Nothing goes to plan

One of the keywords in working here in the tsunami-devastated areas is flexiiblity.  Plans can be made but they don't necessarily turn out the way you expect.  There are sudden changes and various twists and turns along the way each day.  It is a battle too - and that means things can go wrong or get in the way or just be made more difficult than they are anyway.  Today once again we set off for a temporary housing place.  But just as we got there it started to rain.  There seemed to be no one about.  But then one lady appeared and she was the only one for quite some time.  Then one more and eventually one more appeared.  We heard that just today a special shuttle bus had been arranged to take people from that temporary housing area to a shopping centre, so many people were gone.  But maybe part of the plan for today was for the ladies in our team to have time with these three ladies.  The conversation was good and the ladies enjoyed singing with us at the end.  We packed up and headed off to hear how one of the team had got on helping an American carpenter do some work at another temporary housing place.  But that had not gone smoothly either for all sorts of reasons.  Meanwhile the rest of the team got ready to go to yet another temporary housing area right next to a primary school.  We had a great time with the children there, having fun outdoors, doing some games inside, sharing snacks together.  Two of these children have already signed up to come along to to a special week-long Kids Gospel Outreach at the end of this month.  One game involved the three Ferguson men being wrapped in toilet paper by their teams to become mummies, ending with the three mummies having a race across the school playground.  A crowd had gathered by this time to watch this bizarre event.  David ended up surrounded by a group of 6th grade boys and had some good chats.  Wonder what the teachers thought if they were looking out from the windows!  But it was great to give these kids fun and build up some relations there.  Back to the cafe we went and were just about to head off when David and another team member were beckoned over to a table where a few customers were sitting.  Why are you here?  What led you to start this work here in Yamada?  What makes you do this for these people?  That led on to an unexpected but fascinating conversation.  One older man who is frequenting the cafe regulalrly summed up very well what we are doing here - caring for people's hearts, for their inner needs, listening to them, providing a place where people can gather and relax.  What a blessing to be a small part of this ongoing work in Yamada.  Tomorrow we head off to another town where a member of the OMF team (a Japanese pastor) has recently moved and started a new work.