The house I am staying in is like a college dorm. CRASH has rented it for the purpose of housing volunteers, and it is home to about 10 people. I initially had very little idea of what to expect when I came here, but I have felt incredibly blessed every step of the way. I came here worried about not knowing anyone, but God has provided and I feel surrounded by wonderful friends who I will miss when I leave. They come from all over the world and all walks of life, but the love of Jesus Christ binds us all together. One of the girls seems uncannily familiar. Finally I ask if she has a sister – and lo and behold, she is the sister of Haruna, one of Michael Oh’s seminary students in Nagoya who I stayed with when I visited last summer! God provides ways to make me at home even when it is so physically far away.
As for work, I've been tasked with helping solve a problem by drafting a proposal. From what I can gather, there are a lot of individual volunteers, but they can’t send volunteers to base camps to do work unless they are in a group. Keeping volunteers at HQ doesn't always make sense because unless they are bilingual, it might be better for them to be in the field. This is a super cross functional project. I am kind of filled with a sense of urgency that might be trumping my common sense – but one main takeaway from my time at business school is that quick decisionmaking doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, trusting in God is key to turning on a dime.
However, in any organization, it’s important to meet people and demonstrate an understanding of the organization before you can be effective. My two weeks here are like a short term consulting gig. I have forgotten the concept of nemawashi, the concept that it is crucial to thoroughly socialize initiatives before proceeding. In a Japanese organization, getting buy-in from everyone is an essential step – like adding the egg when baking a cake. It is kind of the exact opposite of what I’ve been trained to do in American corporate culture – in my past experience in corporate America, you wouldn’t put a proposal together without having every last detail ironed out at the ground-level and ready to go under intense questioning. In Japan, you need to start at the top and make sure that the idea you’re proposing has approval to proceed first before you take any steps. This is a major challenge for an organization that works under urgent circumstances.
Fortunately, even though we all have different opinions, we have two common goals here: we want to help earthquake victims, and we all believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Getting humbled never actually feels very good but it is definitely something I am thankful for =) Please pray that our organization would be unified in our identity as children of God, and that the love of Jesus Christ would cover over any misunderstandings or conflicts that arise from cultural differences so that we can do our best to help those in need. May we remember to focus on God as the reason why we serve!!
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