Since the March earthquake in Japan this year, City Harvest Church has sent six disaster-relief teams to the region. Church members Lee Zhiwei and Evelyn Yong, give City News a firsthand account of their personal experiences during a trip in late October
Contributed By Lee Zhiwei and Evelyn Yong
Members of the disaster relief teams tore up flooring and cleaned up furniture.
This mission trip was different from the one in May. On that first trip, the disaster relief team was based an hour’s drive away from the affected Ishinomaki province. As such, we would travel to the affected areas and work in the day and then go back to our base, which was quite a distance away. This meant that we were always away from the residents and had few opportunities to interact with them.
During this trip however, the team stayed near the residents. The proximity allowed both the Japanese people and the volunteers to interact with one another with greater ease and convenience and created many opportunities to share about each other’s lives. As a result, a closer bond between them and us. Communication was also easier, as practical acts of love and kindness were enough to convey thanks and appreciation between parties, despite the language barrier.
HOPE AMIDST FEAR
Konno is a homeless 56-year-old man whose hometown was in Ishinomaki. At the time of the earthquake, Konno was staying in Tokyo and actually cycled for one month back to Ishinomaki. Along the way, he could only afford to have one meal every two to three days. When he reached his neighborhood, his previous home was in a bad condition but as he had no money, he stayed in the dilapidated home until authorities deemed it too dangerous for habitation. He was then moved to a temporary shelter at the Ochako House, which was the relief base for Hongodai Christ Church in Ishinomaki. This was where our team met him.
We learned that someone had already introduced the gospel to him and had given him some Christian books to read. Mika, our Japanese coordinator, told us that we had one week with Konno as he had to move out again, so we prayed that he would accept Christ before we left. The following day was a Sunday and our team attended a small chapel session. At the end of the meeting, the preacher gave an altar call for salvation and Konno responded. As the days went by, I began to notice changes in him. One obvious difference was his newfound devotion to the Word of God. After work each day, we would see him either reading the Bible or a Christian book, or attending a Bible study organized by Hongodai Church.
Despite the language barrier, our team continued to shower him with loving and caring gestures. Slowly but surely, we began to observe a tangible change in him. His countenance brightened, and he looked happier and hopeful, and smiled more. Our encounter with him reminded us of the verse in Jeremiah 29:11, which says that God has plans to give us a hope and a future. We believe that God will take care of Konno and give him a wonderful future and hope in spite of his present circumstances.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY HARVEST CHURCH.
We helped one family whose kitchen had been badly damaged by the flood. Our team hacked the flooring and removed part of it so that we could remove the sea mud. The work was physically demanding because the space that the men in our team worked in was very tight. But we managed to complete the job in half a day and the family was very grateful to us.
Tomizawa, who was known to be a very quiet and reserved person, started to warm up to us and began to open up and talk to us. Mika was most surprised as she had been in contact with this family for several months and was constantly reaching out to them, yet they were not very open to her. We were very glad that our presence made a difference to him and his family.
The ladies on our team went over to the neighboring house, which belonged to Kamei, a single mother. They helped to wash off the sea mud from her furniture and managed to salvage whatever they could that could still be used. This was important, as it would defray additional expenses on Kamei’s part, as she sought to rebuild her life and home all over again.
Lee Zhiwei (extreme right) and Evelyn Yong (front row, second from left).
Our third experience was with the Murai family. They now live on the second level of their house because the first storey was destroyed by the tsunami. We helped the family to remove the debris and cleaned up the first floor in preparation for renovation works. We spent one and a half days helping to remove plasterboards, nails, insulation sponges, kitchen cabinets—even a toilet bowl and a bathtub. The effect of the tsunami was still evident—the insulation sponges we removed from the ceiling were still dripping with moisture. Before we left one evening, they asked us to pray for them and their house, even though they were not Christians.
When we returned to our base station, we thought this was the last time we would see them but it was not so. We realized they were very moved by our efforts and the time we took to work on their house. They even visited us at our base just so they could spend time with us. Our experience with the Murai family encouraged us. It was evident that we had formed a genuine connection with them and, as a result, their hearts slowly opened up to us. In time to come, we pray that the Murai family will experience the love of God and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
