Tsunami Cleanup

This past weekend I went up north to Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県) to volunteer with disaster relief efforts. I've been wanting to go ever since the earthquake and tsunami struck and definitely wanted to make it up there before leaving Japan. I'm so glad it finally worked out. I was able to go with a great group-- Sarah, Chris, and Sayoko, who are also English teachers, and my friend, Reiko, who is the dietitian at my elementary school. We went to a town called Watari-cho, which is just south of Sendai. I had heard from some other English teachers in my city who went up about a month ago that the town was about 60-70% destroyed, but since it wasn't one of the hardest hit places, there haven't been very many volunteers going there. It's only about a 5 hour drive from here, so we could go over a weekend. We had to wake up around 2:30 to be on the road by shortly after 3:00 a.m. in order to make the drive and find our way to the Watari-cho Volunteer Center in time for the 8:30 a.m. daily job auction. In a room crowded with a few hundred volunteers I struggled to hear and understand the details of each job being introduced. Reiko clarified what the speaker was saying, and when there was a job that seemed like something we could do-- shovel dirt, pull up carpet [at a location where a toilet would be available for us to use] all five of us raised our hands, stood up, and I pushed forward eagerly. Even though the group was only supposed to be 20 people, and several other groups had got up sooner...and the announcer said there were only 3 more spots, I asked him if 5 of us could join, and he agreed. Sweet! We had a job assignment...after 3 months of waiting to go north, 5 hours driving, and 45 minutes of signing up and figuring out what was going on, we were gonna get to help. When we pulled up to our job site, it seemed like we had been tricked into doing Saturday chores for people who were trying to take advantage of the volunteers trekking to their prefecture. The neighborhood didn't look like it had even been touched by the tsunami. !? But a few minutes later we found out that the tsunami HAD reached this far and had flooded the fields with salt water, including those of Mori San-- whose house we had just arrived at-- rendering them useless for years to come. He told a couple of us that he hasn't been able to earn any money since the disaster. In his farming equipment garage he showed us the line on the wall where the water had reached about a meter high. The floor was caked with a thick layer of dried mud that the tsunami washed in. A group of 22 of us-- volunteers who'd driven up from Tokyo, Nagoya, and Gunma (us), as well as Red Cross volunteers-- set to work sweeping out the garage, cleaning out another supply shed, and pulling up tatami flooring that had been flooded. [Cultural Note: We were told that the males should move equipment in the shed, and the females should sweep the garage. It's surprising how gender roles are so clearly defined and blatantly, shamelessly stated here. Good thing I've had lots of experience at school sweeping while the male teachers stand around.] In the garage there was a narrow half-boxed-in ledge that ran the length of the wall. It was also full of dirt, leaves, and debris that had been washed in. Because of the width and shape of this ledge, it was really hard to get the insides cleaned out. When our leader asked us if we needed any tools/supplies other than what we had, we told him we needed a small brush or something. Soon after, we were given a toilet brush. It was the perfect size and worked really well. A few times while working it struck Sarah and I as funny that we were cleaning out the garage with a toilet brush! I'm sure it got more use in that one afternoon than in all the years it may have been used for cleaning toilets. After several hours, once we'd gotten rid of all the dirt, we formed an assembly line to move 15 kg and 20 kg bags of seeds from the shed to the garage. I was so glad to have the chance to meet Mori San and his wife that day, and to listen to their stories. Although it made me sad. Mori San's eyes smiled brightly even as he was telling us about the difficulties he's facing. I wish I could be friends with him. Just before leaving their house, I went to tell his wife that I'm a Christian and that I went to help them because I wanted to communicate God's love for them. I told her that even though things are tough now, God doesn't forget about us or our situation. I also got to give her 1 John 4:9-10 in Japanese: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."


The next day our group was sent to a strawberry patch to volunteer alongside Japanese Self-Defense Forces Personnel (自衛隊) picking up and bagging trash. It seemed kinda funny that we were assigned to the same job as these strong, capable, military-trained soldiers. It was kinda cool though, and we got to talk to some of the young ones during the break times. I was curious to know if they were all from that area or if they were from all over the country. So, I asked several of them. I was shocked and instantly regretted that question when one girl answered that she was from Ishinomaki. There was nothing I could say, other than a stunned, wide-eyed, solemn, "Oh!" Ishinomaki was one of the very hardest hit cities. I'm sure at least some of her family and friends must have been washed out to sea. !!! Oh, man! Another volunteer pointed across the field to the opposite block where there wasn't anything and said, 'My house used be over there.'

When we had driven up to the field, it didn't look like there was really that much debris. Once we got out of the car and walked out to the field, though, we could see that there were many tiny pieces of garbage. I filled my trash bags with sheets of plastic, twisted metal, broken glass, half of a broken CD case, a travel toothbrush case with the toothbrush still intact inside, flower pots, some plastic fork-like things that Chris and I couldn't identify, and grain-of-rice-sized pieces of Styrofoam. And it struck me as so discordant that this mass destruction that was caused in just a short amount of time by the forces of nature has to be cleaned up piece-by-piece-by-piece through the work of people. I mean, I don't know of any better way...but with all our modern technology, it was just surprising that our human hands are still the best means for recovery. A tsunami gets cleaned up by hand. !!

About 150 of us spent a few hours cleaning up in this field that already seemed relatively clean compared to surrounding areas. Yet we only made a small dent. When I think of how many other fields and neighborhoods like this there are AND THEN think of all the fields and neighborhoods that actually look like trash dumps, I cannot imagine how this is ever going to get cleaned up. It seems like it will take YEARS of volunteer efforts. It was a really good experience to go volunteer and to meet people who are living through what I'd seen on TV and heard in the news. But the most overwhelming sentiment I have is that I wish I could have stayed longer, done more, gone back.

Thank you God for such a great day!...continued...

The other great things about Wednesday (Ha! "other"-- as though saying "goukan" instead of "gouka" (as I described in my previous post) can be called a great thing!) were: that I had several LONG, interesting, meaningful conversations with teachers... 岡田先生　Okada Sensei-- who I wish could be my father-in-law-- and I, along with 前川さん　Maekawa San sometimes joining in, talked about the difference between priests and pastors, Protestant and Catholic beliefs, God's grace and His love that doesn't have to be earned, the history of Christianity in Japan (click here to read some for yourself), 隠れキリシタン-- "hidden Christians" who lived their faith in secret while Christianity was banned in Japan, the mirrors and statues they made that secretly depicted Jesus and other Christian images, difficult to understand Bible translations and modern/easier to understand translations...He told me that he has rented and watched many DVDs that show Bible stories (because they're easier to understand than actually reading the Bible) and that he's really interested in the stories! We talked about having faith, building trust with God like we build trust with people, and I got to show him 1 Corinthians 1:25- "For the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men." (!!!! It was so great!) A couple times during this morning-long conversation he joked, 'Maybe I'll become a Christian today.' Please, PLEASE pray for him! Although Maekawa San was busy working and only joined the conversation intermittently, she overheard all of it...please pray for her too. This conversation left me with about 13 minutes to do some actual work before

It was time to go to lunch with 下田先生　Shimoda Sensei...which was another great thing about the day. As a foreigner, as a non-native Japanese speaker, as a person who teaches all grade levels and thus doesn't have a grade level team to be automatically included with, as a person who rides a bike instead of driving a car and thus can't invite people out to lunch...days without school lunch (days the students are on vacation, but the teachers work) are often stressful-- all morning wondering if anyone will invite you to lunch with them...hoping someone will invite you to lunch with them...hoping you won't feel like a tag-along...sometimes hoping they won't invite you because you don't want to go to the restaurant they're considering going to, and you know that as the foreigner/non-team member/bike rider you won't have any say in the decision and you'd really be happier just going home for lunch or grabbing some fast food at a grocery store. SO, it put me at great ease when shortly after I got to school Shimoda Sensei asked if I wanted to go out to lunch together and then suggested one of my favorite restaurants, which I had introduced to her the last time we went out. (Can I say that? that I "introduced a restaurant" to her? In Japanese, that's how you say it: introduce. Although it doesn't sound too weird to me now...I remember thinking before that it was weird English. Man, it's crazy how messed up your head gets with your own first language when you don't hear it constantly!)

In the afternoon when 秋山先生　Akiyama Sensei was passing by my desk, I asked him how his New Year's was. This led to another surprisingly long (all afternoon long!) conversation. It went from the coat he bought for 50% off and how Japanese people are really into name brands (apparently the 7th grade women teachers in particular! ;) shhh!), but teachers are mostly rather plain in their fashion choices (shhh!) to how he's seen on TV how Americans spend Christmas with their families and he thinks that's surprising and how I think it's weird that Japanese people go on dates for Christmas because there's no connection to the real meaning of Christmas...but then I thought, well, non-Christians in America "celebrate Christmas" and those celebrations don't connect to the real meaning of Christmas either, at which point his eyes got big and he said in disbelief: 'There are Americans who aren't Christians?!?!', 'Yeah!! Most Americans aren't Christians!', 'Most??!!', 'Well, less than half...I mean, if you asked them many people would say they're Christians, but...' Then he asked if the others were Muslims. Yes, there are Muslims...Jews, Buddhists, Atheists (a term he'd never heard before (in Japanese))...many different people. Then he said, it must be hard if you get married to someone who believes something different from you. I told him that a devout Christian probably wouldn't marry a non-Christian. We talked about Christians in Japan, the history of Christianity in Japan (twice in one day!!?), Christian schools in Japan, one of our students who wants to go to a Christian school, how most Japanese kids who go to Christian schools aren't Christians but some become Christians during their time at those schools. Around this time, 清水先生 Shimizu Sensei was passing by and asked what we were talking about. She joined the conversation, and we talked about a million other things...how she went to a Christian preschool, how during college she used to go to church with her friends and sing, and how everyone at church was soo nice, and how Japanese people mix Buddhism and Shinto (Akiyama Sensei had also never heard of Shintoism!! What?! This is the indigenous and former national religion of Japan. And most Japanese weddings are conducted at shrines in the Shinto tradition. I'm shocked that he doesn't know about this!), about sects of Buddhism and denominations of Christianity. The conversation somehow turned to Akiyama Sensei and how he's uncertain about his future. 'Uncertain about what?', I ask. 'Whoa, you're just gonna ask like that??', he replied, taken aback. With all this normal conversation and lack of awkwardness going on all day, I felt so comfortable and must have forgotten that I was talking to a Japanese person!! 'Oh! Okay, I won't ask, since you're Japanese...but Americans ask that kind of question.' To him, it must have seemed like such a personal question, even though to a typical American it would seem really off to hear a friend say that they're worried about a lot of things, but not follow up with a question. (Right?) Then Shimizu Sensei said, 'It's okay to ask Japanese people. They can just answer what they want to and don't have to say what they don't want to.' It was a relief and a pleasant surprise to hear her say that. I was feeling really bad about stepping out of line (LOL!) and making Akiyama Sensei feel on-the-spot. He went on to say that he's concerned about...jobs...passing the R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S exam process for Japanese teachers...not being married yet, and Shimizu Sensei saying that although she got married when she was 24 she thinks it's better to get married later (Akiyama Sensei is almost 29). And on and on the conversation went. Becoming a teacher in America, speaking English, English education in Japan, motivation to learn a language. I really can't believe how long we talked. At one point I think I went into career counseling mode and was suggesting job possibilities to Akiyama Sensei. I learned that there aren't full-time collegiate sports coaches (well, at least not for volleyball) in Japan.

These conversations made my day so fulfilling; and I really don't know how they happened. I feel like I could have just as likely (MORE likely) sat at my desk all day with barely anyone talking to me. I mean, it's not only me...it's not like everyone is chatting it up with each other and ignoring me...it's just that conversations like this don't seem very common at all amongst teachers at school. It was such a surprise! I seriously got about 20 minutes of work done the entire day...and I even stayed an hour late. I remember my first day back last year was like a slap in the face. The silence. The lack of questions from people (i.e. How was your trip home? and so on). THE AWKWARDNESS. But this first day back was まったく違う entirely different. hmm... It was great! Thanks, God!

Before I left, Akiyama Sensei came back to my desk and said quietly, 'Thanks for asking what I'm concerned about.' =) Soo pleasantly surprising! They do want to be asked questions! (??)

最後に Lastly, it is really exciting to realize that other than lunch with Shimoda Sensei, these conversations were 99% in Japanese. !! I mean, my Japanese really is so rudimentary (really.) but it's cool to be able to notice that I spoke and listened to Japanese for hours straight, on so many different topics. :) よかった。 I realize this is a reeaaaally long post: sorry if you're bored. I suspect it's impossible for people who haven't lived this life to understand the impact that a day like this can have...but I wrote a lot because all of this meant a lot.

THIS is what Christmas is about!

Today was such a great day! I got to tell lots of kids and teachers about Christmas. I got to tell them about Jesus and God. I told them about God's love, life, and forgiveness. It was amazing! I can't believe this is my real life!! I LOVE it! For most of the kids, this is literally the first time they've ever heard of Jesus. They have zero idea that Christmas is about Christ. Some of them were SO excited! Ranto's and Yuka's (3rd graders) faces lit up as they asked urgently, "He's a real person??", "Yes!", I confirmed that Jesus is a real person. Again, "He's a real person?!!?" It was incredible! "Where was he (when he was alive)?" When I told them that we exchange Christmas presents because they help us remember God's gift of love for all people, Mirai said, "So, God gives the presents to Santa, and Santa gives the presents to us?" ;) Ren asked, "Why did Jesus come from heaven and be born on Earth?" Oh gosh!! "Good question." How do you answer this question from a 6th grade Japanese kid who has no frame of reference for sin or relationship with God or eternity or grace...and use simple enough English for him to understand. or somehow make yourself make sense using rudimentary Japanese??? I'm amazed that God chooses to let us partner with Him in this work, even though He could do it better and more efficiently Himself. Wow! Christmas is the jackpot of telling people about Jesus here! Please pray for these students and staff members at my schools to come to know who God truly is this Christmas.