Eric just got back from his two days up in Ishinomaki. A lot of encouraging conversations; narrowing down some of the options; praying and looking and driving and looking and praying some more. There are right now two potential lots that we could buy; he and Chad went to both and prayed over them. There are drawbacks with both, but some positive things as well (and both are more reasonable in price than other lots). We have spent some time tonight looking over the information, the maps, googling the schools and the neighborhoods, and praying. It does not feel clear; we trust that God will make it clearer as we move forward. I want to write that I don’t remember a day in recent past where news of your prayers, promises from the Bible, and words of encouragement have ever helped me so much personally. We are deeply grateful.
Making a Way February 26, 2012
Eric has arrived – I hope!– in Ishinomaki by now. He called after arriving in Sendai, so he was close, at least. It was a hard night without him. Ian, who has been battling the same flu that got three of us, took a bad turn shortly after we dropped off Eric at the station. Eric went to church with the girls in the morning, and then I brought Ian and Owen for just the afternoon annual meeting. Ian seemed somewhat better today, and it was really important that we both be at church to say thank you and goodbye after eight years of ministry here….
But when we got back he seemed really listless, and his eyes began to look funny and sunken. He finally fell asleep, but his temperature went quite high – 40 degrees C – and his breathing seemed a bit strange. Eric and I were texting back and forth, and I was debating whether to try and find an open ER tonight or not, and what to do with the other three kids if that needed to happen. Thankfully, after I gave him a suppository for his fever, it began dropping. And then he wanted to drink – yeah! – and actually ate a little rice before he asked to go up to his bed. I am going to watch him closely tonight- maybe put him in my bed – and take him to a doctor in the morning. We would appreciate prayers for our little guy! He has asthma and that can quickly lead to bronchitis and pneumonia, as has happened in the past.
I was so encouraged by the time at church this afternoon. At the end we had been asked to both share something. Before that, we rose to sing a song, and it was one that I hadn’t heard or sung in a long time – God Will Make a Way (in Japanese, of course). I couldn’t make it through the chorus… As we navigate our housing up in Ishinomaki, it is now just one month from when we plan to depart Sanda. We are still waiting on word as to how finances will work out if we buy a home through our mission. Several of the properties that we posted several days ago turned out to not be available. Our Japanese business manager called some real estate offices for us and was told that there are people buying up all the available land up there and selling it at double it’s value (hard for us to believe!). Moving companies are not able to commit to us if we don’t know where we are moving to, and yet say we need to decide by the first week of March or they will be too booked to move us…We are really praying that Eric will be clearly led by God these next two days.
And then this song: ”God will make a way, when there seems to be no way; he works in ways, we cannot see, he will make a way for me…” I immediately remembered a story that our friend Dori V. told – they had been close friends with us in Japan– they were moving their family up to Hokkaido but could not find housing. A friend called her and started singing this song to her… then she got in their car to cry and this song came on the radio…and of course God did make a way, and gave them a great home for their family…
Right after the song we were called up to the front to share. I had written out what I wanted to say, but found myself in the embarassing situation of having a runny nose and no tissue while I was talking! It was very emotional. But I thanked this congregation for how they have stood by us these past eight years, and shared how much I have learned from the pastor, Makio Sensei and his wife. Even though they live about fifty minutes away and we see them only once a month or so, they have truly been models to Eric and me on many levels. We have seen many unforeseen challenges come their way the past eight years, and they have never flinched but continued to be leaders who walked with integrity, often at a sacrifice to themselves.
One of the things I have loved is watching them raise their three children, who are now in their young twenties. Since their kids were little, they always had family time around the table before bed. Someone would read a devotion, they would each share a prayer request, hold hands, and pray for each other. Megumi Sensei said sometimes when the children were younger and didn’t want to be there, they would hold each other’s pinkies and pass on the prayer time (can’t you picture it?). But they always sat there and were a part, and it has remained an important family ritual that they all look forward to now when they are home. I love that.
When I finished my tearful speech, Eric started his, and he couldn’t get through the first line because he was so full emotionally. At the end of his sharing, people laid hands on us and Makio Sensei’s father, the founder of the church, prayed over us. His deep and earnest prayer in formal Japanese, asking for God’s care and protection and guidance for us, touched me deeply. We were then given an amazing bouquet of flowers. I’m not a big bouquet kind of person – but these were so beautiful….
And the last song? ”Let your Glory Fall…” It was the one that was sung at our commissioning eleven years ago as we were sent from Los Angeles by our church there, Hope Christian Fellowship. Our church in Sendai sang it to me when I received my PhD. It is such a beautiful “sending” song: Let your glory fall in this room, Let it go forth from here to the nations, Let your fragrance rest in this place, As we gather to seek your face…
I was so reminded that God knows just what we need. He will make a way where there seems to be no way; He is sending us and He will give us the privilege of letting his glory shine in Ishinomaki.
The Fatherless February 25, 2012
Eric will be leaving tomorrow late afternoon to take the bullet train up to Ishinomaki, returning on Tuesday evening. We appreciate your prayers! These will be important days where we will hopefully be able to make a decision on housing. Pray that God closes the wrong doors and opens up the right one. Our children’s schooling is important in all of this – we pray for wisdom and discernment in the decision of where we move.
I wasn’t able to post our newsletter from last month on our blog, so I wanted to put one more story about a young guy who Eric has befriended. Last fall a Japanese friend, while praying, felt that God told her that Eric would be the father for the fatherless up in Ishinomaki. I love how God is already doing this! The part below was written by Eric, and I include an update at the end.
Like many kids his age in Ishinomaki, Y. lost much in last year’s tsunami. I first met him and his family when our team helped to move them out of the evacuation center and into their government-provided, Red Cross-furnished temporary housing twenty minutes away. We tried earnestly to engage him on that day, but he remained aloof. We did manage to gather from him that his dad had walked out on the family the year before. As we assembled in a circle to pray for his family and to say goodbye to their tsunami-ravaged home, Y. turned his back on the group and walked away, despite his mom’s protests.
God impressed Y. on my heart and I continued to pray for him upon returning to Sanda. The next time I was up there, we were helping to clean the elementary school that served as home for Y.’s family and some 700 others over the previous 7 months. His mom happened to be there, and phoned Y. to come meet us. He showed up a few minutes later with his baseball and glove.
After exchanging greetings, I offered to play catch with him. Skeptical of my intentions, he declined and walked away, again in spite of his mom’s urgings. I had hoped to make a connection but realistically — could I have expected anything different?
Here was a fatherless junior high schooler still struggling to stay afloat in the aftermath of that dread wave. His most prized possessions: trading cards, comic books, and video games, discarded with the rest of the rubble. His friends were either deceased or dispersed. His beloved school baseball team was now defunct and he was relegated to live in the isolated refugee community miles away from anything familiar. PRAY!
On my next trip I went to visit Y. but learned that he was away at a school where others like him were being bussed to. I left my cell number with his mom, not expecting a call. What a joyful surprise it was the very next day when Y. called me, asking for a ride into town to be with friends. In the car we actually had meaningful conversation.
The next day he called again on behalf of his mom and sister who needed a ride into the city. God made chauffeuring a priority that day and Y. came along for the drive. When I dropped mom and sis off, Y. announced that he wanted to spend the day with me. God is amazing! I put him to work busting down walls and cleaning an auto repair shop with the rest of our team. At the end of that long cold day I stopped and used relief funds to buy his family a heater and other supplies for their thin-walled prefab dwelling. In presenting his mom with the goods, I told her about Y.’s hard work hard helping others that day. Somewhat in disbelief, she gratefully accepted.
I’ve had other interactions with Y. since then. I’ve seen his heart of compassion for others. On my most recent visit he urged me to go with him and visit an old woman living alone in the same complex. They were from the same evacuation center and he was worried for her in the cold and loneliness of winter. He has experienced God’s love and is caring for others now. Please pray for Y. and others like him whose stories of transformation continue on.
(Blog update: When Eric was up last week, he saw Y. a few times. My Dad had heard Y’s story, and asked Eric to give him a twenty-dollar bill. Eric gave him the equivalent in yen, and told him the story, and it is meant to be for him to spend on himself. When Eric dropped him off at home, Y. went to his mom and handed him the two-thousand yen. We loved this boy’s care for his mom! He just called Eric last night, asking when we will be moving up there. He’s counting down the days!)
Possible Land for Purchase February 21, 2012
This morning Eric was driving to Kobe to take care of Olivia’s passport and he felt the Lord say to him, “Today I am going to give you a house.” As he was driving home, Jennifer Huddleston (who lives up there with her family) began messaging both of us a number of pinpoints for property that she found in both the Be One home neighborhood (Kazuma) and Watanoha, the other area hit really hard where Be One has focused their efforts.
Trust February 17, 2012
Thanks for friends who are walking through our move with us! These days are a bit up and down and so we appreciate the emails and the prayers on our behalf. Here are a few updates from the past week.
The BIG house came in at a higher price than they had first told Eric even – beyond what we could even try to pay, not to mention all the repairs that would be required. We were glad for this confirmation NOT to move forward on it. While Eric and Annie were up in Ishinomaki, a Japanese friend called other realtors up there who hadn’t been contacted yet — there really are NO houses for rent or for sale for our family at this point.
The night after Eric came back, we talked again with a friend who is willing to help us buy a pre-fab house that is built in the US and shipped over – it could all be done in three months, and at a much cheaper price than building Japan homes. At this point, this is our best (only?) option. So we are going to keep moving forward and see how God directs us. We have found a couple of possible pieces of land on the internet that could be a good location- we need to inquire, pray, and pray some more. (Tonight I did my first Google map prayer walking – it was kind of fun). If we have a house built, we are considering living for the first few months in the temporary housing that they have built for residents up there (because there are some that are only half full, they have opened these up to volunteers).
Before going to sleep that night, I opened up the Bible by my bed – an Amplified New Testament that used to be my mom’s – and the pages fell open to Hebrews 11:9: [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise.” We have some great witnesses who have gone before and led the way with temporary housing…
But, there are some days where I lose perspective and forget who I am trusting. This afternoon, I called a moving company today to ask them to come and give us an estimate. We actually need to get two estimates – one to move our things up to Ishinomaki in late March; the other in case we do a prefab home and need to have the moving company pick up our things in late March and then store our things for a few months. The lady who answered of course used all of this polite gibberish Japanese that is nearly impossible to understand over the phone. After getting through some preliminary information, I was able to discern that she wanted to know our address here – that was easy- and then our address in Ishinomaki. When I said we don’t have an address yet, she said they can’t give us an estimate until we get one (apparently if the house is on a narrow road, they need to send everything up in several small trucks rather than one big truck, which makes a big price difference). So they won’t give us an estimate; and they obviously can’t reserve a truck for us on the busiest moving week of the year in this country! I got off the phone and burst into tears. It isn’t a big deal, as Eric reminded me. Moving will work out… my eyes were not trusting in Jesus.
Last night, we talked on the phone with a friend in the U.S. who is giving us a wonderful donation towards purchasing land. It is a beginning that greatly encouraged us in this journey. Tonight, as we shared with the kids about this pledge, Annie said, “Mommy, I think God wants us to move up to Ishinomaki.” Wow! That was huge. God is at work — most importantly in our children’s hearts. We don’t know where this is all going to lead, but we know step by step — when we have faith and when we don’t — we will see evidence of His work and His sweet care for us.
on One who can’t be tied down… February 12, 2012
A friend just sent me this – it is both awesome and frightening if we really believe it’s true!
A Parable Concerning God’s Wife and Her Husband
A portion of a meditation delivered by the Rev. Stuart Coles of the Presbyterian Church in Canada at the World Council of Churches meetings at Rochester, N.Y., August 1963.
One of the cardinal sins against the Holy Spirit is the sin of pasteurization or dullness. Another is religionizing. (Religion comes from the same root as “ligament” and “ligature”.) Religion is the inveterate craving of our minds, our values, our ideas of what is appropriate and what is inappropriate for God’s behavior and outlook. Religion is the enterprise of reducing God to a manageable affair.
One of the most difficult things I know of is to study the Bible and to worship the God of the Bible without falling into this double sin of dullness and religionizing. The Bible is, if we can get our religious, heavily smoked glasses off, anything but a dull book, anything but a religious book. And the God of whom it speaks is anything but a well-behaved wraith of man’s devout imaginings. He is altogether alive, altogether unmanageable, altogether uninhibited in His behavior. And the Bible is specifically a book about God’s love affair, His stormy and passionate and heart-breaking marriage or covenant with an oddly matched wife or covenant partner.
The church is God’s wife. He has married Himself to her “for better or for worse”. According to the church’s history in the Bible and in subsequent ages, it is frequently “for the worse.” She suffers from selfishness, from self-righteousness, from stuffiness, from timidity, from the cruelties that spawn out of fear and prejudice.
Most of all, God’s wife suffers from the womanly temptation to want to settle down. She craves a place to shelter and entrench herself, her children, her knick-knacks. Incidentally to all this, she secretly determines to reform her Husband, to domesticate Him, to tie Him down to where she is and where she wants to stay.
“To tie God down” to that which has been, is the essence of religion. Religion is the corruption of the church’s marriage partnership with her Husband.
God cannot be tied down. He is free, He is a missionary, a pioneer, an explorer, a frontiersman, a creator of that which h as not been before. He shakes the status quo. He tears the old times off the world’s calendar, so that every age is a new age, and every day is an adventure into an untrodden future. He is a very turbulent Husband. He keeps moving on, and He keeps calling to His wife to follow Him, and keep a-coming with Him into each new situation.
The church wants to settle down. She wants security. “Organized religion is interested in organized religion.” The church knows in her secret heart how dangerous it is to leave all defenses and all establishments and follow her Lord: a person can get killed going where God goes and doing things the way God does.
Where does God want to go, and what does He want to do? Some religionists act as though all God wanted to do was “go to church”.
Sure He “goes to church”—but just long enough to have a quick, no-foolishness chat with His wife—a briefing session on “what’s cooking”. He pays her very loving, very deeply understanding, husbandly attention. But then, all too soon, He says, “Come on, old girl. Let’s get moving. We’ve got work to do.” And He goes out the door so fast, and in such an unexpected direction, that half the time, “the old girl” just stands there gaping. She tries to keep her skirts down and her housekeeping papers from blowing all over the place in the freeze created by God’s going. This breeze is known as (the presence of) the Holy Spirit. (Holy Wind).
What Jesus Is Doing February 11, 2012
I have had a fun couple of days with the three kids who are here with me. Tonight (thanks to an idea from the movie Ponyo) we did a backwards night — we did baths and showers first, then ate dessert (oh- will they still eat dinner? I guess it doesn’t matter too much one night…), and then ate dinner (they gave it a good effort, at least!) and watched a movie. And ate caramels after. (Olivia: “You are the best Mom EVER!” Amazing what a night of bribery can do).
I have felt a bit restless about our housing situation. Eric finally heard the price on the big house that is going up for sale and it is higher than we can hope to pay; if the owner doesn’t go down we will not pursue it. We have started thinking about the option of buying a lot of land building a prefab home on it… Whatever we do, God needs to open the door wide and make it clear. We hope to have more clarity by Monday. Thanks for sticking with us and praying!
Eric has shared a few really neat stories from their past two days.
This morning he went to see Mrs. S. (see previous blog entry, A Tree Grows in Ishinomaki). He didn’t have her phone number, so just dropped by. He was so surprised – thrilled! – when her daughter and granddaughter from Tokyo greeted him. They had just arrived to spend the weekend with Mrs. S. They had a wonderful reunion, before Eric had to return to helping one of the teams.
There is a YWAM team spending six weeks with the Be One team up there. They are young, energetic, and amazing servants. We’ve loved the stories we have heard of this team. Eric said there are a lot of other volunteers up there this weekend — thirteen drove up from Osaka late last night in addition to others – and the YWAM team cleaned the Be One house, made a huge dinner last night, and tonight again two big pots of chili. Amazing servants!
We had heard two weeks ago about a disturbing incident that happened to one of these team members. Somehow, while working on the second floor of a damaged home, a bowling ball dislodged from a box headed down the stairs and hit her hard in the head. Several trips to the hospital and CAT scans did not help explain the severe headaches and recurring pain that has continued. Finally her parents, back in the US, decided that it would be best for her to return to the US for medical attention. When I talked with Jennifer, she was going to start looking for tickets.
Last night, after the team cleaned and made dinner, they were in the guest house having a time of worship and prayer. As she was worshipping, she heard Jesus say, “I have just healed you.” She realized her head ache — the pain – was completely gone. Completely! The team rejoiced, and went into the home where Eric and the others were able to join in the celebration. She is still pain free- completely healed! Only Jesus could do this. Only Jesus.
Jonathan and Michiyo Straker are the other family who have been making plans to move to Ishinomaki. They flew in from the US last week, and have been spending time with Michiyo’s family. They arrived several days ago, and for the first time saw the house that Be One has helped them to purchase. Jonathan realized that the house is in the very neighborhood where he had done relief work last summer, and one of the neighbors had taken him around and introduced him to all the people living there– the shopkeepers, neighbors, etc. Isn’t that SO cool? He had already met his new neighborhood and didn’t know it at the time! Today the combined teams continued to work to get the Straker’s new home ready to be lived in when they come back down from Hokkaido with their three children. Praying that God continues to prepare their way for their whole family in wonderful ways. I love what Jesus continues to do.
Four Hundred Years later February 9, 2012
Eric and Annie should be in the last leg of their twelve-hour drive up to Ishinomaki. I’m looking forward to getting the call that they have arrived safely! The Huddlestons have had a full day of meetings, guests, and volunteers… I hope Eric will be able to help out for the next couple of days.
We just sent out our newsletter a few days ago – I will post the whole thing soon- but I wanted to post one of the articles that we wrote and include a neat update.
On our family’s “vision trip” to Ishinomaki in November, Eric took us to a famous attraction there – the historic ship San Juan Bautista, which remarkably suffered only little damage from the tsunami.
The existing ship is a replica of the Spanish-styled vessel that was built four hundred years ago by the Lord of Sendai; Date Masamune. During our last term in Sendai, we were intrigued by this legendary leader who, contrary to most other rulers throughout 17c. Japan, showed sympathy to Christians and allowed the gospel to be preached.
While most of Japan was extremely closed to foreign relations, Date modeled the opposite. He ordered the building of the San Juan Bautista in Ishinomaki, and sent an envoy of 180 to trade, establish diplomatic relationships with the Pope, and to bring back missionaries to Tohoku. Led by a Franciscan friar named Luis Sotelo, this voyage was the first ever from Japan to sail around the world. Some of the expedition members became Christians and ended up staying in Spain to escape the persecution of Christians which had begun back home.
Date wrote this in a letter to the Pope, “I’ll offer my land for a base of your missionary work. Send us as many padres as possible.”
While still in Rome, word reached them of the seriousness of the persecution, and the Church determined it was too dangerous to send more missionaries at that time. Date’s wish was never fulfilled. Sotelo and the rest of the embassy eventually returned to Japan, where Christianity was being ruthlessly abolished. Sotelo himself was later burned at the stake for his faith.
Japan entered a long period of isolation from the rest of the world. Yet even after this nation reopened its doors to the West centuries later and Christianity once again was permitted to spread, the Tohoku region has remained very resistant.
God has been doing amazing things in the hearts of the people here as Christians from within Japan and from all over the world answer the call to come to the aid of this devastated region. We reflect on the four-hundred year old wish of a Japanese lord and the ship that stands as a symbol of his desire for this land to prosper.
Housing (Non) Update February 1, 2012
A few friends have written to ask if there are any housing updates — so we wanted to let you know that we still don’t have housing, but we still do have faith (most of the time!) in a God who loves to do the impossible… who makes axes swim… who brings life from death… who calls and provides, every single time. (Though not necessarily in the timing of our liking).
A realtor in Ishinomaki sent a house link to the Huddlestons last weekend as they were coming to Osaka for a week. It is not listed yet, so there is no price on it. The realtor said to Jennifer, “Is big OK?” And she said, “Yes, big is good!” And then she – and we — saw just HOW big. It is huge. It is a compound. It is almost funny how big it is. From the google earth photo, you can see that the tsunami came into the home, but we don’t know how extensive the damage is. For the price to be anywhere near possible, there will have to be some tsunami damage! If God were to provide this home, it could be an amazing place for volunteers, as well as to start a business for the locals in Ishinomaki who have lost their jobs.
Other friends/realtors are also looking. We are praying for whatever housing the Lord will provide. A rental would be the easiest. If it is a home for sale, we still are not sure how that will work. (We can’t take out a loan on a home because we don’t have permanent residence here). We are looking into different options, such as an organization/individuals who could help fund the home, and then we would pay them monthly like a mortgage. If you have any creative ideas, please share with us! More importantly, please keep praying. We have given notice to move out of our home here in Sanda by the end of March, in order for our children to start the local schools up there in early April.
On Sunday we were greatly encouraged by a gathering in Osaka for Hope for Japan, sponsored by Be One. It is a wonderful “family” of people from the greater Kansai region with a heart for helping those who have had disasters this past year, including Wakayama. Scads of churches from across the region are represented, which is one of the sweetest things about these gatherings. Olivia and Ian couldn’t figure out why many of us were crying as they gathered around and laid hands on us… but it was touching and faith-building to realize that many are “with” us in this move. Thanks for joining us in prayer.
Godzilla Tsunamis February 1, 2012
While doing some research tonight on the history of Ishinomaki, I found a heart-wrenching blog by a Japanese professional photographer whose parents had lived in Onagawa when the tsunami came. Their bodies were never found. She and her sister finally had their funeral in September, sans bodies. Her father and her grandfather had been photographers, as well. Her blog is brave and beautiful as she writes (in English, though she is Japanese), of the process of grief. She took photos of her childhood city in the weeks and months following the tsunami to help raise money to reconstruct Onagawa.
I am going to contact her and let her know how much her blog touched me. Perhaps I will have a chance to meet her and see more of her work when we are living in Ishinomaki…
One of her blog posts was about a book that she read since the tsunami (in Japanese) that detailed the history of three other tsunamis to the region in the past one hundred years. I learned a lot just reading this summary:
“The water receded to a far distance so that the bottom of the bay became visible. Fishes were jumping and some who went after them washed away and others got back alive. ” “I was up on the electric pole watching.” “The first floor of the photo studio was under the water, but the second floor was alright. Oh, how I hated to throw away the tatami floor mats.” “It was a kind of fun to cook communal meals outdoor with neighbors.” “People on the hills came down and helped us.” His stories sounded “not so serious” in comparison with the recent great earthquake and tsunami. There were even elements of humor in their stories that as a child I enjoyed hearing about the tsunami from adult men in my neighborhood.
The tsunami he experienced at the age of 22 was only the Chile tsunami. He could have possibly heard about the earlier great tsunamis; but such information is totally useless if it does not lead to risk management. For my mother, she was a native of Akita where there is no tsunami. The only tsunami she experienced was the one caused by the Chile earthquake in March, 2010 (only 0.5 meter high in Onagawa). This one was another “easygoing” type; it came slowly taking 24 hours to reach Onagawa from the other side of the earth. At that time the relatives came and helped my parents move everything from the first floor to the second floor and to the studio which took a half day, thus avoiding any flood damage.
I think this book should be read by everyone who lives along the Sanriku. It is easy enough for any middle school student to read. This book is packed with more valuable information than any other books on tsunami. “History repeats itself.” “Natural disaster repeats itself, too.” (Though I don’t want to think about it now…)
