Global Mission Center, Iwaki City, Part 2

"In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Acts 20.35

Days 2 and 3 were spent removing debris at a seaweed factory...

Huge blocks in the seaweed press were so heavy that Ray had difficulty even budging them. It was a full team effort to remove them...

The beach is littered with skeletons of cars and homes...

The work seemed so overwhelming, but in two days we were able to make such great strides. This room was once chest high in debris...

For this particular location Ray's strength was very much needed. Everything was heavy and big. Thank the Lord Ray was there, aided by two other men from Alabama and several other guys that made a great and strong team...

The huge boxes and blocks of seaweed were ruined, and thus loaded in trucks to be taken to the incinerator and destroyed...

We had the honor of working alongside the owner of the seaweed factory and his wife. They were such incredibly gracious and grateful people, radiating joy despite their tremendous loss. In Japan the government does not offer any financial assistance to individuals, only to public aid (roads, schools, etc...). The people who lost their homes or businesses are left to try to financially and physically rebuild their lives on their own. So humbling...

After doing debris cleanup, Ray would leave every afternoon to meet with schools and teach basketball clinics. Our team from Otsu Baptist cooked a hot meal two night for a local shelter, so I stayed and helped serve food...

The residents of the shelters were a mixture of young and old; those displaced by the nuclear crisis and those who had lost everything...

This was the extent of the medical supplies at this shelter. There is a huge need for supplies...

There are so many elderly folks who either lost everything, or were too uncomfortable to stay in their homes alone so they moved to the shelter to feel safer...