We are Wayne and Amy Newsome, Mission to the World church planting missionaries in Nagoya, Japan. That's been our 'title' for 20 years or so...so this is not a new journey for us. But it never grows old, because God continues to surprise us with unexpected turns, beautiful vistas, interesting layovers and various happenings that keep us on the path, moving forward. Our purpose is to see His glory revealed through the church in Japan and beyond. We hope this blog is a place to ponder, report, muse and express our wonder in the Gospel in our own hearts and in the hearts of the Japanese.
We are approaching our 21st anniversary of arriving in Japan, and our quest to master the Japanese language is ongoing. This year we've added words to our vocabulary we never expected to need: nuclear reactor, meltdown, radiation, cesium, miliseverts, mudout, hard labor, supplies, supply runs, etc.
Another word we've heard a lot about since 3-11 is 'kizuna', which means bonds, relationship, connection.
In fact, 'kizuna' was recently selected as the word of the year in Japan. This year Japanese have become aware of the importance of 'kizuna' in a new way. For many, they've lost family members, friends, co-workers, and they deeply miss and grieve for the loved ones who are gone. Many, many have been displaced from their homes--the loss of community has left them feeling lost and disconnected, leading to depression, loneliness and isolation. Others, whose family was spared, have realized how precious those bond are, and they treasure their loved ones more than ever.
I've been thinking about the 'kizuna' or bonds that we have in Christ. It goes beyond that of location, or common experience, or even family. It's a bond that has been purchased with the life, death and resurrection of Christ. It ties us together as believers around the world, and even more, it ties us into the very family of God--with Jesus, our elder brother. Most amazing, it's a bond that is eternal. Nothing--no natural disaster or any other tragedy we can imagine--can break the bond we have as brothers and sisters in Christ...or the promise of eternity together in perfect, complete 'kizuna' with God himself.
I'm thankful for the 'kizuna' we enjoy now as a family, as a body of believers, and as fellow sojourners in this life. but it's just a small foretaste of all that is to come. This Christmas I rejoice in the "kizuna' God has made possible in Christ!
It's been three weeks since our team of 17 went to Ishinomaki, Miyagi and spent a week with the relief work...I wanted to write about our trip right away, but it's taken me this long to sit down and do it. There are several reasons for that--busy life demands, virus-infested computer, etc--but the biggest reason has more to do with the work than the excuses. The time I have spent with relief work over the last few months have been some of the most intense experiences I've ever had. It's not easy to put those things into words, especially when I can't even get my mind/heart around them internally. So I still am feeling those procrastinating-urges...but here is my attempt to communicate.
Our team's buzz word was 'flexibility'. We knew as we prepared that we may not be able to use any of our preparations. What did we prepare, you ask? We were expecting to be in the elementary schools of Onagawa Town...perhaps seeing 400 students over the course of the week, doing an 'immersion' English experience for them. So we planned for that: skit, games, crafts, English lessons, sports, and music. It was fun! We met around 4 times pre-trip, and put together a lot of good material--every team member contributed. We got the church involved with the craft prep--we even had the church kids help make banners for the Onagawa school kids. So we worked really hard on preparation. I kept reminding everyone that we might not get to use all of this--the plan hadn't been set, and wouldn't be until the last minute, so we needed to hold our plans and expectations loosely, trusting that God would open the right doors for our time there.
Good advice, and everyone took it, everyone except me, that is! On the trip up, I got a phone call saying that we wouldn't be meeting 400 students...but around 55; we wouldn't be in the schools everyday...but only once, for 45 minutes; we wouldn't be creating the English immersion environment with our ideas...but the school had planned the time for us and we would just implement it. WHAT?!!?!! But...but...but...
After I got over my disappointment, it was a great reminder of a basic lesson in missions: there is a great arrogance in going into a new place (whether it's a new culture, church town, or whatever) with an agenda of all we have to offer. God calls us to be servants...and a servant responds to the requests and demands of the one he serves. What a wonderful opportunity for me to repent and renew my commitment to be a servant of Christ in the Tohoku region.
The time in the school, by the way, was bathed in the grace and goodness of God--so many people were praying for us, and it was so apparent in how the event unfolded. We partnered with a team of wonderful ladies from the Midwest, and the 22 of us spent a wonderful time with the 3rd graders of Onagawa. These kids almost all live in evacuation centers, and are in an incredibly stressful environment--can you imagine waking up everyday and being surrounded by the complete devastation/rubble of your entire town? That is their reality--here are some scenes of their town:
Heartbreaking. But those kids we met showed the resilience and heart of little warriors. On the surface they looked normal--like kids you meet any day in anyplace, Japan. Just below the surface, though, you could sense a whole lot more. But they entered into the time with us with joy and enthusiasm--it was really a special hour.
Other than these few, I still haven't gotten the pictures from this event--we designated photographers--so I hope to do another post on this event alone. It was the last day of our trip, and a fitting end--we saw God work and do beyond what we imagined he could do through this time.
Back to the rest of the trip. Our mission is narrowing our focus to the city of Ishinomaki, and specifically, to the Watanoha and Koganehama area. Here is a map of the region:
We spent Saturday with our MTW partners from Tokyo doing a feeding and open market. Every week they have been setting up at an empty lot or nearby community center in Koganehama to serve this community. Many people in the area are in a category that falls between the cracks of the system. Their homes are still standing--some people are actually living on the 2nd floor--and because of that, they are not receiving the same kind of aid that others are. And yet, the vast majority of them have lost their jobs, their homes are ruined, and they too look ahead to the future with much uncertainty and fear. And so they need supplies, food and aid of all kinds. It was a privilege to meet these residents and hear their stories. They are sad stories. These are people who don't know what the future holds. I was struck with the pain of having everything stripped away--all your material possessions, your work, your livelihood, your loved ones--and being left with nothing. I've never had that experience--99% of the people I know never have either. And yet along with the pain I can't help but believe there is a privilege in this condition--to be left with nothing forces you to ask what is really important, what really matters. In the midst of the ugliness of utter brokenness, when the beauty of Christ is revealed, there is nothing left to distract, nothing to interfere with being able to gaze upon his beauty. We pray this is so for the people of Tohoku, of Miyagi Prefecture, of Ishinomaki City,and of Watanoha and Koganehama. Here are some scenes from that day:
We fed around 300 people that day--the menu was yakisoba,which is a grilled meat, vegetable and noodle dish. Once we got the hang of it--particularly the spices--people seemed to enjoy it. (Not that I would know--I spent the entire day with my head down, cutting vegetables and grilling!) These same people also waited patiently in line for the open market, where our team set up a system of receiving supplies--fresh vegetables, clothes, other items. Some of the people had been lined up when we arrived at 9:00 a.m.--for a 12:00 event. That may not seem like a big deal, but it really caught me by surprise. Japanese culture is fast paced, busy, hectic...I couldn't have imagined people waiting 3 hours for simple food and 'shopping'--another reminder that everything has changed--everything--for these precious people.
There is a lot left to tell. The most encouraging time of the trip was the work we did with Samaritan's Purse. I think I'll save that story for another day. I'll close with some pictures of our team, our campsite, and our fellowship. This group was AWESOME. I never once heard anyone complain about anything--and there was plenty of fodder for complaints! (pit toilets, hard ground for sleeping, uncertain plans, hard labor, hot temperatures, and other little frustrations along the way) Every member of the team worked hard, shared their gifts, and contributed to the fellowship and unity in Christ we experienced. I love my team! It was a privilege to go through this experience in Tohoku with them--a small taste of the beauty of the body of Christ as it works together to serve God.
Well, I guess that is all for now...ahhhh...so much unsaid. Oh well, to God be the glory--great things HE has done and is doing!
Mrs. F was born and raised in the seaside town of Kamaishi. She lived with her husband in a home near the sea, and her 89 year old mother lived in the 3rd floor apartment of their restaurant, located in the main part of town. I don't know much about her life before March 11, 2011, but here's what happened to her town on that day.
When we arrived in Kamaishi, at the New Life Church, we were asked to go over to Mrs. F's place and to help her with the cleanup. We got there, and our first task was carrying liquor bottles from the wrecked inside, separating them into opened bottles (trash) and unopened bottles (keepers). Several of us got to work on this, carrying them out, and beginning to clean off the bottles she wanted to keep. It struck me as a little strange that our first task in Kamaishi was working with a vast number of liquor bottles, but we wanted to do whatever the church asked us to do, so we didn't question it. Here's some of what that looked like.
Here's Mrs. F, watching as we bring things out of the house, adding to the pile of rubble in the street:
On most walls of her place, the wallboard and siding was gone, leaving the steel frame exposed, and many of those steel beams were bent or broken:
As we worked, I thought about the crash course in post traumatic stress I had received from a member of our church, a counselor, and so I asked Mrs. F, "Where were you when the tsunami came?" She told me the story of her rushing upstairs to get her mother, then moving as fast as they could through town, around 6-8 blocks away, to the hill beside the church. With the water lapping at the backs of their legs, they joined the other people hurrying up the hill, and they all pushed and pulled her mother, and somehow escaped the wave. But with a rush of tears, she said that her husband had been lost; he was at home alone with the tsunami struck, and his body was found that night. I just cried with her, hugged her, and promised that we would do all we could to help her with the immense clean up job before her.
Pastor Yanagiya of New Life Church met Mrs. F in the shelter; he too is living there, as the manse is unlivable, like much of the town. As he meets people like Mrs. F, who've lost the men in their lives, he's able to direct the volunteers (like our team) to help with the hard, dirty, and seemingly hopeless job they have. Here's some of our team with Pastor Yanagiya (in the white coat):
As we spent time with him, sleeping on the second floor of his church, talking with him around the fire under the tent in the church yard, I came to admire this man and his heart for his city. I kept asking myself what WE would do if we were in his situation. What if OUR home had been heavily damaged, OUR town destroyed, OUR church called on to be a place of refuge, when we ourselves needed refuge as well? I don't know what we would do, but Pastor Yanagiya is loving his city in the midst of great suffering--he's showing the love of Christ in very practical, tangible ways: they have a sign out front with a list of all the supplies they have available; he's sending workers to stand shoulder to shoulder with the needy; he's dreaming and thinking of ways he can do more to serve the people of Kamaishi.
Yesterday Wayne and another pastor left with a 4 ton truck, heading to Kamaishi. Today they unloaded all 4 tons of supplies at the Christian kindergarten in town, and began helping with the clean up of that place. The kindergarten principal was overwhelmed with the generosity of the people of Nagoya, sending so much so far to the people of his town.
As we worked at Mrs. F's place, and others, I think each member of our team began to realize that much of the physical work we were doing was really meaningless. As much as Mrs. F wants to just clean up and get back to business, her building is destroyed and will almost certainly have to be torn down. But just as meaningless as the actual work may have been, the doing of that work, side by side, with her, was full of meaning. She felt comfort, encouragement and hope for the future, something the people of Kamaishi and other Japanese coastal residents desperately need. Her connection with the New Life Church was established, and it's our hope and prayer that this will be the beginning of new life for Mrs. F...new life in Christ.
It was really humbling and overwhelming to go and spend time in Kamaishi. But I was just a representative of hundreds of people in Nagoya who have contributed to our relief efforts. What a beautiful thing it is to see the body of Christ coming together for a time like this. Please watch this clip, and pray for this beautiful thing to continue as we love the people of eastern Japan:
This is Mr. Hasegawa, the angel in disguise, in Sendai helping to organize and distribute donations.
We are so new at this, we have know idea what we are doing--and yet there's a very real sense of God's great guiding hand leading us despite the path being so unknown. The reports are all saying that while the need for supplies continues, especially in some places, there is an increasing need for personal ministry to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. So yesterday as we sent off our fifth truck of supplies--this one headed for Ishinomaki, one of the towns swept away by the tsunami--we began planning our sixth, with a shift in focus. We've had a great partnership with Hope International--between our supplies and theirs, we have delivered over 10 tons to the region. And now, God has lifted up a new truck source, via our friend Mark Magnusson, a missionary who has a church network and kindergarten (where all five of our kids went!). Mark is jumping in to partner with us. So this Monday we will send two trucks of supplies and one van of people, going to partner with two churches in Iwate Prefecture, one of which is right in the tsunami-stricken area. We've decided to send some women on this trip, as the personal ministry side is becoming more important. I will get to be a part of this team, though quite honestly, not without some fear and trepidation. I'm very aware of my lack of true understanding of the horrors and loss these dear people have experienced. Are there any words, any at all, that can touch the depth of their pain?
This too, just as the logistics have been, will be an area where I believe God will do a great work. There are no human words that can reach into the hearts of people to save and comfort them. But God's word is rich, and empowered by his Spirit, I believe it can be effective. I believe, oh Lord, help my unbelief!
Thank you for praying for each of the 8-10 people who will be on this trip. And for those left here in Nagoya, doing the preparatory work for the next trip, scheduled for this coming Friday.
This is the Taira Fukuin Christ Church--cracks in a ll the walls, but still standing and being used as a warehouse from which the church members are serving their community with supplies.
Pastor Akira Mori, Wayne and our church member Motokuni Kannari talk about all that is happening.
This is the city office, near the church, where the town of Iwaki has sent up a water distribution point. Wayne said the saddest thins was the see the elderly struggling to carry their water back to their homes. They need manpower to help with such physical hardships.
Pastor Mori took Wayne, Moto and Hideyuki to a nursing home they are supplying, where they passed out fresh fruit we had sent, and other needed items. These are some of the scenes on the way.
The nursing home is on the shore--the only thing that saved it and the residents was a building that stood between them and the sea. The director of the home was deeply grateful for the ministry of Pastor Mori and his church. What a privilege for us to be able to help them help people in their community.
Our third truck is on it's way home from Miyagi Prefecture, one of the most devastated areas of the disaster. We've only heard bits and pieces from them, but one bit is too good to not to share. (The situation up there is much more chaotic than down in Fukushima--it's hard to tell if that is because they are getting more supplies, and it's hard to get them delivered to the needy areas, or because they are getting less and it's a more desperate situation. Nonetheless, Peter, Pastor Esaki and Pastor Kato spent a good bit of time trying to find the right place to take their supplies.)
At one point they ended up at the base camp of Food for the Hungry, Samaritan's Purse, and other aid groups. They have a good operation where they are taking supplies out from there to the needy areas. Peter said he was just starting to look around for where to start unloading when he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked across the warehouse, and who was it but Mr. Hasegawa. Yes, Mr. Hasegawa I wrote about in the last post, the stranger who appeared in our lives just the other day with 15 much needed poly tanks! Somehow he had made his way 12+ hours north, and when Peter saw him, he was directing and organizing much of the activity at this warehouse. Peter called out, "Hasegawa san!!" and he looked up, and replied, "Pe-ta san!!!" They began working together to get our supplies to the right places. Peter said Mr. Hasegawa had his angel wings tucked under his coat so nobody would see them, but we at Nisshin Church know he must be an angel sent by God.
As I've been writing, I have gotten a few phone calls. Our friends the Cummings have been on an intelligence gathering mission for two days up north of Sendai. They have settle on Ishinomaki City as the place to focus their efforts for now. They were able to meet with town and evacuation center officials, and this is a place in desperate need of aid. Our fourth truck is up there now, and have now set out from the Cummings home to head for an elementary school in Ishinomaki City. The military has reported that there are 70 refugees in that school, when in fact there are 500 people there. So there is a great need for food, water, and other supplies, which our two ton truck is full of. So Mr. Watanabe, Mr. Kato and Mr. To are on their way now, bringing great help and hope to those 500 people.
I just want to say again that we are grateful for the prayers of God's people on behalf of Japan. He is answering in ways too numerous for any of us to know--but the heartbreak and emotional and spiritual need in Eastern Japan is overwhelming. The stage for just hauling aid is coming to an end soon, by all reports. The next phase will be where people are needed to be there, to love and serve the victims, and help them begin rebuilding their lives. One of our biggest goals now needs to be getting ourselves established to be able to do that. Keep praying for us to be used as God calls in the midst of this tragedy.
But all of us working on the relief effort are experiencing our own little miracles each day. The other day I was having a conversation with someone, trying to figure out where we could find more poly tanks--18 liter tanks used for carrying kerosene for heat or diesel fuel for delivering supplies. Someone overhearing our conversation stopped to pray, asking God to provide the poly tanks we needed. Not five minutes later, the phone rang, and a total stranger, Mr. Hasegawa, was on the line to say that he was in Toyota at a home center, he had found 10 poly tanks, and could we use them? The next day he delivered those, and that night brought us five more that he had spent the day tracking down. More poly tanks poured in over the next couple of days, and today, two young men--brothers of a girl in our church--came by and took those tanks and filled them up as their donation. God answered that prayer in a way we never expected or could have imagined!
Late last night Wayne crawled into bed next to me, just home from his second trip to Iwaki, Fukushima. He was freezing cold--it took a long while for him to thaw out. He said they kept the cab of the truck really cold to help the driver stay awake. He and our precious brothers in Christ Moto Kannari and Hideyuki Goto bonded in a new way through this experience. In Iwaki we are partnering with Pastor Akira Mori, and the Taira Gospel Christ Church. I talked to Mr. Goto at one point while they were in Iwaki, and I could hear the quiver of emotion in his voice--they were along the coast, and were seeing scenes with their own eyes that up until now they had only seen on t.v. They visited a nursing home, where they gave food and diapers for the 100 residents who were living there. They gave 100 diapers, 100 bananas and 100 oranges. Those were the first fruits the residents had received since the earthquake. The director was overcome with thankfulness...no support from the government yet, only what Pastor Mori and the church had been able to bring to them.
Today was a national holiday, and the church was a beehive of activity--people bringing donations, others sorting them, packing a truck, answering the constant phone calls, writing letters and other paperwork, handling money, etc. One couple in the church went to a friends farm and picked a whole field of spinach--and then had some of the children work with them to trim, wash and package it for sending tomorrow. Others were out shopping for goods--we are finding that people are able to work through their anxiety and their stress from the ongoing crisis in Japan by getting involved . Countless people called after seeing our church website with an announcement of our relief work--months ago a seeker in the church had gotten the website started, and now God is using it as a tool to bring relief to northern Japan. We are amazed at the way all these things are coming together--once again, beyond anything we could imagine or expect.
Tonight we took our three drivers--teammate Peter and two Japanese pastors--down to the Hilton Hotel, where our partner Hope Int'l was conducting a drive to finish filling our truck with supplies. They are setting off for Sendai, further north than the two trips thus far, but the access point for some of the worst hit areas. We have contact with Food for the Hungry there, as well as our dear friends OPC missionaries the Cummings. The drivers will be in contact with them as they travel along, assessing the situation and deciding where their supplies will be best used. After all the ways we've seen God bring things together, we are confident that each thing in the shipment will be used and they will find the right place to distribute them.
Tomorrow we hope to put the children of the church to work making rice balls to take on the load that leaves tomorrow night. This will be our first trip without a missionary along--once again, we'll partner with many to fill the truck, and send these drivers to Sendai.
We are just overwhelmed with thankfulness at God's sustaining hand on us. We know that millions of people around the world praying for Japan, and we're confident God is hearing those prayers. We've seen his work so many times now, that I'm not really even worried about the many worries we have--I have a great sense of peace that God is doing something here, and he is providing for every little thing. Every morning I am waking up with more energy than I have had in months. By the end of each day I am very tired, but sleep well and am ready to go for another day. Once again, God is hearing your prayers.
As I write this, I am watching the news. We are constantly aware of the long term recovery that is needed. More than the physical needs, are the heartbreaking emotional traumas that so many thousands of people have experienced. Oh, we pray for a great work of God's mercy and healing hand to be on these precious people. Join us, please, in loving the Japanese and proclaiming the Gospel to them for the long haul.
They arrived safely back from their 29 hour journey, and are now preparing for the next trip. Wayne, and two men from the church will be leaving Saturday evening to go right back to the same location in Iwaki, Fukushima. The needs are overwhelming, and while we have the trucks, we want to send as many out as we can.
This time we don't have time to gather the supplies to completely fill a truck, and so with one little phone call this morning, I feel like I set off a tsunami of cooperation and partnership. We will be supplying the truck, drivers, and destination. Hope International will hold a drive to receive donations at the Nagoya Hilton all day tomorrow. They are confident that with their extensive network they can easily fill our truck. They have the connections that lead to supplies, we have the truck and the churches that need help--it's a great picture of the body of Christ cooperating together.
That's all for now...more profound thoughts will have to wait for another day. Working at the church to coordinate everything was as tiring as driving such a long distance must have been...so all the Newsomes are signing off for now. Thank you for your prayers, our dear friends.
These are the scenes from yesterday...hundreds of donations, both money and things, dozens of people working, a beautiful picture of the body of Christ in action. We have many concerns; we are hearing that people are beginning to evacuate, and we are working on housing for a large number of people right now. We have a church member whose brother is a doctor in Minamisanriku...one of the worst hit areas...and are talking about how we can facilitate getting supplies and possibly even some medical personnel to them.
Friends, please pray for us. I find myself bursting into tears at random moments; at times I forget what all of this activity is for, and just feel the exuberance of throwing myself into a task. It's an emotional roller coaster, and every time I have that thought, my mind and heart go to those millions of people whose emotional roller coaster is a matter of life and death.
Wayne, Tom Wilson and Mamour Otake will leave at some point today on this trip. Their destination may change as they take in all the information coming in--they will make decisions every step along the way. Pray for wisdom for all of that...
We feel the comfort and sustaining grace of Jesus--your prayers are being heard. Thank you.
