In any case, I did want to share a really amazing opportunity a very dear friend of mine shared with me. She and her husband have a passion for working in disaster areas to help rebuild. She just recently got back from spending several months in Japan working at rebuilding homes. It is truly her passion and she shared that passion with me. Hearing her talking about her experience made me remember how much I used to love going down to Mexico and doing missionary work down there. Now granted, Japan is very different since it's Samaritan's Purse and they're doing construction whereas when my church youth group would go down to Mexico, we mostly did VBS and outreach with very little construction work. Well, as she was telling me about her experience, she asked me if that would be something I would like to do. My answer: Heck, yes!
Just to give you a bit of background, years ago I got into a huge Japanese craze where I was buying Japanese plants, reading mangas, watching animes, and even started writing book based in Japan. That has majorly died down for me. I don't really read manga anymore, other than the one series I own, and I rarely look for or watch any new animes. The one thing that hasn't changed though is that I would still love to visit Japan. So when she asked me if I was interested, I was so excited. But I was also disappointed. Visiting a foreign country, particularly one as far away as Japan is expensive. And despite the fact that I just started a new job and all, I'm not exactly raking in the dough yet. So I was thrilled when she told me that it was an all expenses paid trip, provided that I was willing to stay and work for 4+ weeks, something which is absolutely no problem for me.
As a bit of side note, this is where having a job like mine is absolutely fantastic. At my previous job, the chances of me being able to get shifts covered for being out of the country for 4 or more weeks would be incredibly difficult if not almost impossible. With my current job, it's no problem whatsoever. And if I wanted to stay longer than 4 weeks, I could do that. So just another awesome example of God's provision.
Anyway, back on track. If this all works out, and it's still definitely in the very beginning stages since I'm trying to figure out when I could go or even if I can go (more on that later), I would be traveling to Sendai, Japan. So some real quick background. "Japan's northeastern coast was struck by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake followed by a giant tsunami on March 11. Huge waves engulfed towns and villages, sweeping away houses, cars, boats and trains. Samaritan's Purse quickly responded by sending a disaster response team to Sendai, the city nearest the epicenter of the earthquake and tsunami. Teams continue to assist the people of Sendai by mobilizing and equipping local volunteers to clean out homes and remove debris." (Samaritan's Purse Website) So, again, this is where I would be working.
The one hitch is that it lists as requirements on the project page that the skills needed are extensive construction experience. Um, well, I'm 21 and have very limited construction experience. I can whack a nail, I know how to use a screw driver, I can use a staple gun, etc., but I sure don't have "extensive" experience. I'm also trying to work this around a potential family vacation which I would really like to go on since I was unable to go last year. I'm also preparing to audition for the Biggest Loser, and Lord willing, if I make the cut, I have no idea when that would be filming or anything. And my final question is whether or not I'm going to be returning to college in the fall or if I'm going to take a break. Whether that break is temporary or permanent I have yet to decide, but I definitely need to make a decision about the fall semester pretty quick.
So there's a lot to figure out since I need to make sure I have at least 4 weeks available. But I'm really excited and really ready to give this a shot and do what I can to make it happen. I basically haven't been on any kind of mission trip since my first youth pastor moved to California, so over 4 years ago. I always loved the mission trips though, so, again, I am super excited about this opportunity. Please keep me in your prayers as I try to decide how to work this all out and also just pray that it would work out! Thank you all!
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