Sunday April 24, 2011 A Rare Experience and a New Crew

Visited a church in Sendai for services. It was on the Clarks’ and Gibsons’ way out of town, so I followed them in the K truck. The songs were in Japanese, but mostly translations of American hymns, so I hummed along. Since I didn’t understand the sermon, I just read my Bible until

the next song. Then there were two baptisms. You have to understand, in Japan, you can go years without someone making the leap of faith from their family’s traditions to Christianity, so this was a rare blessing indeed. Many times families will put intense pressure on converts to continue their traditional obligations, or even shun family members who are Christians.

Afterward I was invited to stay for a meal and sharing time. I told a little about what we did in Ishinomaki yesterday. The man across from me was the vice president of his company. The quake hit their office building in Sendai while they were in a meeting on the sixth floor, and since all the office chairs were on casters, everyone was rolling back and forth. He said after a big quake about 20 years ago, their building was reinforced, so thankfully they come through ok, including their offices in several other cities, except that one is in the radiation caution area.

A woman told how after the quake, she ran to the nearest school only to see her house in Sendai swept away. She spent the night on the roof of the school, surrounded by water, but remembers how beautiful the sky was. She has been a Christian for three years, and because of that, she says though she lost everything, she is even now able to say, “I have everything.”

Rounded out the day by picking up a heavy metal prybar at the DIY store, along with umbrellas and slippers (special requests), a tub for washing muddy boots, and a bigger mirror for the bathroom. While I was at church, Mama and Papa Kitani arrived at the dojo to be our cooks for the next few weeks. Got back all ready to scrub boots, but Beth had already done most of them. Rats!