Hello everyone! It’s been quite some time since my last update, so I figured it was time to send out another letter and let you know how God has been working in my life the past few months.
After leaving Korea, I spent the summer working as the manager at Karuizawa Retreat Center, up in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. TEAM owns a property which contains a number of cabins which missionaries and pastors can rent during the year. Their busiest season is the summer months and I had the opportunity to serve there taking care of reservations and working on the property. It was a wonderful time of fellowshipping with other missionaries in TEAM.
It’s been amazing looking back over the past few months and seeing how God has answered so many of my prayers in such a direct and expedient way. The biggest answer to prayer was first, that God provided an organization to work with here in Japan to do relief work. I am now working for an organization called CRASH – Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope – which is doing tsunami and earthquake relief work in northern Japan after the disaster of March 11th. Their goal is to partner with local churches and organizations and work together doing clean up work and then moving towards the recovery stage which involves a lot of “Kokoro no kea” which essentially is emotional care for those affected by 03/11. Their mission statement is: “Serving the local church to bring help and hope through the body of Christ to those in need in Japan.”
Many people up north have been traumatized by the events of March 11th, and CRASH’s goal is to meet first their physical needs as best as they can but then move into helping them work through some of the emotional trauma which they suffered after the earthquake and tsunami. And in doing so, developing relationships with the people in the various local communities and seeking out opportunities to evangelize and share the gospel.
The second, very direct way that God answered my prayers was in providing a visa for me to stay in Japan for the year and work for CRASH. My parent’s mission, TEAM, The Evangelical Alliance Mission, was able to sponsor a visa for me, so that I could stay in Japan for the entire year and work up north. Securing a visa can be a very difficult thing when trying to work abroad, and many organizations and companies are reluctant to sponsor one. However, TEAM was willing to sponsor mine and allow me to work with CRASH, which was such a blessing.
I spent the first few weeks with CRASH in their headquarters in Tokyo, familiarizing myself with the systems and procedures in place. In September I had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer up at the Ichinoseki Base doing relief work for the first time since the disaster in March. As I surveyed the devastation of homes and communities in the areas we worked in and talked with those relocated to temporary housing, hearing their stories of the day of March 11, I was completely overwhelmed. In returning to the base for the night I came across the verse in Jeremiah which discusses the importance of trusting in God and putting our confidence in him.
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
The events in March in Japan were undoubtedly the time of drought, as discussed in the verses from Jeremiah. But seeing the work done on these bases is undeniably the bearing of fruit even in the most difficult of times. The clean up work that has been done, the relationships that have been built, the partnerships with churches that have been established since the disaster. God is doing great work up north through the people of CRASH both at the headquarters and on the bases.
Last week I moved up north to work at the Tono Base in Iwate Prefecture. I will be serving as the Planning and Financial Officer on the base management team working along side my parents. And if it is the Lord’s will, I will be on the base for the year that I am in Japan. I am incredibly thankful to be able to serve the Lord in this way!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
In Him,
Amy
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| Tono Base Staff: Jim, Eileen, Miyu, Miki, Juan and myself along with the Tallents and Barkers (2 volunteer couples) |
For more information about CRASH, visit their website: http://crashjapan.com/
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