Mission Trip Day 3

We all agree the third day of the mission trip was the most powerful. The morning started out well. One of our adult volunteers, Jen Reeder, enjoyed creating some custom, artistic pancakes for all of us. Then we packed up all of our stuff, cleaned the room for the next team of volunteers, and then met up with our translator Michio who took us to a neighborhood where we would walk around delivering large bags of rice we had donated to families in need.

It was extremely hot and humid out but our team hiked through three hilly neighborhoods for a couple of hours with the heavy bags of rice, knocking on doors and offering it to Japanese families. At first they were hesitant, asking us how much we were selling the bags for. When we explained it was free, as a gift, they were blown away by our generosity and often bowed very low, multiple times, expressing their thanks. It was extremely rewarding, and something I'm pretty sure our students will never forget.

The Japanese often feel honor bound, upon reciving a gift, to give you something in return. That was absolutely not expected. But we couldn't say no when one woman we visited tracked us down and gave us some delicious blue popcicles to help us cool off in the noonday heat. I really do love the Japanese people and their warmth and consideration. This was a wonderful trip, and it was an honor to serve them.