We spent our first few days in Yokohama, which is nearby and similar in scope to Tokyo. We stayed with the Hwang family, who have lived in Yokohama as missionaries for six years. The general scale of Yokohama is absolutely amazing. Every building is built vertically rather than laterally. It is uncommon to see a building that is just two stories or even one story tall. There are always hundreds of people walking down each and every street. The people in this area utilize and depend on technology so much. The electronics stores are more massive than anything I have ever seen in the United States. To understand the size, imagine one floor of your average Macy's or Nordstrom, then multiply that by eight to ten floors. Every storefront has a neon sign or billboard screen that all combine to create a cacophony of lights. Even the little things utilize technology to the fullest. For example, if you want to get a cup of water or tea at a rest stop, you only have to press two buttons: on the automatic paper cup dispenser and an automatic water and tea dispenser.
After a couple days staying in Yokohama, we drove up north to Nishikori. The contrast between the big, megaurban Tokyo/Yokohama and northern, rural Japan is incredible. You don't see anyone walking the streets in the rural areas. The people in this area have to be so frugal that you don't even see any houses lit up at night. There is no central heating in any of the houses and most people are unable to afford leaving their heaters on at night.
We stayed in Nishikori Baptist Church with Fujioka-sensei (pastor) and his wife Sachiko-san for four days. Sensei has been working tirelessly so that the people of the area might know the Lord. We were so happy to help with the numerous Christmas services and parties that Sensei had organized. There are currently a total of nine members at this church, and I think that they might have been in a state of contentment. But we could really see God working through our visit. I could just see and hear a fire being lit in many of the members, that they need to be passionate about spreading the Word of God in every aspect of their lives. On Christmas day, service attendees were able to spend time sharing how God has been moving in our lives in the last year. With the translating help of Judy, Naomi, Miki, and Matthew, everyone on our team was able to share, and we were able to hear from many members of the Church as well. Everyone was touched that we traveled so far to help them, and expressed a desire to help the church grow. Nearly everyone in the room was in tears by the time all had shared.
Also during our stay, we were fortunate enough to visit the temporary housing every day. It is in this area that the tsunami becomes evident. And I don't just mean you can find signs of damage here and there, I mean it is in your face all you can see evident. The temporary housing lies on the hills right around a large valley where the people used to live. There was at one point an entire city in this valley, now entirely destroyed. Every single building in this area was completely torn from its foundation. By the time we arrived, most all of the rubble had been cleared out. Both the people and the government are too fearful to rebuild anything in the valley, because it is too likely that another tsunami might strike.
The temporary housing was built high in the hills above where the water would reach. These houses are small; typically one room, one bath.There are many older people that have lost a husband or a wife that are living alone. The government is offering the housing free of rent, but the residents still have to pay for utilities. Because there is not a city remaining in the valley, and everyone's car was destroyed in the tsunami, there is little opportunity to work. This means that the housing residents are using up all of their savings to pay for utilities. The people here have a general feeling of fear and hopelessness, and it broke our hearts to see firsthand.
In our visits to the housing, we met the Klaus family. This wonderful family of 10 had been in Japan for years, and felt called to move towards the disaster area soon after its occurrence. They have been ministering in the temporary housing ever since. We were able to sing Christmas carols with the Klauses and the refugees for several days. It was simply amazing to see how moved the refugees were that so many people had come from far away, and their hearts were very open to hearing the gospel that the Klaus family was teaching through the carols. Our last visit, we passed out food to several housing camps, and share our faith with them. Again, it was wonderful to see how thankful everyone was that we would travel so far to help them. Many people were brought to tears. We were able to pray for one woman, that she might come to faith and understand that God is with them. Knowing very little Japanese, it was hard for me and first to feel useful in these situations. However, I have realized that I can still show God's love through my actions and emotions.
God has forces hard at work in Japan to share his Word, the people just need to receive the message with softened hearts. When we ask for prayers for Japan, I challenge that you keep this at the forefront. While it is still important to pray that the people in Japan will be provided for in comfort and health, it is really more important to pray that a door would open in their hearts, that they might receive Christ and understand his sacrifice. Japan is a country full of false spirituality, and there is no better time than now for God to ignite a movement for Christ. So I ask that you would pray for soft hearts and open minds, that the people of Japan would receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
On December 26th, we left Nishikori on our way back to Tokyo to work with a team from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) for a week. While we originally intended to be volunteering with a food distribution ministry this week, things have not worked out there. However, God has provided us with this wonderful opportunity to work with YWAM. I hope to be able to write again in the next few days with details from here in Tokyo.
If you read through this massive wall of text, I thank you for your interest. I apologize I did miss some things because I felt the post was getting too lengthy. Please continue to pray for Japan and that our team would remain healthy and focused. Domo arigato gozaimasu.
-Andrew Logan
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