Heaps of bags

Almost two weeks ago, we prepared some bags to send up to North Japan in a relief effort for families who had been replaced. They had a great need for simple kitchen items, so we decided on what to get them, bought the items, assembled them, and they were delivered last week. Here are a few pictures from the night we assembled them! It was an amazing evening watching the Japanese mothers blow though the process of assembling these bags!

This is just some of the supplies of the items that we put into individual bags. 120 of ten different items is a lot...

This is me trying to explain my plan, which at this time was not completely formulated...

This is Devin from Tacoma, WA. He actually felt the call to come to the DTS like three days before it started. He did not know why he was coming, but he trusted God in His call. There has been undeniable growth for him so far! He has an analytical mind like myself, so we get along pretty well!

The supplies set up for the Adult's table. The Children were going to be doing something different.

The man on the left is John Somers-Harris, the Kanto Area Director for YWAM. He is explaining to everyone what we are doing and how it will be helping the people up north.

Since I actually had a plan at this point, I started to explain it to the Adults. There was a system to it. They asked for a smaple, which I had prepared, but once I finished showing it to them, the orderly chaos broke loose, and I just laughed! My plan was pretty much thrown out the window, yet seeing the ferocious work ethic of these ladies was far greater!

And this is what that orderly looking table turned into! They were supposed to be on both sides of the table, but who cares? It worked pretty well, though. The girl and guy you see on the right side of the picture were restocking the table with items as they prepared the bags.

Just a few bags...

The finished product of our time!

The children also put some bags together, but it was more like one per child. Then they spent the rest of their time writing cards to put in the bags for the recipients.

Pokemon is kind of a big deal here...

We also had the adults do cards, too.

After making all the bags, we went through all of them to make sure everything was there like it should be. Afterwards, we loaded them into bigger bags so we knew how many bags we had and for easy transport.

The whole group! It was fun!

This is Austin from Stevensville, MI. He is a real inspiration for me here with the zeal and passion he has for the Lord, and he is one of my best friends here. In this picture, he is giving this boy a copy of "The Manga Messiah", a manga version of the story of Christ in Japanese. It is pretty interesting, and it is also a great way to reach the Japanese, for they love manga! In fact, another one of the children told her mother that she had "left something in the room" to come back and steal a copy! It is very exciting to see these children showing an interest in them, and hopefully the Lord will reveal Himself to them through them.

Thank all of you who helped support this cause! I hope to get a hold of some of the pictures of them distributing them and from the cookout they held for the community when they went up. The needs up north have been so ever evolving since the earthquake and tsunami, and it is something that is constantly being reassessed. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to go ourselves in the future, but until then, we will be constantly trying to support those who come through our midst on their way to serve! Even supporting them going or coming back is an incredible act for us! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!