Web of Blessings

Today, December 23, is the Emperor of Japan’s birthday. It is therefore a bank holiday here and we saw the rare occasion of someone flying a Japanese flag (without getting into too many details, since WWII, flying a flag tends to have connotations of nationalism and harkens back to Japan’s more violent imperialist days, so very rarely do we see flags flying here). Anyway, when I explained to Kai that today was the “King of Japan’s” birthday (simplified for 3 year old understanding), he said, “It’s Christmas?” I explained, “No, the day after tomorrow is Christmas.” Kai replied, “But you said it was the King’s birthday. And God is the King!” Wow! I guess he told me! My little logical guy had me there… Good job, Little Lambs Preschool! :o)

For two mornings in a row since we had the café event, Dan and I have arrived to people waiting to come in before 10 a.m.! Good news spreads quickly and people are excited that we are able to help them by distributing the quilts. Many express surprise when they hear about the generous outpouring of love by the Canadian and American women who made these quilts, but the resounding emotion is gratitude. Very solemn bows and formal Japanese “thank yous” are expressed many times over by the recipients. At this point, there are only 3 adult-size quilts and 4 child-size quilts left to distribute. Pastor Wordell’s delivery of the next 120 quilts can’t come fast enough!

As I post these blogs regarding the quilts, Jackie Hieb (a former missionary’s wife and major player in the quilt project) has shared the link to my blog to many women who made quilts. In return she has passed along to me the replies and responses she has received. It has been really fun to hear some of the stories behind the quilts.

For example, this morning I received an email from Karen Goetzinger. She’s a member of St. Paul in Ottawa, Canada, and the quilt donation project was originally her idea. The concept snowballed and ended up with Jackie and LWMS (Lutheran Women’s Missions Society).

 She emailed me after noticing the picture in yesterday’s blog of the label.  On that particular quilt was also a label that said “Ann Bird”. The quilt was dated 1978 and was hand-signed (visible in the picture). I learned this morning from Karen that Ann Bird is a famous Canadian quilter who, while not a member of St. Paul, felt compelled to donate one of her works of art. Karen said she was “really touched by her desire to give us one of her quilts.” Here in Japan, that very quilt (without the background story known at all, up until this point!) was selected by Mrs. Sato – the Kessenuma resident who is a member of the church in Tokyo and is helping the volunteers with the center’s mission! It’s so amazing to see how these pieces come together in the end… and I hope that Karen will pass this information along to Ms. Bird and tell her that her quilt was well received and will be used by Mrs. Sato for many years!

Tokyo women display Ann Bird's quilt

The emails Jackie and I have received repeat the same message – that the women who worked on these quilts in North America are being blessed in return by learning how much of a difference their work has made here in Japan. This “web of blessing” as I’ve begun to call it gets more and more intricate everyday.

When Dan and I first considered bringing our family of four back to Japan, we knew this trip would touch us, the Satos, and a segment of the population of Kessenuma. However, since arriving, I have realized what a limited view I had regarding the extent that lives could be changed – simply by us heeding God’s calling in our lives! The women from the church in Tokyo were encouraged in their faith and got the opportunity to actively reach out to others in need, but they also really inspired me as a young Christian woman. I’ve realized how strong my passion is for foreign missions, even despite the challenges they present. Our extended families have been affected – I know my mom, especially, is missing us for Christmas and wishes we could be home, but she also has told me that she has been able to focus on a more intimate preparation for the season – focusing on the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus, rather than being distracted by the chaos of shopping and cooking and checklists! Likewise, our friends and family have gotten a closer look at the continuing needs of the Japanese people and have expressed a desire to help. I’m excited to know what the end results on this will be (and we’ll have more information to come as the details all start to fall into place). But more importantly, I have realized that my blog has been a catalyst to bless others, to encourage others to act! And those written responses of “What can I do?” have encouraged us yet again in our mission here.

The web grows and grows every day, as we meet new people, I share new stories, and we face new challenges. With each new experience in this journey, a two-way bond is created and each person is blessed. It is amazing (and humbling!) to be at the center of this web for a time and see the complexities of life coming together for the good of God’s Kingdom. May the Lord use my family for His will!

The Café... from the Japanese Viewpoint

Tonight I received this translation of a report written by Tanaka-san, one of the women who came up to help with the "café" yesterday and wanted to share some of it with you. While it is frustrating to me to not be able to understand so much of what people are saying here, it is wonderful to get reports like this that give so much more depth to what is going on around me. I'm inserting some of the pictures they took of the day yesterday as well.

The four of us accomplished our tasks and returned safely to our homes about 9 PM tonight (December 21st).  It was a hard schedule and we are a little tired, but we are all thankful that the fruits of our work were greater than we imagined.  We returned home, rejoicing in all the blessings that God gave during our two days.

We arrived in Kesennuma at 10:59 AM (December 20).  It was snowing, and it was cold.  We delivered tracts, cleaned up the center, and made preparations for the coffee hour ("cafe") taking place the next day.  Because the sign in front of the center was not all that easy to see and read, we quickly made a new handwritten sign. We also decorated the center to give it a feeling of Christmas.

The signs in the window for the center and the event

Tankaka-san (left) and Miyazaki-san

The "café"

 On the day of the cafe, we were blessed with fine weather beginning already in the morning.  With joy we entered the center about 9 AM and got ready for people to come.  We cleaned up some more and arranged on plates the homemade Christmas cookies, poundcake, stollen, etc. which we had brought from Tokyo.  We prepared the coffee, tea, and other drinks and waited for guests to come.

The spread... seriously yummy confections!

The LECC label sewn onto the back of each quilt

Right at the open (10 AM) a woman stopped in on her way to the hospital.  When we showed her the quilts that our American ladies had made in the US, she expressed surprise at such warm kindness.  With a thankful attitude she looked at the quilts and picked out one she liked.  She thanked us many times as she went on her way to the hospital.  There is a tag on the back of the quilts that has the name of the LECC and a message of encouragement.  It can easily be seen through the clear plastic bags.  We point that out to people and then turn the bag upside down so they can see the spectacular colors and patterns of the quilts.  When they have chosen a quilt, we also put in a copy of the booklet Kibou (Hope) and a short explanation about the opening of our center.  

(Left to right) Kato-san, Kai, our second visitor of the day, Miyazaki-san, and Tanaka-san

Another of the quilt recipients with Tankaka-san (right)

The second person who came said, "Coming here to talk to you seemed like more fun than waiting at the hospital, so I decided to drop in."  She was also very happy to be able to choose a quilt and said, "It is hard to believe that people in the world would be so kind to do something like this."  She also said, "These are the best snacks I have ever eaten."  She happily talked to us for quite a while, thanked us many times, and then returned to the hospital.  We went with her to the door to send her on her way and noticed that right away she was saying something to someone who was passing by.  Sure enough, that person came in to the center.  In this way, by word of mouth, people came in one after another.  We started the day with 44 quilts at the center and we were able to distribute 23 of them.  There are 21 left. (Note: many are scheduled to arrive on the 27th.)  There is a sign-up sheet for the people who received a quilt, but we did not put pressure on them to do this.  Some were cautious and wrote only their name, without writing their address and phone number.  One person did not want to write even their name.   

When we had gone to the center to get it ready in October, we had bought something at the little pottery shop down near the city offices.  We had not stopped in because the store and the goods looked great; instead, we wanted to help the local economy by buying a little something.  In casual conversation with the shop owner that day we heard from him that he had lost his mother and his wife in the tsunami on March 11.  Wanting to encourage him, with Pastor Wordell's approval, Mrs. Miyazaki and I chose what we thought would be the best one for a man and walked to his shop with it.   He is a man in his 60's or 70's.  When we entered his shop, he remembered us from our visit in October.  

He was so happy that people would pour time and love into quilts and send them to Japan, and he was pleased that we hand-delivered one to him.  He invited us from the shop-part of his building into the home-part of his building for a visit.  We told him we had stopped by our way to buy lunch for the workers (and visitors) at the center, and not wanting to impose, we told him we could not visit long.  As he sent us on our way, he thanked us. We could see that he was trying to fight back the tears.

I will write a few of the things we felt about our trip to Kesennuma this time.

1)  We heard from a couple people, "Even if we know the day and time when relief goods are being distributed, there are many people who cannot get there to pick them up."  Some of them are working alone and can't leave their shop.  Some of are not well enough to go out.  Some of them are too old to go out on their own.  Some people have no way of getting there.  It would be good if we had a way to deliver things to them.  

2)  Many people are looking for someone who will just listen to them.  They are looking especially for people from outside the Tohoku area to come and talk to them.  Because people who live there have different ways of thinking about the disasters, it is difficult for them to say to each other the things they want to say.  (Outsiders can remain neutral and just listen.)

(Left to right) Miyazaki-san, Mr. and Mrs. Komatsu, Kato-san and Kai

3)  The cafe today was scheduled to be until 2:30 PM, but right at that time a married couple (Komatsu-san) came from a nearby prefab housing community.  The husband said that about 100 of the people living in that housing community do not have enough winter clothing.  They are trying to withstand the cold by putting on many thin layers of clothes and socks. 

4)  Mrs. Sato (our member who lives right next door to the center) was not feeling well enough to visit with us the first day, but did participate the day of the cafe.  Also the person who lives across the street and another neighbor joined us for lunch (rice balls and sandwiches), and we enjoyed friendly conversation.  The next door neighbor brought us pickles and dried persimmon.  They said that it had been a while since they could just sit and visit with others in the neighborhood.  We were very happy they came.

We are thankful for the Jaspersens who were willing to come from a long ways away, in winter, with their children, to do relief work in Japan.  We are thankful for all the opportunities the Lord is providing.  May He bless our Christian witness!

This is my rather long report.

Tanaka Chiharu

Work in Earnest

Wow. Today I felt like we finally begun what we came to do. The women from the Tokyo church hosted the "café" today and we had the opportunity to give away two dozen quilts and meet nearly as many people, ranging in age from 10 months to elderly, each affected by the tsunami in different ways. It was so touching to see their faces as they realized the generosity the American churches showed to them by making these quilts to give away (for FREE!!!) and the graciousness of the Japanese Christian women welcoming them and serving them tea, coffee, and homemade Christmas cookies.

 

 

The 44 quilts that had already arrived up here were out on display (including one Christmas one they hung on the wall for decoration!) for the visitors to look through and choose.

Takahashi-san played Christmas hymns and the ladies sang along with a few for our guests while they enjoyed their treats. A small music book with the hymns were sent with each visitor today. We also had gifts from the Sunday School classes at the church in Tokyo for the kids.

Even Kai and Niko got in on the friend-making! Hiro-kun was 10 months old and Ririka-chan is about 1 month younger than Kai. She was super shy, but Kai finally broke the ice and they played with his ball for a long time. They also enjoyed paper airplanes and coloring. She and her mother are planning to return to the center tomorrow for some more play time and conversation! :o)

Each person to walk through the door had a story about how March 11 had changed their lives. Takahashi-san was able to translate a few of them for me so I could share them here.

The first woman to come in this morning stopped by while on a trip to the doctor (she was a little sick). Basically everything she and her husband owned had washed away in the tsunami, so she lives with her husband, daughter, and grandchildren all in the same residence. However, her husband is refusing to buy a new car... he doesn't want to start over and feels they don't need it. So all their transportation is done by foot, train, bus, and taxi. That may not seem too far fetched for Japan, but this is not a big city at all and is quite spread out. Her trip to the doctor is now an all-day affair. She was so astounded that she could take a quilt for herself and for her daughter for nothing in return.

Another woman stopped by a few minutes later. Her story was a bit different. Her family's place of business and home was spared, but they had recently taken out a loan to buy a warehouse for the extra nori (edible seaweed) that they sell. The entire building and its contents were destroyed... and it wasn't insured. They now owe the bank ¥22,000,000 ($282,770) for a non-existent building and very little to sell to pay back the money.

The last couple to come in today was living in one of the temporary housing units located behind city hall. Like all the residents at the housing unit, their house had been totally destroyed and they had very little of their personal belongings any more. They picked out a beautiful quilt (the very first one I looked at while sorting the other day, actually!) and had some coffee. As we spoke with the husband and wife we learned they had no winter clothes. It has been quite cold here - down in to the 20s F and damp and windy, with intermittent snow. The Tokyo ladies became determined to collect or buy them some clothes to send up with Pastor Wordell next week... and then we found out that pretty much all 99 people living in the temporary housing are in the same predicament.

It's a big prayer, but I'm lifting this problem up to God to help us provide for this community in additional ways. The quilts are SUCH a blessing, but it seems there are so MANY different needs here, including basic needs like coats, gloves, hats, and scarves. Perhaps a clothing/coat drive back at home would help fill the need? I know Sierra Trading Post (Dan's employer) is going to be giving the mission here a significant discount...perhaps we could see if they'd extend that to people at home wishing to donate new clothes. Hmmm. A definite discussion to be had with STP, I think. Dan and I are going to brainstorm tonight and tomorrow on how others might further help the people of Kessenuma. More to come soon, I hope.

One of the coolest moments of the day, however came when the woman with the huge debt was leaving. She said she had never experienced a true Christmas experience before today. It was humbling to see the pure joy on her face as she hugged the quilt to her chest and said thank you as she left. I'm so honored to be a part of this project.

Demolishing the Need-to-be-in-Control-Monster

This morning when I woke up, I was filled with dread. Dan was heading to Tokyo overnight for work-related meetings for STP and I was going to play "single mom" of two kiddos for the first time since Niko was born. In addition to that, I knew that four women from the Tokyo congregation were coming up to help spread the word about the center, but I hadn't heard any details beyond that... What time were they coming? Did I need to go pick them up at the train station? Were they going to be looking to me for a game plan? Would I have to fake my non-existant tea- and coffee-making skills? I had heard two of them spoke English, but how well did that mean? What if my Japanese wasn't good enough to communicate? What if Kai and Niko had "a day" today? And, as it was snowing again, and Niko is sick, was I going to be expected to go out and help distribute fliers or was I going to be staying at the center? Were we eating together or was I on my own for meals? I was driving myself crazy and headed into depression day number three. Not an awesome way to wake up.

We said good by to Dan by 8:30 a.m. and I put my big girl shoes on... no getting around it today, I had to just do my thing. And thankfully the first (perhaps most important) question was answered as I walked in the door of the center. Mrs. Sato (whom I hadn't seen since last Wednesday) thankfully was in the office and told me the ladies from Tokyo were arriving at 11:30. OK. So I need to occupy Kai for an hour and a half and get Niko to sleep for a little bit in his car seat. I could do that!

So when 11:30 rolled around and the women walked up the stairs, I breathed a sigh of relief to meet them. The English speakers were VERY good and the Japanese speakers were patient with me. They had all their plans worked out and I chased Kai and Niko while they did their thing. Apparently they are hosting a "café" tomorrow, inviting the community to come in and see the space and take a quilt if they need one (much like our version of an open house, but "fancier" with tea and cookies... our old church here in Miyagi used to do that too when they'd have their annual festival. Maybe it's a Japanese church thing?) So they walked around the neighborhood and handed out fliers about the café and the center, inviting people to come. I stayed behind and played with the boys since it was snowing pretty heavily at that point.

Kato-san, a woman in her late fifties with a quick smile, was one of the two English speakers. She got done first with distributing fliers, so she and I got to practice her English a little bit. She lived in the US for about 3 1/2 years and was thrilled to speak English with me. It was nice to have someone to reference my Japanese phrases with... so far we haven't had anyone to talk with much here. Kai made good friends with her and walked back to the hotel for lunch (I drove since I had Niko's car seat and he was headed back to nap-land soon anyway). Kato-san said Kai didn't stop talking the entire way home! This was a big deal to me, as Kai has been refusing to talk to anyone and will physically turn away or hide from people who talk to him. He finally found his footing and is closer to his usual boisterous self. He even learned and used a new Japanese phrase, "Matta, ne!" (See you later!) Definitely an answer to prayer. I need my little guy to be actively involved too!

The other English speaker was Takahashi-san. I'd place her in her mid-thirties and I immediately liked her. She's nearly a peer, I guess, but she was very gracious and balanced well my following the conversation in Japanese with filling in where I missed. She has a good intuitive sense about that. I so much appreciate that quality in a person. I got the impression that she, in particular, was intrigued by Niko. Finally for the first time this trip, I've really felt welcome with my children (not just on display or a nuisance). I really needed that.

We ate lunch at the café on the first floor of the hotel where we're staying. The pilaf was SO good. I'll definitely be revisiting that dish again. They had curry on the menu as well as a few other things, so we'll have to try the café out again later this trip. After we ate, the ladies went back to the office and I took the boys upstairs for the rest of the afternoon. Kai settled in to a movie and I played with Niko. It was a nice, laid back afternoon, spent in the warm confines of our hotel room... I'm not going to lie, too many hours in the spacious but cold office heated by kerosene heaters that let off fumes that give me headaches isn't my favorite thing in the world, but it's part of Japanese life. When we walked into the office this morning it was 4 degrees C (that's only 39 degrees F, for those of you without a converter handy). Brrrrrrr!!!!

So then the real fun started. I got the boys ready to go pick up the women to go eat dinner together. We, as usual were running a few minutes late, and I knew I had to rearrange the car seats to accommodate the women in the van. But for some reason that is STILL a mystery to me, the sliding door would NOT open. I initially thought it was frozen shut, but that didn't seem to be the case. I tried manually unlocking it, I tried opening it from the inside, I tried pulling my entire weight on the outside (fearing big time that the handle would break off --not a far fetched fear, as our car that we had when we lived here did that very thing and cost us over $100 to fix!) But NOTHING would open the door. Plus I had to put Niko in the very, very back row, so there was a good deal of me grunting and tugging and stepping and stretching over rows of seats in the van to get the car seat base installed and then get Niko's car seat actually snapped in place. In the dark. With Kai commentating the entire time. Oh my word, heaven help me if they had a security camera on the parking lot... I can hear the hotel staff busting a gut...

And then the ladies, who had been waiting outside for an extra 15 minutes in the cold, all had to climb in (with their luggage, no less) through the passenger-side door over the seats, one of whom ended up in the back row with Niko; two squeezed next to Kai and then the one who speaks no English "navigated" for me. It was ridiculous. I was completely embarrassed, but totally mystified why in the WORLD the door won't open.

So once we all finally got situated in the car, we set off to a (for lack of a better name) "tiny-eatery village." Which happened to be in the tsunami zone, so there were no stop lights, very few street lights, and was incredibly dark. Dark, that is, until you turn the corner and then there's a ton of red lanterns and a Christmas tree made with fishing apparatus and flashing Christmas lights. It was pretty impressive. There were a dozen or more small restaurants (each seating 15 people or less) each specializing in different kinds of food, including ramen, tuna dishes, Korean, sushi, udon, and even a shot bar called "Stray Sheep" (I joked maybe we should set up camp there and hand out the center's fliers to the lost sheep!) Apparently there are a few of these "villages" in town... I'm now on a self-appointed mission to try as many of these places as I can. Tonight we ate at the udon vendor and seriously... the BEST udon I've ever had.

I think the coolest part about these little restaurants is that many of them are tsunami victims that have found a way to make money for their families as the city recovers. The udon guy, for example used to work in a shark filet shop (a very prosperous industry, as I understand it) with his father when the earthquake hit. They managed to escape the tsunami, but their business was completely washed away. He studied how to make udon and opened this shop. By eating and spending our yen there, we can support the recovering economy of Kessenuma and touch individual lives. Definitely done with the chain restaurants as much as possible now that we've finally discovered these (yet another benefit to having native-speakers come help out - they can ask the right questions for us... and get the answers that a Japanese person would want, not what the presumed answer a gaijin would want!) It was great to talk to this young man - he was only 6 months younger than I am - and learn parts of his story. I hope that perhaps we could develop a friendship with him... he's married to a Chinese woman and has a toddler too. I cannot wait to bring Dan to meet him (and I'll do a blog dedicated to the art of making udon with pictures... it was pretty cool to watch!)

Then after we finished dinner it was climb back into the car time (we ended up putting Niko in through the hatchback, over the back seat but fought with the handle of his carrier twice... and he screamed and screamed most of the way home, poor little guy - and poor ladies who had to be subjected to it!) Then it was my task to drive to the hotel in the pitch black to which we didn't exactly know how to get. Crazy. Kind of scary. But we made it and I somehow safely navigated back to our hotel... where the parking lot was FULL! Thankfully the hotel guy came out about then and he opened up a spot for me to park. Then it was monkey OUT of the car with Niko's carrier from the back through the front and make sure Kai didn't get run over by the 3 other cars looking for a spot to park all at the same time. We managed to get up to the room without too much to-do after that and the boys headed to bed without too much of a fight. Yay!

Holy smokes. What a day. But all my worries and stresses that I woke up with were taken care of and my mood was totally uplifted by these wonderful women that traveled all the way up from Tokyo. I can't wait to see what adventures and blessings tomorrow brings (aside from trying to figure out what is wrong with the van door...!)

Parade of the Gaijin

There are so many things that I love about Japan. Dan and I lived here at a very formative time in our lives and it played a huge role in developing us into the adults that we are today. I can close my eyes and see some of the things that are dearest to my heart, whether that be individual people, the bamboo and cedar covered mountains, or my favorite foods. A part of me is truly Japanese in many ways and we are so blessed and excited to be back here this month.

However, today was a stark reminder of the other side of what my Japanese life was really like. We needed to do some grocery shopping, so we headed to Aeon. On a Sunday afternoon. Ooooiiiii. I think half the city of Kessenuma was there. It was SO crowded. That in and of itself rarely bothers me, but today was a bit much for me. I felt like I was leading my family with pasty white skin, big blue and green eyes, and "tall" noses through the store for everyone to gawk at and practice their beginner English phrases.

Alright, so perhaps that is a bit harsh. They really can't help noticing us, as we are four gaijin (including two young children) wandering around the inaka (countryside). And that's WHY our mission will make a greater impact. But there are days that this affects me more strongly than others, and unfortunately today was "a day."  It makes me wonder if the apostles ever felt that way as they spread out and shared the gospel in foreign lands. Perhaps more so, as they were frequently facing imprisonment or death for doing God's work. So my little bout of selfishness really looks petty in the grand scheme of God's plan.

These feelings, however, were exacerbated by the fact that Kai was absolutely refusing to even look at anyone who tried to talk to him (his "Don't talk to strangers" lesson maybe sunk in a little too deeply), my Japanese language skills took a nosedive this weekend, and Dan (whom I love very, very much) was back to the cool Japanese speaking, magic performing gaijin status, making friends with anyone who came within 10 feet of him. It's horrible to feel jealous of your own spouse...and I struggled with that for four years when we lived here the first time!

But I do think that God created us with feelings for a reason and today I felt... well, I felt frustrated. I felt out of control of the situation, I felt homesick, and I felt different. "In the country but not of the country" of sorts, I suppose. Up until today, I had only seen glimmers of these emotions that I remember from before, and perhaps a part of me hoped that because this trip is so short, I'd be excited and in the honeymoon phase of traveling, that somehow these things wouldn't bother me. But today they did, which was very disheartening, particularly since we're only one of five weeks into our mission!

As a new alien in a foreign land 6 1/2 years ago, I learned to identify with heaven being our true home. The discomfort we feel on earth is always going to burden us on some level until we can say our final "tadaima" and embrace our Savior in the land where tears and pain are absent. Going back to America won't be THAT good (I still have bills to pay and cleaning to do... two things that will DEFINITELY not be on the agenda in heaven!), but I do look forward to sleeping in my own bed, doing laundry for pennies in my own basement, and being able to go grocery shopping in anonymity!

Until that return, though, I need to re-learn how to seize the opportunity of being such a rarity here. An extra dose of patience will be needed some days, but I pray that God use ME, with my own talents and varying skill levels, to do His work and to help me close my cynical eyes and keep breathing because my time here is short.

Lord, help me. Amen.