin Sedate about what God showed her.

The past week and a half have been trying for me … in the span of about 10 days, my computer crashed, my driver’s side window disappeared while I was driving down the highway ($300 fix), my van tire had a blowout, our tile started cracking in various places in our kitchen and entry way due to the extreme heat and drought our city is experiencing, and the mower stopped working 1/2 way through mowing the lawn.  And of course my husband was out of town during all the breakdowns, leaving me to deal with the carnage of broken belongings along with taking care of our 2 high-energy young boys by myself.

I also have been feeling some strain as I get ready for school to start in a few weeks and preparing for a subsequent RCCC mission trip I am taking to Japan in September to help with the tsunami relief effort.

So I found myself throwing a bit of a pity party.  But I also know that I have no where else to go with the things that weigh on me, than to take them to the only One who has any answers and comfort for me in my time of need.  So as I was running a few days ago, I found myself just crying out to the Lord and telling Him how frustrated I was and how I didn’t understand what He is trying to teach me through everything breaking down and seemingly everything going wrong … and I felt the Lord say, in his very gentle yet convicting voice,

“Kristin, you lost:
a computer that can be bought again,
and a car window that can be fixed on a car that you still own,
and a tire that you can afford to buy,
and some tile that can be replaced in a home that you still have,
and a mower that mows the grass on the property on which you still live,
and your husband will be coming home,
and you are blessed to have 2 boys that take up your energy…

 

But, Kristin, the people of Japan that you will be going to serve have nothing.
They lost EVERYTHING … their homes, their cars, their computers, and more importantly loved ones … IN A SECOND EVERYTHING WAS GONE.
And they have no means to get any of it back.
They have experienced extreme loss and I want you to be filled with COMPASSION.
Try to imagine their loss and let your heart break for them.  Don’t go and try to serve them without letting yourself feel their pain.
But you have HOPE in Me … no matter what you lose, you can never lose Me and that is the HOPE that most of the Japanese people don’t have yet.
I want them to have that HOPE in Me that you have.”

So that is what I felt like I was supposed to “get” this past week … in preparation for my mission trip to Japan I want to be able to:
FEEL their pain,
share my HOPE,
and let COMPASSION flow.

Kristin Sedate

Our third day working in Joplin was powerful. We found places to work on and people to serve as in the previous two days, with an added sense of God’s personal direction.

We discovered that when we found things that needed to be done we were fulfilled. But when we found people who needed help, we felt so much more accomplished in our task.

On Monday we met Larry Gibson at lunch who knew an older woman whose house was devastated by the tornado and whose son was killed by the force of the storm walking to work. He asked if we could help move some things from her house and clean it up a bit. Lilani could not do the work herself, but we were able to pitch in and in a short time took care of her house.

Some of the ladies decided they wanted to help in the distribution center for Mission Joplin. They rejoined the rest of us at the end of the day with stories of being the “personal shopper” for a number of people who had lost everything and had come by to get a few basic essentials. They had a wonderful time helping those people listening to their experiences and praying with each one who came by. They were so excited about what they had seen and done that they requested to spend Friday doing more of the same.

Tomorrow is our last day here in Joplin. We have grown to love the people, hurt for their losses, and partner with them in seeing God’s hand reaching out to comfort and supply their needs. We have worked along side many other Christians from around the country and shared the joy of reaching out to a city ready to rebuild not only their homes, but also their lives.

Thank you for your prayers and your support. We couldn’t have done this without you sending us and bathing us in prayer.

God bless you all!

Jerry

River City made a new friend today. I knew we were meant to help Mike the first day we drove through the deserted streets of Joplin. I noticed him standing on a ladder in the middle of his windowless house. Alone and determined to accomplish the monumental task ahead of him.

There are times that God brings people into your life and you can’t put your finger on why you are drawn to them, Mike was one of those people. He had such a hard exterior, but he was humbled by the way 15 strangers insisted on blessing him. He was not overly religious, but knew enough to be grateful to God for the provision of safety throughout all the chaos his city has been through. He was so grateful for our help, saying that we helped in a few hours to accomplish weeks worth of tasks. At a certain point he insisted that we go and find more desperate people to bless.

This is just one of the many ways that God has shown Himself to us here. We were humbled by the devastation that we found when we arrived in Joplin, but Mike’s determination and passion to see his city rebuilt has given us renewed hope for what God is doing here.

Lisa Segovia

What a day this first one was. We took some time to survey the land which has changed considerably since our first trip. Then the Lord connected us with Mission Joplin working out of one of the churches here. Through them we helped one lady move some things to a relative’s garage (we were one of very few who had a flatbed trailer), we “happened on” another group from the Mission who were about to give up on getting some 75 year old trees cut up and moved to the curb and were able to help them finish the job, we cleaned up a back yard and cut down a tree for another family, and we arranged to help Mike with cleaning up his yard tomorrow.

We had planned to serve volunteers Wednesday evening some sportsmen’s meat, but only brought the meat without side dishes. This evening we BBQ’d ground meat for us and invited several to join us. After eating, a lady with College Heights Christian Church found us and asked if we were the ones from Texas serving dinner tomorrow, because the church had lots of chips, cole slaw, buns, and a whole lot of other things they needed to use by Thursday when they were stopping their meal program. We now have side dishes!

God has so directed our steps, shown us where to help, and even provided food for others! We know it’s because we are submitted to His leading and many, many people are praying that He will guide us, whether working, serving the servers, or ministering to people in such a variety of ways.

Thank you for your prayers,

Jerry

Here are a couple of pictures from the first day

Last week 22 counselors and 21 support staff welcomed 40 wonderful children from the foster care system for a week of fun, fun and more fun at a great camp.  We had a great week of swimming, going on a zip-line, kayaking, arts and crafts, everybody’s birthday party and learning about a God who is always with us.

During Breakfast Club and Campers Club the campers learn worship songs with hand movements and  bible stories. It was a joy to see them participate  and ask questions about the stories presented.

The following are a few stories:

Bobby is an eleven year old boy and this was his first year at camp. After attending Breakfast Club and Campers Club he and his room mates were asking Grampa Jerry questions about Jesus, heaven , tribulation, and salvation.  Bobby recognized his need for forgiveness of his sins and wanted to become a Christian.  Later that night he prayed to receive Jesus.

Ben was the kind of kid that approached every thing with a negative attitude. On Wednesday after he had finished swimming in the lake he turned to his counselor and said “This is the greatest day EVER”.

Seven year old Alexus loved participating in all the activities.  Seeing her go down the zip-line without any fear was amazing. In her letter to God she says: I love you when I was at this camp. I learned so much about you and that you are powerful.  I am thankful for me and I am glad you made me. I want you to come be  in my heart.

Gabriel who is eleven wrote:  RFKC has great teachers everywhere. I like this family camp because I like the Breakfast Club.  But most of all is the teachers.

These are just a few of the many stories from camp this year.  I have worked with this camp for four years and I will continue to volunteer as long as God allows me to help.  We plant many seeds during this week and we will not always see the fruit but it is so rewarding to see the happy faces on the campers.

Maybe next year will be your year to volunteer in some capacity. If you love for children then this ministry is for you.

Felicitas

Another great day in the field.  I am so proud to be a part of this team.  The tenacity with which they have attacked this project is amazing.  The amount of work to be done is overwhelming, but it is nice to know that by the grace of God we have been able to help, if even a little.

This morning we got the chance to work with an amazing man named Dave who was trying to recover from the tornado and put his life back in order.  We spent the morning working and sweating, listening and encouraging and then, as it was time to leave, the most amazing thing happened… he asked us if he could pray FOR us.  How humbling.  It was a great reminder of what we were really here to do.

In the afternoon we worked at a church that was totally destroyed by the tornado.  The church was a total loss, but we had the most inspiring conversation with the pastor of the church who has a HUGE vision for what the community will be rebuilt into.  What an honor to be able to get the local church back on her feet so she can serve the community like only the Church is equipped to do.

Keep praying!!  God is doing great things in us and around us.  I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.  More to come.

Aaron.

What an awesome week.  We had our first day in the field yesterday, and it was more than any of us were prepared to see.  It is tough to get your mid around the devastation.  Pictures and news stories don’t really capture the magnitude of the damage the tornado brought with it.  The final count is 6200 home destroyed which is equal to roughly 21% of the population and 75% of the single family homes destroyed in one afternoon.  It is unreal.

That said, our God is good and the people of Joplin are amazing.  We have heard nothing but story after story of hope, faith, and determination.  The incredible people here are teaching us so much about priorities and faith.  The Lord is really on the move, and we are so humbled to be even a small part.

Thank you for your prayers, and please, keep them coming.  There have already been over 400,000 volunteers on the ground here in Joplin, but the need is so great and this work will take so many more.  Pray that God would continue to provide.

Humbled and Blessed-
Aaron