rikuzentakata, iwate.

On our way back to Tokyo, we stopped by Rikuzentakata, one of the towns hit worst by the 3.11 tsunami. I hadn't visited this area the last time I was in Tohoku, so it was an eerie feeling to visit a town where so many people used to live. There was also a boat that ended up on top of a building, but when we visited, they were already working on taking it down. 

Japan is really working on its way to recovery in Tohoku, but there's still a long way to go. I also know that it's going to be a long emotional recovery process. Keep on praying for those in Tohoku, and everyone affected by the 3.11 tsunami and earthquake.

As for myself, I do want to go back and visit...hopefully sometime soon. :)

Mirror selfie! heh

ofunato || food events.

Beautiful Ofunato

Aside from visiting the kasetsu (かせつ) and having tea/coffee with the residents, we also held a few food events. One of the days we held a food event, it was a gorgeous sunny day. We served spaghetti sauce over rice, which seems strange to Americans, but they really liked it! Then the other day we held a food event, it rained. The rain didn't stop people from coming out and having fun, though! :) Good food always brings good company together. 

ofunato -- kasetsu.

For the second half of our trip, we were in Ofunato, Iwate. If you are unfamiliar with where that is in Japan, it is in North-Eastern Japan, part of the area where the 3.11 tsunami took out a lot of the coastal cities in the Tohoku region.

One of the missionaries from our church was moving into his new place during the same time we were headed up to volunteer with the 3.11 Network, so it was perfect timing. :)

While we were there, we mostly visited the kasetsu, or temporary housing units, in different parts of Ofunato. When we didn't have a food event, we would split up into two teams, as that made it easier to manage and also so that we could visit more kasetsu.

This was one of my favorite times because we got to sit down with the grandmas (and grandpas!) that would come out to our events to do crafts and simply talk with us. We made a sheep keychain that was based off of Psalm 23.

Our teams got to share our testimony a few times. It was so crazy to see the difference in the receptiveness of the people there. When I went in 2011, we barely talked about our faith, but just listened to their stories. Our times at the kasetsu were mostly light-hearted and very enjoyable. :)

One of the really large spiders that frequent the streets of Ofunato... O_O

Our modes of transportation. :)

I was on a team with Michael, who is blessed in leading worship. It was a blessing getting to hear him sing to God and seeing all of the grandmas and volunteers listening, even if they didn't understand entirely what was being sung.

This is one of my favorites. He's the kasetsu manager, and he was so at peace when Michael was playing worship. :)