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
