Final Dispatch from the land of the Rising Sun

Good Friends,

 

    I am writing this last dispatch from a hotel room in Tokyo. We left Tome base this morning with a grand send off from those continuing the home rebuilding work. Rode the bullet train at an incredible rate of speed and here I am just a few hours from flying back home tomorrow. I have got to say, when you are standing in the train station, patiently waiting and out of nowhere comes a bullet train at close to 200 mph and without slowing down, screams past, just a few feet from where you are standing, its amazing ! 

 

 

    If you have any feeling of wanting to participate in this rebuilding work in Japan, I want to encourage you to follow through. Contact Samaritan's Purse  to apply and plan for a life changing experience. Workers are divided into two work efforts: those who "mud out and dissassemble damaged wall and floor assemblies and those who replace the damaged materials. The carpentry is fairly fundamental and only an average level of skill is required. If you can commit to a month or more, housing, food and transportation are paid for by SP. Your only expenses will be spending money. Air Fare for a shorter committment is about $1500. This opportunity will probably end in March.

 

 

Our coworkers here have come from many locations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Singapore, etc.. All types of people from all points on the compass have gathered here with a singular focus, to share the love of God to those hurting from the natural disasters that occurred here. It is a true Christian community environment where there is joy in the sacrifice of leaving home to providing homes for those without. 

 

 

I have been honored to have helped complete two home repairs in the two weeks I have been here. We have held dedication ceremonies for both homes as well.

 At the dedications the family and relations are present, as well as SP carpenters and staff. The local Pastor, David Suzuki and his wife lead the event with some hymn singing, scripture reading, a Bible presentation and a very clear gospel message based on John 3:16. 

 

Bear in mind that typically there is zero understanding of the Christian faith, only a Bhuddist belief system that seems to be only marginally practiced. He tells a story of a Japanese woman who risked her life to return into her burning home to retrieve and rescue her Bhuddist god (there are thousands of different ones). She arrived at a shelter with this idol and a worker asked her about it. She said that her god was the only thing she rescued from the fire and then carried it to the shelter with her. The worker replied by stating that the Christian God doesn't need to be rescued or carried, in times of tragedy the One True God rescues and carries us.

 

 

    So, let's talk construction. It is vely vely different...  

 

 

 

 

The floor system starts with a stem wall foundation and 4x4 floor girders laid out about 3' apart. Over these girders are laid 2x2 joists about every 19" apart. 1" foam insulation is cut and fit between these 2x2's. 1/2" plywood is used for subfloor. 

 

 

The walls are kind of a hybrid system of timberframing and mobile home framing.The strength comes from a frame of 5x5 posts and then infilled between with 1x2's running horizontally. 

 

 

The exterior is some sort of stucco or imitation brick product. The interior, between the 5x5's is done either in drywall covered with wall paper or luan mahogany plywood.The roof system is an insane mixture of lumber sizes, joinery and ornate metal. 

 

 

Common features in every home is an abundance of sliding doors (both sides slide in both directions - how clever), a sunken entry area where shoes are removed, two side by side rooms surrounded by sliding soji screens, multiple funky sized storage closets and a Bhudda shrine spot. The room sizes are laid out based on the tatami sleeping matt (about 1 meter by 2 meters - 3' x 6'). All room widths and lengths match up to multiples of the size of these matts. The sheets of drywall and plywood are also the size of these matts. All of our measuring is done in metric and precision cuts within 1mm is essential. Pretty challenging when the house has been racked by the tsunami.

 

 

    So, I hope these email updates have been interesting to you. I have felt like what I had to offer to the effort here has been a good fit and well worth the challenge of getting here. Along with assisting with the work here ,my desire has been to bring you along with me as much as possible, so that you have a better understanding of the Japanese culture and their very real physical and spiritual needs. Yes, financially they are a very successful people, but as we have discovered in America, money can't protect you from physical or spiritual harm. Only the currency of heaven can do that.

 

Arrigato gozaimasu and sayonara for now,

(Thank-you and good-bye)

Bruce

 

p.s. I have included a couple extra pictures that testify to the destructive force of the tsunami.

 

The first picture is simply of a row of pine trees that are between the town of Ishinomaki and the beach. We were told that the tsunami wave was seen coming over these trees as it entered the town.

 

The second picture is a mountain of debris collected from the town which is being sorted and recycled.

Made in Japan

 ~~Another delightful update from my favorite missionary carpenter~~

Konnichiwa Friends,

Its Sunday evening. We took the day off. This morning I walked down the road through a quaint little village along a river and then back through a farming area.It was very quiet, as if even here they have the custom of shutting down on Sunday. 

Later, a couple from the Billy Graham evangelistic association came to the base and led us in worship and spoke about how our very identity changes when we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Especially, we are rescued from living as orphans abused by the enemy, into adoption by God Himself and given the names of Son and Daughter.

You would all like/ love Japan and the Japanese people. Unlike common U.S. perception, there is a lot of open space, mountains, trees and rivers. The cities are no more crowded than ours, they are certainly cleaner and safer, and everything you need is readily available. 

Even McDonald's  where I had a spicy Korean Barbeque Burger tonite. McDonalds even has a parking lot for bikes 

 because so many people ride them since gas is $8 per gallon and cars are not cheap since the government says you have to get rid of your old car once it is 5-10 years old. Funny thing about the bikes is that even though they are so technologically advanced in other areas, all their bikes are your basic one speed with the basket on the front model.

I thought I bought some gum today at a 7-11.... it turned out to be cough drops.

This afternoon we visited a small church that has recently been established in the neighborhood where we are doing home repairs. It is in a donated apartment of about 500 square feet. We sang some hymns in both Japanese and English and the Pastor spoke on casting our cares and anxieties on Jesus whom we can trust as being present and as being more capable than ourselves. 

As an illustration he referred to someone he knew who was still living in a shelter and chose to commit suicide rather than face the prospect of rebuilding their life. (suicide is one of the main causes of death here, even prior to the earthquake and tsunami). This is certainly a relevant message for these traumatized people who are far from recovered, as winter is closing in. 

As the Pastor was speaking, a small elderly man sitting in front of me broke down in tears. I found out afterward that just this week his home was taken down because it was too damaged to repair. (no such thing as homeowners insurance here). Others in attendance included two families who have had their homes repaired by Samaritan's Purse volunteers. Pray that the love they are receiving through the home repairs will ultimately lead them to the source of love, Jesus Christ.

 

If you want to find where our team is doing home rebuilds, go to Map Quest and type in Ishinomaki, Japan. It is a small fishing community on the North East coast, a bit North of Sendai and Fukashima.

If you want to see more pictures than I can attach check out: www.somissions.com

and

http://servantphotographer.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-weekend-in-japan-and-start-of-new.html

This blogger is Billy Jackson and he is a very energetic 20 something member of our team here.

I am sure the next 6-days of work will fly by. I will try to write to you another time before leaving on Sunday for Tokyo and flying to Seattle on Monday.

Please continue to pray for the people of Japan. In spite of their outward appearance of success, they have a spiritual bankruptcy. Sure you could say that Bhudda seems to be working for them and if it works for them then just leave them alone. But in the spiritual realm, and it does exist, there are only two forces: Satan and God. Left without God's protection, we are no match for Satan. He will do whatever it takes to keep us from God, even set us up with financial prosperity. These people, like most Americans, lack a true awareness of their spiritual dilema and what can be done about it. May their spiritual eyes be opened, wide.

Blessings,

Bruce 

More Pictures from Japan

 Today's email from Bruce included these photos but also an unmentioned prayer request. I can tell he is tired and perhaps struggling a bit with some of the techno-challenges of trying to keep us (me) satisfied with updates.

He said when he uploaded these photos from a walk he took through the village, it somehow deleted all the previous photos he had taken since he left home. He was (is) majorly bummed!!!

 I leave these photos of the village to your interpretation as he did not provide details other than it was a lovely walk through a small village nearby, located by a large river. Well, hey, that actually sounds pretty detailed if you ask me.

Photo

hard  at  work  in  Japan

Update from Japan

 My inbox was blessed with a detailed email from Bruce this morning. I share with you both humbled and proud, of the ministry God has called him to.

Konichiwa from Tome Japan !

Thank-you to all you who have stepped up to support the recovery of the Japanese people from the earthquake and tsunami that occured here in March. And thank-you all for supporting my travel here through prayer and finances. Your contributions are directly helping families resume their lives while hearing the gospel, perhaps for the first time.

It has been sensory overload for the last 3-days. Its crazy that we live in such a day that one morning we can walk out the front door of our home in a community of 300 people and that same evening be walking the streets of a city of 9 million people on the other side of the globe. Its an odd feeling to be the minority, the one that doesn't fit in and is dependent on the grace of strangers to help find the way.

Fortunately, the Japanese are incredibly hospitable and helpful. Walk into a 7/11 store (and they are everywhere here) and the clerk jumps to her feet to verbally welcome you with a smile and a bow. Stop at an intersection at night and the car facing yours will turn off their headlights so you won't be bothered by their bright lights in your face. Try to tip anyone at a hotel, restaurant, airport and they will politely refuse. 

The Samaritan's Purse base I am working out of is in Tome which is a 2 hour bullet train ride (at 187 mph) north of Tokyo and then another hour taxi ride. This base is set up in an old sewing factory with barracks type sleeping and a dining hall, flushing port-a-johns and japanese style showers set up outside. There are two other SP bases set up in other places around here.The food is a great variety of authentic japanese cuisine.

There about 60 volunteers working out of this base (Americans, Japanese, Malaysians) and there are two more SP bases set up elsewhere. Each base is staffed with an impressive array of logistics coordinators and team leaders. At 7, after breakfast and devotions, we are dispatched in 6-7 man teams to our various home rebuild projects.


I am part of a group of very impressive men from Steppin out missions (www.somissions.com)  ( http://servantphotographer.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-weekend-in-japan-and-start-of-new.html) Check out these sites for some more photos.) We are working on a traditional Japanese style home (curve roof, ornate interior woodwork) in a fishing village named Ishinomaki that had water up to the first floor ceiling. Another team went in ahead of us and removed all the mud, flooring and wall surfaces. Our job is reinsulating and sheathing the floors and installing drywall and mahogany paneling to the walls. Final details (wall paper, door replacement, etc) will be handled by Japanese  carpenters. All of this work is being done for free to 300 homes. So far 110 homes have been completed.

Our home sits in an area where the scraped clean ground bears witness to where many other homes once stood. Other homes and apartments sit as hollowed out shells, representing the lives of the families that once lived in them. The sound of excavators and jackhammers continues all day as businesses, warehouses and houses deemed unsafe are demolished. Trucks heaped with demolished cars pass by on a regular basis. A literal mountain of debris is down the road and in the process of being sifted through and recycled.

Every home built in Japan comes complete with a built-in shinto/ bhuddist shrine as we might commonly have a built-in fireplace. This shrine is meant to honor Bhudda, the Kami gods and deceased ancestors. On the job before the one I started on, the homeowners chose to have the  shrine discarded as the repair work took place. In another home the single mother accepted Jesus as Lord because of the kindness she was shown in the name of God. We are 2-days from finishing with this current home and have been working around the shrine waiting to see what this homeowner family will decide about it's place in their lives. Pray for them.

I have heard a couple tsunami survivor stories. One family was rushing to leave their home when the mother went back upstairs to retrieve something only to have the rest of the family swept away while they waited for her to return. She is plagued with guilt. Another family was struck while their daughter was away at school and it took 8-days for them to determine that their daugter was ok. I am certain that everyone I see in the community has a heartbreaking tale to tell. No one is exempt from contemplating the issues of life and death and what can be trusted. There is opportunity like no other for these hurting people to hear and consider the Truth of Christ as superior to the truth of Bhudda. Please pray for the few Christian Pastors here as they continue to reach out after we volunteers have returned home.

Well it lights-out time. Our team has voted to work tomorrow/ saturday..

Blessings,

Bruce

He Writes!

 I had email from Bruce this afternoon where it is Early Friday morning in his world. I am happy to share his words with you here and ask for your continued prayers over the work and ministry he is involved in. 

Konnichiwa honey !

This email has to be short and sweet.

my computer will not pickup the signal like everyone elses so I am borrowing wes's while everyone else is having worship on the other side of our tarp divider wall in the barracks.

Yesterday we continued work that the others started a couple days ago about an hours ride into the tsunami zone. I hung drywall japanese style and saw many neighborhoods where homes were randomly either totally destroyed and removed or still standing, vacant with gaping holes through the walls. The sound of excavators and jackhammers is commonplace. There was a pile of collected debris that is like a small mountain.

I wish I could send some pictures but this computer is borrowed. The camera batteries ran out again yesterday anyway. I was dead meat yesterday by 3 because of jet lag. went to bed at 730 and slept all night. today should be better. The guys I am working with and have otherwise met are all simple folks (handymen, etc.) who are here because God called them. Gary is moving to england after this to be maintenance man for a ministry. Dave is staying here 3 months and has spent the last few years volunteering wherever natural disasters have struck.

Gotta go. Pray for healing of Japanese hearts through Jesus Christ!

And for an internet connection of my own !

Bruce (in green shirt) at the work site in Japan. I was able to access this picture from one of the other guys there working in the Tsunami Zone.

Bye Bye Love

all my bags are packed... I'm ready to go....

my sister said something this morning that I am borrowing: Bruce is flying to the Land of the Rising Sun, IN the Hands of the Risen Son. I like that!!

looking a little sleepy but ready to go none-the-less

and he is somewhere in the air.... sigh....

A 9 hour flight from Seattle to Tokyo, plus he moves 16 hours ahead.... I'd say that will certainly make the need for transition time important!!

We spent some time sitting quietly and praying this morning before I took him to the airporter shuttle. We held each other and we cried a little. Good byes are never easy. One of his prayer requests is that during this time apart, as we each serve in our own way, it would be revealed to both of us, what the purpose is for us to be separated in this particular mission. Perhaps for some couples there is no big mystery; it is what it is: one person called to 'go and do' in a specific place while the other one stays home. End of story. But that isn't how my honey sees it and he wants a better understanding of why. Perhaps he suspects this might be the beginning of something that will require much from us in this way. I don't know. But I can say if there is a purpose and the purpose can be revealed, then I am right beside my husband in praying for clarity!

We also made some plans for when he gets home. His return is right before Thanksgiving and we had already decided to have our family gathering on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So we are going to take the little trailer and take off for a couple of days and go camping! 3 days/2 nights down at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island. We are excited about the prospect of just being alone for that time, in a campground practically guaranteed to be empty, and have some time for Bruce to decompress, and defrag, and for us to re-connect. Can't wait!!

But.... first we have two weeks to slug through. I know he will be busy every minute of each day with some new experience and I will treasure any time he is able to throw my way either via email or skype. And besides a large stack of books, I have evening commitments (Dream School, Small Group, church) plus the coffee dates I have scheduled with gal-pals and the young ladies I have recently started mentoring. Life will be full.... and I will be fine.

tickets purchased!

Well, folks, we DID IT!! Airplane tickets to Japan are purchased and he leaves one week from today!

Again, I am in AWE at how God orchestrated this entire thing... from the first conversation Bruce had with the guy at Steppin-Out Missions, to the email from God, to the decision to GO and the steps of faith executed to that end, and all the support coming in from family, friends and even a few strangers who heard about this trip through someone else and felt called to contribute!

lol, at church yesterday morning, our pastor asked Bruce to come forward at the end of the service and Pastor Steve shared about the call Bruce has to go and help in Japan. He encouraged everyone to ask questions about how they could support Bruce and if they felt called to contribute, to please do so.  After church several people just walked up and gave money to him!!   (We joked later that he felt like an exotic dancer with people shoving money in his pocket. haha)

it is exciting and stretching and I am feeling a little breathless this morning! Squirmy in fact so I am off to the gym to release some energy as I celebrate God's obvious provisions in our lives!

GOD IS GOOD. ALL THE TIME.
ALL THE TIME. GOD IS GOOD!

My Missionary Husband

Things have been a little off the radar since Bruce got the email (from God) about going to Japan. Oh, but it's been humming along there in the background, never far from our minds or activities. Bruce has been in regular contact with  Samaritans Purse and  Steppin-Out Missions. After much discussion and prayer it has been determined that he will be taking this trip to Japan under Samaritan's Purse and he has a DEPARTURE DAY of Nov. 7th!!!

We had a little flurry of activity as we had to renew his passport (renewing mine at the same time just in case....) and we put a rush on his.... $$$ but it was less than 2 weeks turn around so Praise Be to God for that! There has been some discussion back and forth about going for 2 weeks VS a month and all the pro's and con's of that decision but Bruce has decided 2 weeks is the max he can commit to at this particular time. I must admit a sigh of relief to that, although if he had decided to stay for a month I would be in full support.

We are stepping out in absolute total faith as there is at this moment, NO money for this trip. At least, not in OUR pockets. :)  But this has NEVER stopped us before from moving forward into what God has called us to. We may falter because of timing, inconvenience, practicalities and such but we know that if God calls us to something, He will always, ALWAYS make the way possible.

The money needed for this trip is just for the R.T. airfare to Japan; Samaritan's Purse will provide for meals, housing and transportation. We have learned that S.P. makes the travel arrangements (ie: purchase the tickets) and then we reimburse them.

taken by a volunteer working in Japan after the Tsunami

another Japanese home near completion of repairs

We have been looking at both the websites and facebook pages for S.P. photos and Stepping-Out  photos  of the ongoing work in Japan.  S.P. is also involved with relief housing in Haiti, Joplin MO and other places where disaster has struck. It is exciting to see God at work in tangible ways. How meeting a physical need will also speak to a person's spiritual condition. It is exciting to know that God will use Bruce as he willingly steps into the role he is called to.

My role will be to provide prayer coverage, emotional support and share with others as Bruce shares with me. Maybe this will be a door opening for both of us to step through at some point. Can I say that going to Japan is on my bucket list?    No....Not.... really.... but being obedient to God is definitely in my heart.

Email from God

Once a long time ago the phone rang and we believe it was God who called. His request, via Habitat for Humanity, was to get involved in the ministry of giving folks a hand up through affordable decent housing. Bruce responded to the call and has been on fire ever since to use his God given skills in carpentry and his leadership abilities for Kingdom Building.
So, it should be no surprise that one day we would receive an email from God asking us to do deeper into service for the glory of God.

For some time now, Bruce has been searching out ways to be more deeply involved in using carpentry as the means for sharing the love of Christ to the world. It's been precarious balance however as trying to earn a living often interferes with ministry and doing ministry requires a sacrifice that often means a lack of income. His desire, his dream is to do full time ministry through construction and still manage to support us while doing so. We do not have any clear cut answers about the How's of this but it doesn't stop us from remaining open to the Spirit's leading and calling on our lives. In fact last night Bruce stated quite emphatically that he knows he HAS to be doing ministry full time -- and this conviction can only come from God.

This morning he opened his email to find a letter from God... this time through a ministry called Steppin-Out Missions, which has connections with Samaritan's Purse. Samaritan's Purse has been helping in Japan in the restoration needed after the Tsunami hit.  I give you here a small taste of the email....

Hello Dear Ministry Partners,

     This message is coming to you as an urgent opportunity for ministry! Steppin-Out Missions just received a personal request from the Samaritan’s Purse Country Director in Japan asking if we could bring teams right away to help and assist them! 

    ... They need teams and people who care about sharing the love of Christ through their hands! Samaritan’s Purse is asking that we respond now!! 

 If you have been keeping up with the news you are aware of the needs in Japan.  Samaritan’s Purse is doing tremendous work there with not only assisting in meeting personal needs but also sharing the Gospel of Christ to a country that is only 1% Christian.

from the email: here is our opportunity to join in on what God is doing in Japan!!  God has opened this door and who will “Step” in? According to the information from SP, the people in Japan have been allowed to return to their homes, most of which are 2-story and are living in the upstairs part of that home. There is much mucking/cleaning to do and then they have asked us for assistance in the early constructions stages: dry-wall, ceilings, etc. 

 This was enough to grab Bruce's heart and he had to step away from his computer at that moment. He could not finish reading. He was so disturbed by the stirring in his heart that he asked me to finish reading the email and then tell him what I thought. I immediately complied. And before I even finished the email I knew. I knew the only answer we could give was "yes." Before I could even digest what saying yes might entail, before I could count the cost, understand the sacrifice, and mull over the logistics, I knew. Bruce HAS to be involved with this opportunity.

Once I shared this with Bruce, he finished reading the email and responded to it asking for more information and the application form and offering an initial 2 week commitment of his time.

And then, the realities kicked in.... :)

We're gearing up to start Alpha in a few weeks. We're starting a new small group at our church. Oh, and of course, there is the constant need to look for work and then go to work. 

And where do I fit into all of this you might be asking-- and it is a good question because that was one of my questions once we started thinking in terms of reality. We've already agonized over mission trip opportunities that separate us...  For this mission the need is for carpenters. the work is physical. my body won't let me do physical.

Yet, a great calm descended on us. We do a dance with God. He asks us to dance and we stand up to join him. We take a step, He takes a step. Peter walked on water but he first had to get out of the boat. We have been asked, we are responding. IN FAITH, knowing that if God brings us to it He will also bring us through it. We say yes and then He puts the pieces into place. 

And so, here we are; open and willing and relying entirely on God for the next step. When he would go to Japan and how he will get there, would there be an appropriate role for me or is my role to stay here and pray... we don't know. We only know that we have been asked to dance. We may not know what sort of dance it will be. But we are saying yes.

****They need carpenters to help with making as many homes as possible, ready for living in by winter. A link was included in the email to get a further idea of the work they are doing there...    http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/waves_of_grace/