Japan Mission - Day 8 (At Sendai Base Camp)

Camp Morigo Base Camp is in the middle of the woods, as it used to be a retreat center. It is beautiful. Recently, a retreat for pastors was held here so they could have a break from the stress they've been dealing with. When we arrive there, three other teams are already there - a local Japanese team, a German team, and an American team. In total there are probably 50-some people.

Today I wake up all raring to go, but it ends up raining so all work is called off for the day. I feel ridiculous – we came here to serve, and instead it turns out… we are kind of just hanging out at the base camp. And eating awesome food. And learning German words from the German team, words which I promptly forget after saying them. Our day passes spending quality time with another team here, a team from California.

I sit in on a meeting between base management staff here and visiting other base management. It is so important for CRASH to maintain its relationship with the local churches, since that is its method of connecting with the locals who are in need of help. People call the churches when they need assistance. Helping victims is no simple matter - it is extremely important to be sensitive about the fact that some disaster victims are not using to seeing foreigners in their small fishing villages, and it can be disconcerting. On the other hand, some Japanese are more likely to receive the gospel when it is presented to them by a foreigner.

6pm is debriefing and praise and worship. We sing “Shout to the Lord,” and the people here sing in three different languages – Japanese, German, and English. We all sing at the same time, but it doesn’t matter, God understands all of us. He is truly a God of the nations. Prayer time is trilingual – the person speaking is translated by two translators in a quiet murmur. It’s like being at the United Nations headquarters.

There is a little aftershock in the morning, and a pretty big aftershock in the evening during dinner. We are eating dinner when the room starts to shake. The woman next to me, who is stationed at the base for the summer, says one of the biggest ones they’ve experienced. After dinner there is a card game with Germans and Japanese, but apparently Uno transcends any language barriers =)