As our time in Ofunato came to a close it may have been that my mind was already changing gears and focusing on the Pentecost sermon I’m working on for this coming Sunday. We got an early start, leaving Ofunato at 6:30AM and so we only had a few minutes to gather as a team, . . . → Read More: Scattering and Gathering
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Today we split the team in two again and visited a total of four temporary housing clusters in Ofunato. We once again spent time with residents of these temporary housing clusters talking, singing, doing crafts, enjoying tea and snacks and simply enjoying one another’s company. Tim’s Music Tim’s music Tim’s music . . . → Read More: Hope for the Future My day began with a short walk thru the neighborhood around Grace House. In particular I wanted to see the local Sakari train station. I had heard on the news that it was reopened recently. At present there are busses that run along the recently paved railbed, taking the place of the disrupted train service . . . → Read More: Surreal Mourning It’s been ten months since my last trip to Tohoku. Every time I return to the 3.11 disaster zone my heart grieves again, and yet each time there is so much that has changed since the last visit. Today was a travel day with stops in Kesennuma and Rikuzen-Takata before arriving in Ofunato where we . . . → Read More: Back in Tohoku I’m back in Japan after spending six months in the U.S. visiting supporting churches. Other than being separated from the rest of the family for a couple months, it feels good to be back in Japan. After spending six months in the U.S. talking about the 3.11 disaster and having so many folks admit that . . . → Read More: Ryori Village Coming Back! I was in Washington D.C. today for the first time since a childhood visit back in the seventies. But it wasn’t remotely like the typical D.C. tour. It was actually just a stop over at the Dulles airport. Airlines have a way of redefining the concept of “straight lines”. Who would have thought the best . . . → Read More: Surreal Moment in the Capital The long and all-consuming presidential election is coming to an end as I write this and it appears that the president has been given four more years to do his job. My first reaction is a sigh of relief. I’m relieved that the campaign and election are over. It takes up far too much time, . . . → Read More: A sigh of relief, a prayer of hope Today was the culmination of a very long process for our family; at least for Miles, Kendra and me. We went to the Tachikawa branch of the immigration bureau and received our new status as “permanent residents” here in Japan. It is roughly the equivalent of getting a green card in the U.S. With this . . . → Read More: Conspicuous Blanks Thursday was our last full day in Tohoku. We split up into four teams. One group went back to carpentry work at the temporary housing area. Another group spent the morning visiting with elderly women at another temporary housing area and then to yet another area for afternoon activities with the residents. Another group spent . . . → Read More: So Many Things To Do Today our team split up into three groups. Six of us went to a temporary housing area and did carpentry work. The government supplied temporary housing units are pretty simple but need people’s basic needs. When they first moved in many of the residents had almost nothing besides the clothes on their back and whatever . . . → Read More: Opportunities in Ofunato |
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