Mr. Hasegawa...truly an angel in disguise

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.

Miracles all around us

Everyone can see the miracle stories...like the amazing rescue seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut_8grfciOo

Or the heart breaking pieces like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3AdFjklR50&feature=fvwkrel

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're back, and the next shipment will be tomorrow

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.

Nagoya Relief Effort

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.

Delivery from Nagoya to Fukushima underway...

Today we jumped in with both feet, knowing the pool had many uncertainties, many unknowns.  As we have been watching on TV the unfolding of the empty shelves in the Tokyo area and long lines for daily basics, we realized that we must act while the Nagoya area is still receiving abundant supplies.  So earlier today we were able to rent a 4-ton truck for three days, and have begun working with our Central Presbytery churches and friends  to gather supplies to send to the quake area.  

But as we've been fanning out across the area this evening, starting to shop for supplies, we are finding that the situation is changing so quickly...no water to be found, no instant food, very few canned goods...there is a sense of mounting fear.  My new friend Ruthanne and I went to a large grocery store tonight, and managed to spend about $1000 on soy milk, canned corn, canned tuna and bottles of tea.  We gathered quite a crowd as we worked with a store clerk to load up 400 cartons of soy milk.  An elderly man asked me if we were taking it up North.  I said yes, not us personally, but our friends.  He was surprised, and asked, "Can you get through?"  I answered , "Yes, we've found a way."  "Oh, that's wonderful...thank you."  

It remains to be seen if we can gather enough tomorrow to fill the 4-ton truck.  A friend called tonight after he heard we'd rented a 4-ton, concerned because the brake system on that size truck is different than a smaller truck, and difficult to drive.  We haven't found a single fuel can, something we must have filled with at least enough fuel to get there and back.  There are many unknowns...and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.  But the choice seems clear:  give in to the fear of the unknown and do nothing, or trust God and move forward as well as we can.  

Ruthanne encouraged me and my small group this morning with this passage:  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  This is our hope, this is what compels us!  We have the comfort of a God who is near to us in all our troubles.  And we can in turn offer the same comfort we have received to those who suffer.  Our suffering is nothing in comparison to those in the Tohoku area...and so we move forward with faith that the God of comfort with be our companion each step of the way.

Please pray with us for a successful delivery of these supplies to the people of Fukushima, particularly those in Iwaki.  We will be stopping in Chiba to join our coworkers there, and travel together with possibly two truckloads.  Pray for Wayne and Pastor Otake to have the strength and stamina for this long journey.  And as they go, the rest of the team will be continuing to coordinate more items, preparing for the next trip to come as God continues to open the doors.  

EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN JAPAN--RESPONSE

We are safe!  Nagoya is 100s of kilometers away, and while we felt some of the earthquakes, there was no damage here that we've heard of.  Our church members with family in the hard hit areas have finally made contact and so far, it sounds like all are well.  Our missionary friends in the area have also been accounted for.  We thank God for that, but of course our hearts are heavy with the millions who are affected by this disaster.  We have a large number of Japanese friends in the Sendai area from the Dothan Sony Plant.  I don't know how to make contact with them, or how to search for them at this point unless we have names and phone numbers.  IF you have someone in the area you are concerned about, send me their name and phone number, and i will try to get word about their safety--there is a system in place for that and will access it for any friends in the States who need help.


Many have called our parents and are emailing--we have sent an email out to as many as we have addresses for--please pass on word about us to anyone who may be concerned.

Of course everyone is asking what they can do, including us.  I think there will be many opportunities in the days and months ahead.  Our spring break is approaching, and perhaps by then there will be a specific way a team from our church can help.  But here is what we can do immediately:

PRAY:  For God to pour out his mercy on this land.  The region hit the hardest by the earthquakes is some of the most unreached parts of Japan:
Pray for the spiritual needs. The areas affected by the earthquake and tsunamis of Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki are some of the most spiritually needy places in Japan. With over 4.9 million people yet only about 9,000 active Christians (about 0.15%). Fukushima has the lowest average worship attendance with only 19 per church. There is one city and 44 towns still with no church. (John Mehn)

GIVE:  Much will be needed, as in any disaster.  MTW is working on our "Minuteman Appeal", which is a fund for relief efforts.  It should be up and running soon.  See www.mtw.org for more details.

GO?:  Not sure yet.  We are partnering with a group of missionaries and churches in a disaster response group called "CRASH".  Anything that we are able to do will be coordinated through this group.  Please contact us if you are interested in sending teams, and we will work through MTW and CRASH to facilitate this.  You can contact us at amy@newsomellc.com or by phone:  (from the States:  011-81-561-63-9392 or 011-81-80-4071-9392)

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to ransom Israel...

Today was one of the many Christmas events we have this year--Nisshin Christ Church has grown in both number and maturity, and it was so encouraging to see many of our dear Japanese ladies working so hard for the Ladies Brunch.  It was a great gathering of women from a variety of circles--English students, Mom and Kids Club, Gospel Choir, random friends--about 1/3 of the 50 women were Christians, the rest were seekers.  Some of the church ladies spent the better part of the day before with preparations, and a few of them worked all day even though they weren't able to participate in the event!

I did nothing to help with the prep.  I just came today and had the privilege of speaking to the women.  (I told them I would be willing ANYTIME to be the speaker at an event with such delicious food, beautiful decorations, and nice program that I had NO responsibilities for!!)  I shared the Gospel in the context of being lost and Jesus not just coming to show us the way, but to actually be the way for us.  One illustration I used was such a great story, it deserves to be repeated.  Our new teammates Jake and Anna Claire came for a site visit in September of this year.  After a great visit with us, and then touring in Tokyo some,  they were heading back to the airport outside of Tokyo.  I don't know if they got lost, confused or were just running late, but they missed the train to the airport, and there wasn't another one in time for them to make their flight.  As they were standing there at the station, looking and feeling distraught, a Japanese couple came up and asked if they could help.  Jake and AC explained their situation, and this couple said that sure enough, there wouldn't be another train in time for them to make it.  After a whispered conversation between husband and wife, they came back to Jack and AC and offered to drive them to the airport.  I don't know exactly, but I think it was about a 3 hour round-trip for them.  But they gave of their time and effort for these foreign strangers...how amazing!

Isn't that a great picture of us and Jesus?  We are lost, confused and distraught, and we have missed the mark.  There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.  At at that point, Jesus came and had great compassion on us, foreign strangers--at unimaginable personal cost, he gave himself to get us where we needed to go--into the arms of His Father.

After the brunch, I talked to several women who said they needed to hear that message, and wanted to hear more about Christ.  I pray that this Christmas, we have many lost and distraught Japanese hear or see something that points them to Jesus as the way--the way to the Father who loves them.