Writing from Ishinomaki once again...

My time in South Korea was productive, and it was fun to see some friends as well. I got back into Japan with no problems and didn't even need to show my proof of flight back home in June. Praise the Lord for his wonderful provisions!!!

After South Korea I headed to Iwaki, where this trip started for me back in July 2011. As my Dad aptly explained on Facebook for me, "Iwaki is where this whole adventure started for Chloe, when we went there last summer and visited a section of town devastated by the tsunami. That is where she started sensing that she needed to come back to japan and help out." Thanks, Dad!! In Iwaki, I helped with their daily projects in the community. I helped out with a cafe in the temporary housing units and then got a "temporary housing tour" from one of the staff members at the church. I also helped out around the church (which is also a volunteer housing center currently) cleaning up and talking with some of the volunteers. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, but I'm planning to go back during my "travel week" for a day, and will hopefully get some pictures then. 

When I cam back from Iwaki, I stayed in Chiba for a few days because I was exhausted from traveling so much. On Sunday (the day after I cam back to Chiba) I shared my testimony at the Ellison's church, Chiba New Town Baptist Church. I shared about how I became a Christian and how I came to Japan, with Mary Lou translating for me. It was a privilege to share with them what God has been doing in my life, and a few people talked to me afterward about it, which was encouraging :)

On Wednesday I took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Sendai, then took an hour and a half bus ride up to Ishinomaki. Ms. H, who I will be working with very soon, had to go to a conference for a week, so instead of staying at her apartment, I've been staying at Watanoha Christian Church (Watanoha is a neighborhood in Ishinomaki). While staying here, I've been weeding, teaching English, and doing Samaritan's Purse mud outs. There is another girl staying here with me. Her name is Naomi, and she is also going to be living and working with Ms. H. She is Japanese and grew up south of Tokyo, but speaks English very well because she has been a student in Portland, Oregan for almost 5 years. Naomi and I get along very well, which has been a relief, because we were both a little worried about living with someone we didn't know. 

On Sunday, two teams from America will be coming to Ishinomaki, and I will work with them for the entire two weeks they are here, with a few possible recesses if Ms. H needs me for anything. I'm excited to get to know these two teams while they are here, and to see what kind of jobs we will be doing this time. With so many people (total = 17) we may very well be doing a number of different things each day!

It's strange to think that I only have three weeks left in Ishinomaki, and four left in Japan. I'm not entirely sure what to do with that information yet, but I'm working on it :)

One thing I'd like to share with you all. While I was in Iwaki, someone read James chapter 4 out loud to everyone. I caught up later, but one short section really stuck with me. James 4:13-15 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'"

While the idea itself is perhaps a little disheartening, I feel that I'm able to relate to this passage well. I had all of these plans for my life - where I was going to go, what I was going to do, etc. - but God had other plans and showed me that my plans for my life were not the best for me. 

This passage and revelation reminds me of the Casting Crowns song, "Who Am I". The chorus declares:

"I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours"

What a powerful and comforting thought! Even though we are "mists that appear for a little while and then vanish," God cares so deeply about us that He listens to every word we say, and He helps us through every situation and every struggle.

Thanks for reading my blog. As my time in Japan comes to a close, my blogging may slow as well. Hopefully I will be able to write a "finishing up" post when I arrive back in Boston at the end of June.

God Bless,

Chloe

PS. If you want to see photos from my time in Ishinomaki this time, here is a link to what's happened so far: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150866661091234.407575.608216233&type=1&l=ec8dc70ec1