Farewell Japan

We finished our time in Japan, it was bitter sweet to leave this country and the people in it. The bitter part is saying goodbye, but the sweet part is saying hello to the next adventure:Thailand

 

 We woke up bright and early to pack up our "beds" and head out

 Goodbye Shiogama church. You will be in our prayers

Enjoying the last dinner out with the church staff

 This is Julia using her fork as chopsticks

 Loading up the bus to make our 5 hr journey to the Tokyo airport

 Saying goodbye to Russ, our Japenese expert

 One last look at Japan...

Here we are in the Singapore airport at about 5 am. Our flight from Japan was over night, so every bit of sleep was valuable as we waited for our next plane to Thailand...

Boat Ride and Exploration of Matsushima (Pine Island)

Monday was our day off.  In the afternoon we went to Matsushima.  It is an area of pine covered islands in the Pacific Ocean.  The area was flooded by the tsunami.  We boarded a tour boat and were taken out around all of the islands on a 40 minute boat ride.  Janet Brown, our hostess, brought along bags of shrimp crackers.  The local seagulls loved swooping down to eat the crackers from our hands.  We explored one of the islands and the sea side shops for the afternoon.

 

Our Time at Sendai Bible Baptist Church

Yesterday, (Sunday) we spent the day at Sendai Bible Baptist Church. After having dinner and fellowship the night before, we returned to attend the service and spend part of the afternoon with them. We sang a few songs during the service, and Dr. Easterling gave the message on II Corinthians 1:4-9, about the God of Comfort. We had lunch there and sang some more songs for them. After, they sang a blessing song over us, entitled "Emmanuel" which the Pastor's Wife had written. It was a blessing of us that God would be with us as we go and continue on our journey. Even though we could not understand the words, the song was very powerful and brought tears to some of our eyes. It was hard to say goodbye as even though we had only spent a day with the church, we felt such a bond of fellowship and friendship with them. They were very hospitable to us. 

Dr. E playing table tennis with some new friends.

Alicia, Amanda and Waverly sharing a Prelude song for the service.

The Church coming around us to sing their blessing song.

After, we went and toured a school where many of the Americans and foreigners from the church worked.  It is called MeySen Academy and was started by some missionaries around forty-five years ago. It was a very nice and elite school with a barn full of animals and a ninety-foot slide in their large playground. It was a cool experience for the education majors on the trip to see just one of the many different types of places they could have the opportunity to work and serve someday. 

Cleaning Up a Children's Park in Shiogama

Today, half the group spent the day cleaning a playground in the middle of a few apartment complexes where the church does a children's ministry every Tuesday afternoon. The playground and surrounding area had much garbage and overgrown weeds and grass in it, so we spent the day digging up weeds, picking up trash, and "weed-wacking."

Becca digging up weeds.

Maddie and Cierra gathering up weeds around the playground equipment.

Working with some local residents to clean out a sports field.

MacKenzie on the "weed-wacker."

The group after finishing...(Sorry it is kind of dark!)

Kai had purchased some toys for today so when we cleaned we could give them to local kids, or we could play with them. Four little girls came out and we gave them a bubble gun to play with. After receiving the toy, the girls played with it for a few minutes and then came over to us and helped us with the cleanup. They helped us pick up weeds and put them in the trash and then recruited a few more of their friends to help. Through a translator we could communicate with them, and ask them questions. These are some of the kids that attend the church's programs on Tuesdays, so it was cool to be able to strengthen the relationships with them. Here are some pictures of the girls with Emily: 

Another Day at the Oyster Farm...

Today different members of the team went to the oyster farm.

The oyster lines we made getting thrown into the water.

Happy Birthday

The First Birthday Celebration 

We celebrated Jenna's birthday (October 26th), and Dr. Easterling's  birthday which is coming up on October 31st. We wanted them to have a taste of home on their birthday, so we got them a taste of Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. 

After dinner we had a gathering to sing them happy birthday and have a sweet treat. 

 Group shot after dinner

Oystering

Today, seven from the group, (Lauren, Becca, Maddie, Whitney, Cierra, Yana, and Emily) along with two leaders from the church and Professor Lunak went two hours away to a fishing village to help on an oyster farm. The fisherman have been known as some of the hardest group of people in Japan to reach, so this is a really cool opportunity to build relationships between the fisherman and the church. The oyster farmer (Jun) and his family lost all their crops in the tsunami and it takes two years to build the crop up again. We left early in the morning and went to the village which is about two hours away. We took the scallop shells which the oysters attach on to and attached the shells to a rope. We took the thick ropes, untwisted them, put shells between the cords of the rope, re-twisted it and then set it aside. Some people rode a boat to put the shells in the water and gather up more shells. The family was so generous to us, and even though they will not have an income until the oysters are fully grown in two years, they fed us snacks and were fun to work with. It was a great blessing to be able to work with them. The missionary that went with us said that the family could not comprehend why Americans would pay their money to come to Japan and work hard all day to help people they have never met. It was hard work but all for the name of Jesus so every second was worth it! 

Bundles of Collected Shells

Jun's Mother helping re-twist the Rope

Taking the shells to the Ocean to be Replanted

The Previous Day...

A portion of the team spent the day at the oyster farm preparing the ropes used for the farming. 

 Canned Coffee Break...

 Robert, a missionary at church we are staying at

 During our lunch break we walked up to a shinto shrine...

Ended the day with a group picture and a bite of ice cream!