I shared my testimony with the people of the Sakuragaoka Church and I still can't believe I was able to do that. I was scared of what people would think of me, but everybody was so kind afterwards, and God really helped me through the fear of judgement.
I talked to a wonderful lady from Sakuragaoka, and she told me about her struggles with having parents who are against Christianity. Another lady I talked to told me about how the Sakuragaoka Church saved her when she was in the darkest of times.
I went to Yamagata and talk to some people who were affected by the 3/11 disaster. One person told me about how she is still trying her best to live life and things has not been all that easy. I gave her a hug because I felt like she needed it, and then afterwards, she told me she loved hugging people. I'm so glad I was able to hear her story.
We were also able to go to the day care at Yamagata, and my love for being with kids was further strengthened.
Joanne and I were able to talk for many hours about our thoughts and feelings throughout the trip. God really put her in my life for a reason because without her, I would not have been able to pull through some of the things we did at the trip.
Singing "Oceans" with my fellow members was so powerful. I really felt God's presence each time we sang, and I am glad that this song was able to reach out to some people's hearts.
I am so thankful for having such AMAZING people on the team and I love everyone on my team so much. I'm also thankful for everybody that I met in Japan because you all are such an inspiration to me. Even though there are mountains of things to talk about from this trip, these were just a couple of moments that stood out to me.
Thank you God for calling me to be on this mission trip. You are holy, great, and mighty.
With much love,
Hitomi
Thank you so much for sharing, Hitomi. We miss you.
ReplyDelete:'( i miss you guys so much right now.
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