March 24th, 2011

What an amazing journey! What an amazing, awesome God we serve.
Last week and especially over the weekend we were praying about my going to Japan. When, if and how long to go. Then on Monday in the late afternoon we get a call from my brother Mark in Japan letting us know of an opportunity to serve with a group from the CB churches in Japan. They will be basing at the Shiogama church and helping to do clean up in the town there. My family lived in Shiogama for five years and my dad worked in this church. Shiogama is 10 miles north of Sendai on the coast. It was hit hard by the tsunami.
We held another impromptu family prayer meeting with my sister Deb who was here. We all sensed we needed to proceed with this even though it would mean I would have to leave by Saturday in order to get there in time to spend the whole week there. I have no passport and not near the funds to make this happen. I would also have to get time off work to go. We made a few calls and got started on the passport application. We went to bed that night excited and trusting that if God wanted me to go he could work to make it happen in this ridiculously short amount of time.
Fast forward to Tuesday night. We went to bed excited again, and marveling that God had pulled it together. I was able to get the time off work in time to get airline reservations needed to get the expedited passport application sent off by Fedex. Late in the evening we got a call letting us know that our church (Suburban Christian church) is providing support to send me to Japan and disperse aide to those who need it.
Wow! Our minds our reeling, but we are in peace about this journey. The group I’m going with now have the nickname, “The Shiogama Six” and it will be a stretching adventure. Please pray for the following:
1. That the passport arrives by Friday!
2. For the team to bond together quickly.
3. We will be exposed to some extreme suffering situations. Pray for wisdom to respond appropriately as well as personal strength to deal with what we encounter.
4. For discernment as to how God would want to use my time in the best way possible (visiting other sites, etc.)
5. For physical health (with gluten intolerance, I am somewhat limited in what I’ll be able to eat)
We can’t thank you enough for all the support, prayers, and assistance that has come our way in a short amount of time!
Bruce Penner