Loving Help from Those Around Us

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I was stuck amidst the earthquake that occurred in Japan in March this year. As a consequence of that, I had temporarily relocate.

At the time the earthquake occurred, I was participating in some missionary training in the city of Koriyama in the Fukushima Prefecture. But, my place of residence was in the city of Fukushima 90 minutes to the north. After the initial quake, all transport and communication lines were down and I, amongst many people, we not able to return home. After a few days, I was blessed to be able to return to my own house to retrieve some family photos, my journal and a few other personal belongings. I was lucky as many people did not have that chance. Also, though returning home, I was able to see how lucky I was not to at my home at the time of the earthquake as it would have been quite dangerous.

We received instructions that we were to relocate to the island of Hokkaido, which is situated north of the main island of Japan. Most of us left with the clothes on our back and what was in our backpacks at the time. Some of us were able to recover a few personal items. But we set off unequipped. Our trip took us to Tokyo at first, where some local American families put us up for the night. I am so grateful for the kindness and gentleness they all showed to us in our situation. It really goes to show the importance of showing Christ-like love in all situations.

Our next leg took us north to the city of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. We were then assigned to work in local congregations around the island. When I arrived, my heart was warmed as the local members reached out to us in making our stay comfortable. They gave us food and transport, as well as needed clothing. But most importantly, they had shown their love to us. That is what mattered most. After all we went though "things" were not important. What was important was that we had our lives, that our friends had our lives and that though Christ, we knew that everything would work out for the best. I will always be grateful to the people who helped us along our rough road. I also will be always grateful to God who helped us through this ordeal. He is in charge and loves all of His children.

Whenever you get the chance, help someone in need. Don't do it out of obligation, but do it out of LOVE. Because LOVE will make the REAL difference.