With all of the gifted volunteers willing to serve in Japan, CRASH Japan is sometimes able to channel unique talents and skill sets into their outreach events. One volunteer, Yukiko Hirano, has practiced Japanese tea ceremony for over 40 years. She was delighted to have the opportunity to serve survivors of the great earthquake and tsunami, who are now living in temporary housing.Hirano-san sees many similarities between Japanese tea ceremony and the Christian faith. The cloth that goes around the waist of the person performing the ceremony is much like the cloth Christ wore around his waist when he washed the feet of his disciples. It is meant to signify servanthood, and a position of humility.In this special volunteer portrait video, you can see the beauty and grace of Hirano-san’s art. Your prayer and donations continue to make it possible for CRASH to connect with survivors in a meaningful way. Thank you for the support.

Praise the Holy Name of the Lord!

Thank you for your precious prayers and cooperation with the project. We were able to raise 104,000 yen, along
with the churches of Sendai and Koriyama at the temporary housing cafes we were able to provide 25 stollen!(Christmas Cakes)

From Koriyama Cooperative Staff – Yuko Shiotsu

These were just some of the comments I heard from disaster survivors living in Aizu.

“The stollen was very delicious, thank you so much!”

“It was so well made and contained delicious apples.”

“We are so happy that people all over Japan remembered us”,

From Sendai Office Leader – Ayumu Sasaki

Through the precious gifts of everyone, We were able to finish the 2013 CRASH Japan Christmas Project full of
blessings.  So many people wondered “what is stollen?” “Is it food?”, so I was able to explain about it and after that everyone was really happy to receive them.  I was able to have the opportunity to explain unfamiliar Christmas customs to people.  I would like to express my heartfelt thanks, and ask for your continued prayers for Tohoku.

Our team is heading to Sendai to hold a special OperationSAFE Christmas event with children at Seaside Chapel, a church that was swept away with it’s entire community in the tsunami.

In the summer of 2011 after the tsunami, CRASH Japan began holding OperationSAFE child trauma camps with children affected by the tsunami and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.  OperationSAFE introduces children to the cute character Pete as he is separated from his family and meets new friends, and helps them to process their own complex series of emotions after trauma.

Follow up events held at Christmas and Easter help children review what they have learned and keep contact with ongoing care through the local church.

Let’s praise the name of the Lord. I truly appreciate those who have been praying and supporting Tohoku. We feel the fresh autumn air and all the mountains are turning to beautiful autumn color here in Sendai.

    It has been 2 years and 8 months since the Great East Japan Earthquake and here in Tohoku there are differences in the pace of recovery in various areas. People are struggling with frustration that they can’t see the future, and they also often share the fear that even though they found a place to live, they need to prepare a large sum of money for moving out of temporary housing into regular housing. I know one person who couldn’t sleep well and couldn’t focus while he was driving and nearly caused a car accident. Also there are people who are finally beginning to open their hearts and start to share their distress and experiences after 2 years and 8 months. We feel it’s important for them to have a safe place to open their hearts. And moreover, believer’s testimony and Gospel are reaching those who never ever heard about Gospel before the earthquake. Recently the concert by Ron Brown was held at several locations in Tohoku and we could praise the Lord and sing together with a lot of people. After the concert people gladly said, “It was great and believing something gave us great strength! Christians are amazing.” I always saw and felt that after the meeting, people’s faces were full of smiles and they looked very satisfied. I’m sure that it is because God is with us and He is working among us. God loves the people in Tohoku and also loves the people who volunteer and always gives grace to them. I’m always amazed by God great huge plan and wonderfulness. I have great expectations of what God will do in this disaster area.

    Please continue to pray and support the disaster survivors.                                     

Sendai Office/Tomoko Sugawara, November, 2013.