(part 3 of my trip to the devastated area in Japan)
As you know from my previous posts, this trip has made me realize that in great suffering there is also great blessing. (If you haven't read the previous posts, I encourage you to do so before reading more.) I have truly experienced both on this trip. With, and even as result of the hard things, there have been great blessings.
1. Hard: The town of Otsuchi was devastated. Out of the 10,000 people, 4,000 are dead or missing, 1,700 are in evacuation centers and many hundreds are digging out of their mud-filled homes.
1. Great: Teamwork among volunteers from different cities and different countries are coming together to help. More than 90% of the foreign volunteers that I have seen and met are Christians. We brought needed supplies, dug mud out of houses, dumped out damaged items, made 1,700 rice balls for people in evacuation centers, encouraged and played with the children there, and washed the feet of those in the centers while listening to them.
Most say that this is the least reached area in all of Japan. Every house seemed to be deeply involved in Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. What a joy it is then to silently serve these people who are so much in need of God's grace.
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