Christmas presents

All 290 children of this elementary school in Ishinomaki, which we are supporting after the great damage of the recent earthquake, will recieve next week a Christmas presents with sweets, a cuite handtowel, a notebook and a booklet with the Christmas Story. You can see Miho Y. and myself while we were shopping. In addition we have bought for every school classes different learning material and jigsaw puzzle world-maps. Christmas time is a time of giving presents so we want to make the students happy.

Orchid Garden

Yesterday Hatsue came to visit me. I know her for a long time. She is rigth now looking for a new job. We had a great time together. When guest´s coming were do I take them, if the weather is good? in my nearby parc.  Aren't the flowers beautiful? If you come and visit me, I will take you there too, that´s for sure.

Congratulation!

Sometimes I wish I would have more time to write for the blog. Right now my time schedule is very full with different Bibleclasses. Today three dear students had completed the Biblestudy course, which took them three years. Of course we did celebrate this special event. May the women be able to use what they have learned in their daily life. 

Congratulation!

　

Recently I talked in one of my sermons about Peter, the disciple of Jesus. He experienced two events completely differently. The same boat, same nets and same place, but the results were completely different nevertheless. What was the cause for that? He went for fishing in the night on his own strength and caught nothing, but the second time he did the same work however with a large difference. Indeed he departered with the confidence and the dependence on Jesus Christ only, that´s why he became so successful  fischerman even during daytime. This is marvelous. Where does the secret come from? If we obey Jesu instructions completely and obey his commandments, even if we do not understand it in that particular moment he will reward us and give us a successful life.  Don´t depend on your feelings! Let´s try it in your daily life and you will find out that it will work. 

Here you can see Peter after a disappointed night ful of work and still he was unable to catch even one fish. In this Situation Jesus met him and challenged him to do what he is commanding him. Peter obeyed and was successful. 

Last week Saturday I came back safely from my third trip to Kessennuma. Even the third time, the view was awful- the beautiful area along the north-east coast of Japan is completely destroyed and the tsunami has been flattened over all. The military volunteers have worked diligently and taken away the piled up garbage. The coastal landscape looks barren and desolate. Along the coast there only the ground left from the homes. One family, Mr. and Mrs. Abe, which we were visiting, went with us to see there empty ground, were they have built a house just 4 years ago.  A beautiful house with a garden is simply gone, nothing remains, only two large stones are left. This family belongs to the Dai Ichi baptisted church, were my students helped as volunters on our second trip,

Mr. and Mrs. Abe has moved in their daughter´s house. They do have a print shop and one part of the room they have changed  into a worship church meeting place. It looks very beautiful.

The cleanup in the city of Kesennuma will last a long time. You can not imagine how that looks right now. Everything is gray, dirty and destroyed. As bad as after a war. I think if I had to live there, I would be sick in my heart with pity and sorry. It will take years before a reasonably normal city life with beautiful shops, etc. can be thought of. And yet people have to continue to remain to live there, because they have no other home. They have lost everything. Recently there were built a lot of simply homes. I 've seen the houses, but to be honest they look not very nice. I am sure the victim´s will be lonely. Especially elderly people now die of grief and loneliness. And there are already many new problems. Those who were allowed to move in such a log house, are right now lucky, Because  they do have light, water, electricity and food, probably for the next two years. Until then, they must have managed to maintain their own life. They all need a job. And that's not easy to find. And those who can  keep their houses, even if the tsunami has caused a lot of damage, they get nothing from the government. They have to support themself- No wonder that those affected are disadvantaged and now feel dissatisfied. The mutual envy is inevitable.

The Abe family takes care of several victims and hurt people in their city and will distribute the supplies, which we buy and send over. First they were mainly needed water, rice, warm blankets, vegetables, and items for the daily care .... etc.  And now six month later, the victim´s need summer dresses, T-shirt's, bug spray, fans against the heat, and of course all food items etc. The Abe family let us know by phone what they need. One of my student, Mrs. Miho Yamada is a great help. She and some of her church members buy the goods  and send them over.

We were also able to make contact to one of another volunteer group, which is sending young people from Tokio to Ishinomaki to help in the neighbourhood to clean the durty houses. Young Japanese are willing to give their time and strengh in helping the victims. Those affected are incredibly grateful for the work of the volunteers. They have expressed this to me over and over. This Japanese aid organization we will also support with your money. And I am sure you are happy with this decion.

And then we visited an elementary school in Ishinomaki. For the kids I was a stranger. In Northjapan foreigners are very rare. I promissed the children and teachers that my German friends are praying for them and will help them. The teacher of one class was very impressed, I later learned that even her husband, who was also a teacher, has lost his life in the tsunami. Even among those children there were kids, who have lost family members, parents, grandparents, or even the home or their school. They are living  temporarily in other schools. We bought gifts for about 100 children that were distributed in this school. I realized how unfocused and confused some of the kids had been in their behaviour. Please pray for them, that they will cure and be released from their heart pain.

I am thankful that I could find some good ways to help some victims. To bring them a little joy is a delight. We want to continue with these personal contacts in the near future.  My student Miho is an excellent manager. She is supported from some of her church ladies and even her pastor and his wife.

I want to thank you all for your faithful prayers and gifts of money. My prayer is now that the victims will  be touched by your love. And may they find Jesus Christ, as their saviour. Any further donations are still necessary and valuable. The Lord bless you all! 

This time, the second once, I took my students to North-Japan. They all were so willing to help and did a great job as volunters. I´ll be thrilled and thank them all. There were lot´s to do: clean houses, deliver food and listen to peoples tragedy. We baked waffles and tried to talk to them while we were trinking a cup of coffee. It was sad to see their sorrow and discouraged faces.Please God help them and give them strength to face the future. Here are some pictures. 

Continued: 3 Part: Date: Thursday, April 21: Drive to Higashi Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture. (About 20 km away from Sendai)

On Thursday morning 7:30 in we drove to the warehouse, where we took a lot of new relief supplies, which we wanted to deliver. What should we take? What would the people need most? We chose different items of which we thougght that people need at the moment most. Then we drove up to Matsushima. This city is located on the Matsushima Bay, the main attraction of the prefecture. This is a bay with about 260 pine-covered islands, 22 km northeast of Sendai. In addition to Amanohashidate and Miyajima, Matsushima is one of the three most beautiful landscapes of Japan - which has made its beaches and nearby historical sites to appropriate centers of tourism, this I read afterwards on the website. 

Matsushima - Bay with 260 pine-covered islands, before the earthquake.  

But what we saw today is a picture of horror. I have no words. I'll let the pictures speak. The place resembles a single pile of garbage, while many houses are still standing, but everything is totally muddy, dirty, a scene of horror. We drive right in front of a house whose owner (Mr. Takahashi), our team leader knows. Today we volunteers are going to help him cleaning his house. The first floor is completely in mud. The rooms are completely distroyed. We throw all things in his garden. Books, furniture, lamps, pictures, everything is muddy and totally unusable. Mr. Takahashi asks me to clean the pictures, porcelain vases and other things. I did obeyed and tried to give my best to treat these dirty things well .. but to be honest, in my mind I thought, I better would throw everything in the trash. But for him it might be hard, because he had probably many memories and it might be hard to throw everything away. An unpleasant smell was in the air. Today we are lucky, the weather is good and everything can be done outside. But his garden is like a muddy farm field ... He told us that he were able to buit this house 12 years ago. Unfortuanatelly  his wife  died five years ago. For lunch he offered us his garden but he went up to his 2.nd floor to have a brake. 

After lunch I walked around the neighbourhood and discovered that most houses are currently empty, only Mr. Takahashi and a few others have chosen to endure in the rubble. I wonder now, what would be better for me: a crowded gymnasium hall, but warm and dry, or this durty and desolatet area. I probably would have preferred the gym. In the 2nd floor of his house, where I could use the restroom, I realize that he is a great gentleman who has a good sense of beauty in the style of interia. No wonder he wants to live here again. But for me it would feel uncomfortable and dangerous to stay in the mud-covered garden because of the associated hygienic and bacterial pollution. Mr. Takahashi brought us everyone later a cup of coffee, which he served in valuable porcelain cups, a collection, he says. 

Mr. Takahashi´s house and his brandnew car he bought after the earthquake. His livingroom. lunch time.