Hello all,

The "bathroom"

Well, the Sylvan Way team will be on their way to Tokyo tomorrow morning, half of them via van and half of them via Shinkansen (bullet train). We had a very productive week and completely finished cleaning the house we started when we arrived in Ishinomaki. It is such a blessing to see a house go from dark, dirty, and depressing to bright, clean and encouraging in just a week and two days.

The floor before

Look at those clean floors!

The entire trip was uneventful (I mean this in the good way where no one got hurt) except for one event: Lutheran Brethren Missionary Dean Bengtson, who is basically our boss when we work on a house somehow fell about 5 or 6 feet down and ended up laying on his side, shoulder, and head in a hole. Many of us thought he had seriously injured himself, but it turned out he only dislocated his pinky! He obviously has some bruising, but he was well enough to come to work again the next day and do an outdoor cafe for the neighborhood.

On Sunday we attended Abe san's house church and had an incredible meal afterward, as always. Yas then took us to Minami Sanriku, which is one of the largest worst-hit areas in northern Japan. This was a new experience for the Sylvan Way team, and we all went home with a new understanding of what the tsunami did to these communities along the Pacific coast.

It was such a blessing to get to know the guys from Sylvan Way. I know that I will never forget them or the good times we had as we worked hard together.

Eric from the Sylvan Way team
is showing how we felt about our
Yakiniku lunch after we finished
the house! :)

I am staying in Ishinomaki now until June 15, and will be taking a few short trips to other locations during this time. While living here, I will be assisting Ms. H set up a children's ministry. Please pray for communication between us and for the ministry opportunities that we will come in contact with in the next two months.

Blessings to you all,

Chloe Milhous