The Good Samaritan

Who could have ever guessed when I signed up for this route that I would not only be going back to the country that I first found my faith, but that I would actually go back to the very spot. I was in my hotel room at launch when we found out that we would be traveling to Ishinomaki as a squad for January. My mind was racing as I sat, knowing that we were going to Tohoku, would I be able to go to Okawa elementary? I looked it up right then, it was IN Ishinomaki!!! WHAT?!?! The place where my heart was first redeemed! God spoke to me radically there, I knew I was being pursued by Him. I struggled very much on that tour with feeling useless and invisible. But God came for my heart over and over, practically shouting HEY!!! I SEE YOU!!!!

I kept on looking up on my phone how to get there, but I came back over and over with nothing and no way. I was determined to go whether it was easy or not on my last Sabbath in Japan. The night before a wonderful, and very sweet squad mate decided to join me on my adventure. The morning of I woke up and asked another sweet and wonderful friend if she would join us as well. We read our bibles, did a little housework, got ready and were on our way.

We stopped by the cafe where our ministry is located on the way to grab some WiFi and did a little check in. We headed down the road to the train and bought our 2-way tickets. The train was only 7 minutes away, so we didn’t have a long wait. The three of us stepped in, full of excitement and expectation. We came to the end of the line,  Minagawa, and saw a sweet little coastal plaza, brand new and so beautiful. The train station itself had an Onsen in it, a personal favorite of many. There was much exposed wood and golden light flooding in through the great windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. After some poking and prodding, we realized we’d had it wrong and needed to go the other direction on the train. Doubled over in laughter we went to check the schedule to see when the next train would come. Not until after lunchtime. We all looked at each other, soaking in our blunder and wondering how we could’ve all not noticed, then were overcome with the giggles again. The man trying to help us suggested we rent a car to which I replied: “How long does it take to get a Japanese license”, which made Molly promptly take a mental inventory on how we could start our new lives here since apparently we were getting licenses and moving in. Then he politely mentioned that we could try hitchhiking, which again produced side splitting laughter, and all of us thanked him and moved back outside. Since we were trapped for the next couple of hours we filled the time with browsing all the cute little shops and getting some lunch. Each place was cuter than the last and my mind was filled with memories of shops and shop keeps and places from all over Tohoku.

20 minutes to our train, we went back up to the station, waiting for the man behind the counter so he would adjust our fees and we could get on and go back where we hald come from. The wind was blowing hard, which created quite a mess as he exclaimed that we had used the wrong ticket and had to dig through the ticket box to find the right one that was still wrong and fix it. I felt like I was watching the letter scene in the first Harry Potter. He frantically dug, tickets flying out left, right, and center. The three of us watched in horror and amazement keeping one eye on the scene in front of us and the other on our train that would soon depart with or without us. We snatched some of the wayward blown tickets and he soon had all three of our correct tickets in his fist. People passing by watched, entranced as they jogged to catch our train. The woman helping us navigate the MAN BEHIND THE COUNTER finally jumped ship on us and ran to catch the train herself. He calculated how much we owed him and we passed the money over as quickly as we could. He distributed our tickets and we tore off, running and throwing our heads back to laugh, wondering if we would make it at all or have to wait another hour. Fortunately we made it on, the last on the train and we lurched forward on our journey.

We went and found our friend who had been helping us at the ticket window. We sat down across from her and chatted and laughed for a few minutes before her chin dipped and she took a snooze. She got off a couple of stops before us and we thanked her again. We got to our station and scurried off the warm train into the blustery day that was still blowing outside. A kitten rolled around on the train station floor, basking in the sun in a way I could only dream of. We spotted a taxi and went straight for it, piling in the back and showing him the address. It was a 10 minute drive. He told us it would be $50. We all looked at each other and piled straight back out, our legs couldn’t carry us fast enough. We looked up the bus route and went to find the stop, running into an old man with a half smile on his face. When we asked him where the bus station was in Japanese(Sus lived here until she was 11), he ignored us and crossed the road. We shared another look, trying not to laugh and be rude as all of us were thoroughly stunned, we turned around, retracing our steps and trying again.

We found the stop, a 20 minute wait until the bus would arrive. There was a little closed, plywood sort of stop right next to it, so all of us went in. The bus came right on time and we all got on. Sus and Molly went to see if the bus was going where we thought (diligence after the wrong way fiasco earlier), I observed a super mom juggle three toddler-baby aged children graceful as could be. We were indeed on the right bus, so we all kicked back, safe from the wind once again and waited. We came up on the left side of a river, and we exited with much excitement not understanding how to pay the bus driver, causing him to stand up and yell: “Here! HERE!” in Japanese while pointing at his palm . We thought we’d copied what we saw super-mom do flawlessly, but we thought wrong!! If he could’ve physically picked all three of us up by the scruff and kicked us off cartoon-style, I know he would’ve. NONETHELESS, we were only a ten minute walk from our goal, maybe 15 with the wind wrapping us up and slowing us down.   

We started walking, but I didn’t see the bridge that I knew was next to the school. We sang some worship songs, ducked into a family mart to fight the shivers with a snack and a hot drink, sang some more, but it was nowhere to be seen. We checked our navigation and went back to the main road. There was A school, a very new school…the new Okawa elementary. Oh no. Oh no no no. After all this day, the sun going down on us, and we were at the wrong school. And we had no clue where the right one was or how to find it. Sus took a big breath and exhaled a prayer: “Lord, we don’t know how to find our way without you, please help us.” Just then, a man with a little sweater, and a cute little white minivan stepped out into the street. No sooner than the words “Should we ask him…” was Sus already leading the charge, boldly stepping up and asking if he knew where we were going.

He looked at all of us shocked, mouth open, nodding his head quickly with an expression that was SO familiar. Then he jumped back inside and spoke to a room full of people muttering “America-Jin??” “Okawa Elementary?” “What? Why?” He came out and said “I’ll drive you.” Without even a sideways glance, we all got into his car and took off again, grateful to be out of the wind and cold. He told us his name was Oiide-San, and he said he’d never been to the memorial, but he passed by it every day on his drive. We got out 25 minutes later, knowing we never could’ve walked that far on our own.

The first thing I noticed was a statue that wasn’t there the last time I’d visited. Angel of Hope. Hope is one of my words for the year and I got a key with the word hope on it before I left. It took everything in me not to be unraveled and fall to my knees when I saw it. But I knew I needed to keep on pressing into this place that signifies my greatest hope and the pinnacle of loss and brokenness. We all meandered through silently, three and a stranger, all having the alien experience of trying to imagine what these people had been through. We walked together, tears quietly rolling down cold cheeks. Oiide-San decided to bring his car closer while we went to pray near the Buddha statues that had been placed a few years prior.  Many of them were wearing scarves and hats to keep them from feeling cold. A little row of bundled Buddhas.

We finished praying fervent prayers for hope, peace, and love to flood the families and the community, and then we got back into the car. Oiide-San took us to a train station just 2 stops from our own. The whole way there we laughed and sang and talked about food. We wrote him a little card, telling him that we were grateful and that he answered our prayers! We got out and thanked him, and he walked up with us to make sure that we knew where we were going. As he walked away I yelled: “Kami-Sama ga Daisuke!!” He turned as he went, laughing and smiling and waving.

The bus stop was sorta open, and the wind was cutting through. We were acting goofy, hopping around and trying to stay warm when a Japanese man hustled up the steps and came inside. “Alright guys, be cool be cool.” We all forced ourselves to quiet down and be respectful. After about 30 seconds of that we asked the man his name, overcome by rowdiness again and needing somewhere to direct that. Keiji-San. A principle of a kindergarten. Former principal of the school across the river from Okawa elementary. We expressed our condolences. Papa. Lover of music. Man with a loud and wonderful laugh and a great heart. We rode the train together 30 minutes later, still exchanging stories and experiences. We were a stop or two in front of him so we got off, happily charging back toward the cafe where all this had started that morning.

We burst through the doors laughing, hard, about the absurdity of it all. God is so good. Redemptive. There is nothing, not a single thing that is hopeless to the Lord. He is vast and in the details. He is love, He is light, He is truth and Hope. I cannot BELIEVE the faithfulness of the Lord. A miraculous day to never ever forget

I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!!!! I’m so grateful for this journey!!! AND I’M STILL FUNDRAISING! I can’t do this without help! If you’re financially willing and able, I so deeply appreciate the help! If not, please pray for provision for me!! May the Lord encourage both of us through the journey He’s got me on!