Month: August 2012

This is going to be a difficult trip to process. We have seen the remains of so much devastation, now a year overgrown with weeds and grass. We have seen where the people who lost their homes and family members a year and a half ago are still living in temporary housing units, essentially homeless with little idea how to rebuild their lives. We’ve seen Christians coming from Hong Kong, Texas, Canada, and all over Japan to continue to minister to these people, trying to share their burdens and brighten their days. We’ve seen glimpses of what lies ahead, plans and visions of what is in store for us, for this region, for Japan, and for the Church. In this moment, the most we can do is pray. Before we left, we made a list of goals we had for this trip, questions we needed to have answered so that we could proceed in the direction God desires us to go. In this update, and the following two updates, I’d like to share how God has been giving us these answers.

1. Evaluate the current need for full time missionaries in Tohoku, by speaking with missionaries and Pastors serving in the area. After talking with a number of Pastors and missionaries serving in this region, and seeing the ministries that are happening first hand, we’ve learned that the current needs are immense. Furthermore, these needs are both immediate and ongoing. Many missionaries and missions have only short term plans, and will be leaving within the year. However Japanese Pastors have a long term vision for ongoing ministry, however overseas donations have largely dried up, and they are having difficulty hiring staff to continue the work. In the near future there will be a great need for supported missionaries to come and serve alongside them. There is a transition that is nearing completion right now.

During the first year or so after the disaster, Christians focused on meeting the physical needs of the people; delivering food and supplies, clearing out debris from flooded homes and business, and rebuilding. That work is largely done, and now Christians are focusing on meeting the emotional needs of the survivors. They are organizing teams to go in and visit the temporary housing areas to talk with people, set up “mobile cafe’s,” run children’s programs and try to bring some measure of hope and joy into people’s lives. As relationships are being built, many people are being drawn to learn more about these Christians, and the God they serve. At this point many Christian groups are refraining from being openly evangelistic in their programs, for fear of making people feel exploited. Instead they are drawing people out through relationships, letting them ask questions and in response, gently sharing the hope that they have in Christ. There is a sense that at some point in the future, perhaps in a year or two, a new ministry focus will emerge, as new believers need to be discipled, and Lord willing churches will be planted. It is this third phase of ministry that we feel God is equipping us to participate in. However in order to do so, I will need to have a very good grasp of the Japanese language by the time this phase starts.

 

2. Checkout language schools and housing in the area. We have only found one language school in the area. It is located two hours inland from the coastal cities which we hope to minister in. That is perhaps less than ideal, or perhaps it is exactly what God wants. Over and over again I have heard from both missionaries and Japanese Christians, how essential Japanese language ability is to long term ministry here. I have also heard numerous stories of missionaries who have struggled greatly in learning the language, often in large part because they are so eager to begin serving that they neglect language learning. So, perhaps having a little distance between where I will be learning Japanese and where we will be serving long term could be beneficial. Numerous Japanese pastors and missionaries have encouraged me to stay focused on the language learning until I have a firm grasp on it.

The good news is that the Language school looks like it will be an extremely good fit, and there are two churches in the city that are actively involved in coastal ministry, and whose pastors we met and have already begun to develop a friendship with. Two hours is still close enough to be able to reach the coast on weekends, and to be able to keep an eye on the ministry needs and opportunities that develop. Housing is also much easier to find inland, as there is obviously, still thousands of people who are living in temporary housing, many of whom are waiting for a permanent place to live to be built or to become available. Most coastal cities have long waiting lists for housing, however inland housing is cheap and easily found. Language learning is a slow process, and every person seems to learn at a different pace. However 1.5 – 2 years of dedicated language study seems to be a sort of minimum that is needed. This further increases the urgency of getting to Japan soon, as it will likely be 2 years AFTER our arrival that we’ll be ready to engage in full time ministry. It is interesting, and I believe another sign of God’s hand in this, that if we can get to Japan within the next six months, I will likely finish the language learning portion of our ministry right around the time that Pastors here for see an increased need for discipleship and church planting.

 

3. Determine how much monthly support we would need to serve effectively in the region. We’re still working this one out, but we’re getting a pretty good sense of cost out here. Most things are much more expensive than in the states. Groceries, gasoline, car insurance, and electricity are all roughly double what they are in the US. Also, this area has an average winter temperature below freezing, and we’re told that heating costs during the cold months can easily exceed $300 per month. Taxes are also significantly higher here. About the only thing that is cheaper here than in California is housing. $700 a month can get you a nice little three bedroom apartment (although the square footage would be comparable to that of a one bedroom in California). We’re still working out a budget, but we feel that, if we had the freedom to set our own support requirements, we could make a permanent long term move here with around $6,000 – $6,500 a month in financial giving. Please continue to pray for God’s direction. We feel that so far this trip has been extremely fruitful, we have a much clearer picture of the ministry needs and trajectory than we did before, and are more excited than ever to see God begin to maneuver us into the place He has for us.

Last week we spent time in the Tokyo area, meeting with missionaries, visiting Tomo’s home church, and also spending time introducing Titus to his family over here in Japan. Tomo’s home church is one of our supporting churches, and we shared an update about the direction God is taking us.

It is Obon season in Japan, a time when it is believed that the spirits of dead ancestors return to the homes of the living for a visit. It is traditional for people to return to their family homes and pay a visit to the graves and family alters of their deceased relatives. This presents a difficult situation for Christians in Japan who are challenged to find a way to remain involved in the family without compromising their faith.

The picture above is of a large graveyard. In Japan nearly all graveyards are affiliated with a Buddhist temple. Rather than burying their dead, Japanese traditionally practice cremation, and the ashes of the deceased are stored within a hallow compartment of the gravestone, which is actually a small tomb. A single tomb may hold the remains of many generations of a persons ancestors. Rituals performed when visiting one’s family grave are in many ways similar to practices in the west. The visitor will place flowers in a vase built into the tomb, wash it and clear away any old debris, burn some incense and spend time talking with the deceased. However each of these acts is a highly ritualized religious act which is expected of all visitors to a tomb. This again presents difficulty for Christians. One might wonder if a Christian bringing flowers to a grave, keeping it clean and saying a few words to a deceased relative constitutes an act of practicing another religion; many Christians in the states would do similar things without much of a second thought when visiting the grave of a loved one, but here it is far more difficult to define what is appropriate for a Christian and what is not. Be praying for discernment for Christians here, to know how to appropriately show love and respect to their family, and how to lovingly, yet boldly be a witness for Christ to lead them into a true and right relationship with their Creator.

Thursday we traveled north, taking the bullet train through Fukushima, Sendai, and finally to Hanamashi in Iwate, where Tomo’s parents picked us up and drove us two hours east to their home in Kamaishi, one of the coastal towns severely devastated by the tsunami. Friday we got our first glimpse of the area hit by the tsunami. It has been a year and a half since it hit, and by now almost all the debris has been removed and placed into large piles on the city outskirts. Where there used to be houses and shops and roads there are now only empty lots, overgrown with green grass and flowers. At first glance it looks as though there was simply nothing ever built in this area, but closer inspection reveals the foundations of houses.

This area is far more mountainous than I realized. Most of the Iwate coastline is mountains with cliffs leading right up to the water. Where there beaches and flat land, there the cities and towns were built, and there they were largely washed away. However because there are so many hills, in many places there are structures right on the coast that were untouched because they were built on a hill. There was a three story school situated directly on the coast line, about 100 yards from the water, the waters rose over the roof of the school, yet all the students and teachers escaped unharmed simply by climbing a little ways up the mountain on the opposite side of the school.

As we begin investigating the ministry opportunities in the area, one concern has come up, do to the difficulty in traveling between these isolated cities. The only language school is located two hours inland from the nearest coastal city, and up to 3 hours away from some of the others where there are ministry needs. For the first two years, language acquisition will be my primary goal, because without a solid grasp of Japanese I will be severely limited in my ability to minister long term in the area. However at the same time there are a great many needs in the coastal cities immediately. It is our hope and prayer that God will provide some way for me to both learn Japanese and begin building relationships and partnerships with other Christians serving in the coastal cities. Please be praying that God shows provides such an opportunity. Thus far the only options we have found involve choosing between language acquisition and relationship/partnership building. Be praying that if God wills He will provide an opportunity for us to live close to the areas where He wants us to serve long term, and still be able to have good language acquisition opportunities.

We moved! Our land lady needed to sell the condo we were living in, so we decided to move in with my parents until we can leave for Japan permenantly, which Lord willing will be in a little over six months. We’re down to living in one room, and essentially can be ready to leave for Japan at any time; we’ve gotten rid of everything that we don’t intend to take with us, or leave with my parents. In a way it’s exciting that we’re ready for “deployment” at a moments notice!

Also, as many of you know, my younger brother and his family are also going to Japan as missionaries, and recently they applied, and were accepted to go with JEMS (formerly they were with SEND), and are hoping to depart for Japan this December to work in Tohoku. If this sounds familiar, it’s because we are prayerfully considering following an very similar path to Japan. It’s seems likely that we’ll be serving in the same geographic area, which will be very beneficial as we’ll be able to support one another, and perhaps even partner together.

We’re leaving for Japan the day after tomorrow (Aug. 9), and upon returning will be deciding whether to proceed to Japan through JEMS or continue with SEND. Regardless of which mission we go with our goal will remain the same: to partner with Japanese churches and believers to establish new, reproducing churches in the Trunami raveaged region of Tohoku.

For this trip we’ll start by flying into Tokyo and staying with Tomo’s grandfather for one week. We’ll spend the time meeting with SEND missionaries, visiting Tomo’s home church, which is one of our supporting churches, and also taking Titus around to meet his great grand parents, and uncle. From there we’ll head north to Iwate, the northern most prefecture of the three struck by the Tsunami. There we’ll be staying with Tomo’s parents who are already actively involved in missions work in the region. We plan to spend two weeks there, meeting with Pastors, visiting the coastal cities, checking out language school, housing, and cost of living in the area.

This will be my first time visiting the area. Tomo has been before, but not since the Tsunami. It is our prayer that after visiting the area first hand God will show us clearly how He intends to use us to minister to the people affected by the disaster on a long term basis.