Yes I've recovered

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First, thanks to all who checked in the last couple of weeks. Thanks to Plaxovid, my experience with Covid was quite short lived, albeit I did isolate myself from family and wear a mask in the house. Neither Peter nor Andrew – or for that matter, anyone from Japan that I know of – have experienced Covid. Guess I’m just lucky. I am still regaining my stamina, but otherwise know long-term effects from this latest round with the virus (this is my second infection).

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We had dinner with Aaron’s family this evening to share stories about our time in Japan, particularly since Aaron was missing Japanese food. By the way, if you’re ever in the West LA area, I can recommend Sakura Restaurant on Centinela Ave, but I digress. I was able to remind Aaron’s parents what a fantastic job Aaron and my son Peter did while we were serving in the Noto Peninsula of Japan.

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The boys enjoying their final meal in Hakui before we departed (I posted this earlier but I didn’t provide context).

They did any task asked of them and did it well. I’m trying to post the videos of them flailing a sledge hammer to take down remaining walls with rebar (yes I took a few swings, Tylenol is still helping my shoulder. Again, I digress).

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A pic of Peter swinging away at the remnants of the demolished house made it to the Noto Help Facebook page. I posted a similar pic earlier, but this was taken by (I think) one of the Pastors we worked with.

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Another photo from the Noto Help Facebook page, those concrete blocks were heavy!

In case you’re wondering, there is a pic of me on the website helping sort debris for recycling, but you can only see the back of my head. That’s probably appropriate.

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One thing I also saw on their Facebook page is continued requests for volunteers, the tasks including everything from clean up of physical debris to helping with children’s programs.

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A few years ago, when we were wrapping up our service in Kumamoto, my younger son Andrew posted the following:

After a disaster, the whole world can see and hear and learn about the trials others go through. This can be great. In the first year following the earthquake, missionaries from all corners of the globe watched and came and helped. But as always, people lost the drive, they lost the passion, the determination. They forget. And they move on. Eventually, the severity of the disaster is thought of less and less until it becomes a few photos and a blurb in a history book or a retrospective news story.

I feel called here because I don’t want to forget, and I don’t want my church to forget, and most importantly, I don’t want the people here to feel forgotten. I want the residents the know that we still care, that the church still supports them, and that we don’t have to remember them because we never forgot to begin with.

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Andrew’s words still ring true. We saw homes still needing to be demolished, other homes undergoing major repair, businesses still boarded up which may or may not return. There is still a need there.

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Unfortunately we can only send teams during the summer. A lot can happen in a year, but we want to go back. For that matter, we (Aaron, Peter and me) all agree we wish we were still there.

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(Full disclosure, I had help with Google Translate.)

I just posted on the Noto Help Facebook page “It was an honor to serve Noto Help this past year. Our Los Angeles team hopes to return next year if we can be of service.” I’m hoping that message is communicated whatever the language.

A couple of additional comments:

  • Aaron and Peter promised to write something and share their pics, when they do I’ll make sure to post what they offer.
  • I’ve received some nice feedback from many of you about the blogs. Unfortunately Tumblr doesn’t offer me any statistics about the number of readers, Blogspot does give me an estimate. Nonetheless, I / we truly appreciate you taking the time to read this!
  • Because of my new role with GLINTS I’ll periodically this blog to update about what’s happening in the Noto Peninsula as well as any other relevant information about disaster relief in Japan throughout the year as the news warrants.

Finally, thank you to the many of you who have supported us with prayers and your support. We’re halfway to our fundraising goal, if you would like to provide financial support – which supports both our work and the work of GLINTS around the world – the details are listed below. We can’t do this without you, so again ありがとうございます(thank you very much)!

And get ready for what Aaron and Peter have to share! Oh wait, should I be worried?

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There’s different ways to give:

By Zelle (preferred): Use donations@glints.org or 630-715-0734. Write in the comments section “Oda Global.”

By check: Make checks payable to GLINTS and send to GLINTS, PO Box 962, Wheaton IL 60187. On the memo section designate your donation to “Oda Missions Support.”

By credit card or PayPal: Go to www.glints.org/donatenow Write in the comments section “Oda Global.”

Questions? Feel free to contact me at ayoda77@gmail.com. Your continued partnership is a blessing!

Peter, Aaron & Alan


#glints #notohelp #westlightcommunitychurch

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