2012 Trip Recap Video

The End of Our Trip

Our trip officially ended Tuesday morning when Koganei church members gathered to send us off. Chie, Jon, Yuuki, and I headed to the airport with the Nojiris and Megumi. Richie, Justin, and Connor proceeded to the train station to go to Richie's relative's house. And Fiona was picked up by Mrs. Minemura.

Chie, Jon, and I were back in San Francisco Tuesday morning after a smooth flight. We were so thankful to be home and to have had such an amazing trip! Thank you so much for all your prayers an support!

Enoshima and Kamakura - site seeing and our last full day in Japan

August 6th, today was the last full day in Japan, and we went site seeing. Although we were all tired as the trip is winding down, it was a lot of fun to spend time with our brothers and sisters in Japan. I really believe that the time we spend together, the fellowship, and the bonds that were formed will become our strength. 

Some church youth from the Tokyo churches met up with us and we all took the train to Enoshima first. It was fun to experience taking the train with the whole team and more! It was a little crazy because we had to constantly make sure we didn't loose anyone. But that also made it fun! 

 After transferring trains multiple times, we got to Enoshima. This was also the area that pastor Nobu is from. There were a lot of people there that looked like they were there to swim in the ocean or to surf. It was a different part of Japan that I had never seen before.

After walking up a STEEP long hill for a good 10 minutes we arrived at a store/restaurant at the top of the mountain. There was a beautiful view of the ocean and the city. There were hawks riding the wind gracefully, and there was a nice breeze! We ate lunch there, and I guess this area is known for their seafood.
After lunch we walked back down the steep hill,  did some shopping and walked around the town. As we were walking and shopping we hit our first rain storm in Japan. I can never get used to the idea that it's hot, yet pouring rain, and the humidity gets even higher!
We spent time at Enoshima, and then took the train to Kamakura, and got to look around the town and spend some time shopping. We went to a famous temple/shrine area, and there was a festival going on too.

Many of the youth and church members spent the whole day with us, walked around with us, and showed us around Enoshima and Kamakura. We laughed lots, saw lots, walked lots and had lots of fun!

The time of fellowship today and throughout the trip really made the whole experience special. The people we met and the special connection we have through Jesus is really what brings us together and strengthens us. It's amazing to see past mission team members again, and it's been amazing to meet new church family. The love and support that we have received from American and Japan is overwhelming! Thank you for your love and support! and thank you Jesus for surrounding us with AMAZING people!

- Chie

Our Last Sunday

Today was our last Sunday at Koganei church. It was a little difficult waking up but we all made it for morning service. Chie caught a cold, so she rested the whole morning.

Justin and Richie gave their testimonies during first service, and Yuuki and I gave our testimonies during the second service. In between, we led two kid's praise songs during the children's Sunday School. We also performed a skit about how God made us all special.

The kids and the team got to do suica-wari, which is basically using a watermelon as a pinata. Although we used three different sticks, none of them broke the watermelon!

We enjoyed eating the nice cold watermelon with the kids before lunch, and then ate lunch with the youth, young adults, and other members of the church.  The young adults had set aside a time of fellowship set aside for us, so we sang worship songs and played games together in the afternoon. They really seemed to enjoy playing Boom-Chicka-Boom-Boom and Fruit Basket!

They also asked all of the team members to share something we remember the most from our past week, and many of the Koganei young adults shared their memories of past Peninsula teams and their experiences of coming to America as well. Many of them have been encouraged and to serve in youth and children's ministries and they all continue going to church, even though their lives are busy with school and work. I hope that this bond of encouragement and serving our God can continue in the future, too.

We ended the night with fireworks in the parking lot. Several more people from the other Free Methodist Churches that we've met in previous mission trips came and joined us. It reminded me that, even though we may only see these people once or every other year, we are still bonded together because of our Father and His love for us!

- Satomi

Kessenuma Day 2 - Saturday

Saturday 8/4

Daylight shed a whole new light on the conditions of the city. 

First, Abe-san brought us to a dock where they were unloading fish caught on commerical fishing boats. Although the industry was slowly recovering, more than half the dock was still unusable after it, too, was washed away.

Next, we drove along the coastline where the town still sat baren. We saw Abe-san's old house and the neighborhoods that he once lived in. At the end of the peninsula, we stopped at a national park. We stood at the beach and could see and hear the waves crash onto the rocks. They were peaceful today, but just a glance at the devastated city beyond the beaches was the evidence of its violent power.

Finally, we drove to the now-famouse site where an ocean liner was carried in from the sea and dropped on top of houses. It showed me how much water must have flooded onto the city, and also the politics involved with rebuilding the city. Some people want to leave the ship there as a memorial, and other want it removed because it brings so much pain. 

It's going to be a long and painful time ahead of them, but it will be so much more difficult because most of the people there do not have the healing hand and comforting presence of God in their lives. I will be praying for the people in Kessenuma and across Japan so that they may know Him.

Kessenuma Day 1 - Friday

Sato

Friday 8/3
We left Koganei church at 6 AM with the Nojiris driving one car and the Yabana brothers drivign the other.  We thought we would arrive at Kessenuma for a late lunch, but because of traffic and several rest stops in between, we didn't arrive at our destination until after 4 PM. The drive was long, but I couldn't sleep at all. As sson as we left the Tokyo area, the scenery was all dense forests and rice fields. I don't think there is anything that could have prepared me for what I would feel at Kessenuma.

We met Mr. Abe at his printing company and home, which also serves as the chappel for Kessenuma First Bible Baptist Church.  He shared with us his story of how God took everything away, yet has been his source of comfort and hope. Abe-san thought that he would no longer continue his printing business after the Tsunami. All of his printing machines were damaged beyond repair because the water came up about five feet high.  Yet, despite such loss and suffering, God brought people from around the world who prayed for him and helped him start all over with a renovated building and state-of-the-art printing machines.  Now he has dedicated his life, his home, and his company to God and to spreading the Gospel to people all over town and Japan.

Kessenuma First Bible Baptish Church was swept away by the Tsunami on March 11, 2011.  It was located in the residential neighborhood close to the levees that separate the land from the sea.  All that's left now is the broken foundation it once sat upon.  Pastor Minegishi met us at the original site where two portables are now set up - one dedicated soley to prayer and another for distributing and recieving supplies.  As he expressed his story and what God has been doing there, he was full of joy and gratitude.  How can he be rejoicing when there was so much devastation and when there's still so much more to be done?

That night, we went to eat dinner in a part of town where people who lost their businesses set up new shops.  At the cafe, there was a lady who shared her story of that fateful day.  The group met a resturaunt owner and shared about Jesus.  It's just thinking about what these people had to suffer and are still recovering from.  Later, we walked down the streets to the shoreline.  Buildings-whole streets- sit empty after the tsunami raveged entire streeets and neighborhoods.  There was a sense of desolation, pain, and loss hanging in the air.  Connor was right-the fog that descended down onto the city created a somber tone that matched how my heart felt today.

Jon Wong-Lam

Sorry there hasn't been any posts lately, it's been pretty busy the last few days. The day after the last post the team got to have a Fun Day and visit the Ghibili Museum. For those of you (like me) who don't know who Ghibili (pronounced Jubilee) is, he is a famous Japanese cartoon director who made many famous movies like Spirited Away and Totoro. The museum was really cool, even for people who had no clue what Ghibili was. There were sketches that were part of the original movie development, as well as exhibits that showed how cartoons were animated back then. We got to hang out with some people from the Kogenai church as well.

After the touring the museum and eating some ice-cream we went to a big shopping mall. Like really big. There were multiple levels with dozens of shops per building, and there were a LOT of buildings. After being bedazzled by all the expensive clothes and cheap trinkets the boys got to hang out at an arcade which was actually the highlight of that day for me and probably a couple others. There was this cool game machine where you held up two (virtual) guns that allowed you to both aim by pointing the gun and move your player at the same time. But the best part was that it allowed up to 4 people to play on different machines, so me, Richie, and Yuuki had a blast teaming up and destroying the bad guys.

We ended the day by eating with the people from Kogenai at this authentic, apparently Tokyo specific, traditional restaurant. I was a bit skeptical at first because I thought we were going to a good ramen place or something, but apparently the dishes had nothing to do with ramen. You go into a tatami styled room (pretty cramped actually) and have a giant griddle on the table. The order comes in a batter with the ingredients in it, and you cook it on the griddle. So for instance you can have some vegetables in the batter and it turns into this type of cheesy crepe concoction. It was a lot better than I can describe it here I assure you, hopefully the pictures help.

Afterwards we got back to church, said goodbye to the Kogenai people who joined us, and got ready for the Kesenuma trip the following day. Wake up and be ready to go by 6am! Oh joy.