Alright! Japan was, needless to say, awesome. I wasn't anywhere near the radiation areas so I should be good to go in that sense ,although I think it would be cool to get a super power from it, I doubt that I was affected.
Our home was in Higashikurume, Tokyo. It was such a cute little town. It almost seemed like its own community. There were little stores everywhere, it seemed more like the farmers market than going to the grocery store (which they had).
The first thing I did when I arrived in Japan was slip up the stairs to the house and hit my knee. You will get to see how it progresses later in the blog.
And here is the house we were staying at (this is really big for Japan so we were very blessed)
Please notice those menacing stairs and how the umbrellas are cowering in the corner away from them...
Here is the girls room where Whitney, Susan and I stayed. My bed is the purple one in the corner.
This is our team at the Buddhist temple. When you first walked in it looked like a market place. They sold souvenirs, ice cream, candy... You forgot you were in a place of worship.
And here is one of the demons guarding the temple. Their eyes freaked me out because they followed you.
This is Whitney at I in the temple getting some ice cream. Hers was a twist cone and mine was rose flavored. They were delicious.
This is a small street where we found a literal "hole in the wall" ramen shop. It was one of the best things I have ever eaten.
And here is the main attraction (this aint your mama's top ramen)
Next we make our way to the more confusing part of Japan... the toilets.
It must be comical for Americans to come to your home.
Progression...
This is Janet Brown and I cleaning up in front of the Summit house (where we stayed) She is the short term missions coordinator out in Japan.
Yes, those Koi are larger than a duck.
I took this one of our last days in Japan.
Bye bye Japan...
Back home, flying over the salt flats.
I was so thankful to get to meet all the people I met. It was nice to connect faces to the disaster. It isn't just something I saw on tv anymore... these are real people with lives not too different from mine who lost everything. I can't imagine going from my own room with my own bed to living in a gym with so many strangers. It was nice to see joy in the Japanese people. I hope I was able to contribute to that joy, but if not, I was still able to enjoy it. Thank you all for inviting me into your homes and loving me as if we were old friends. God spoke to me in so many ways within those two weeks that I don't think I would like to post a blog that long or that personal. I don't think I would be able to write it out in a sufficient way. For those of you who think that Japan only needs you now because of the disaster, please rethink it. These people needed to be shown God's love way before this ever happened. It is more than just a task to go and clean up this mess and be on our way. This is deep human emotion. This is more than destroyed homes. This is destroyed hearts. I am so glad God provided for me and that He called me to Japan. It was definitely a good place for me to be.
