Cafe and visiting with neighbors

Every Wednesday we host a open house cafe for the community in the afternoon from 1 to 4. People come and chat and get a renewed sense of community. With houses being torn down daily and the reminder of destruction constantly the cafe is a welcome respite. 


Today we had a special treat! Micheal (one of our long term volunteers) made fried ice cream for everyone. Also thanks to the English classes from yesterday everyone was super excited to come back and practice!.. People started to show up at 12!!..And one lady literally walked FOUR hours to come(she usually rides with friends but apparently she couldn't get a hold of them)(oh and I am not joking about the 4 hour walk! pretty amazing). We had in all 15 and they stayed to the last possible moment. 

The ladies who showed up at 12 and to the right Michael, Satako, and Satoshi.

Fried Ice Cream!! (thanks Michael!!)

These guys loved it! 

My head is swimming from the constant trying to understand Japanese all day. I got to visit a neighbor in the morning who I had been meaning to visit for the last several weeks. It turned into a 2 and half hour visit. The first 2 hours I stuck it out on my own. Then I called Satako for help for the last half hour. All in all it was a great day even if I didn't get any computer work done! :)

Side note: This is what we woke up to this morning! ゆき! Yuki!(snow)

English Classes!

So today was the start of two English classes as part of our outreach to the community. I have been putting off this particular outreach several different reason for awhile now. For one I do not particularly care for teaching and two this would take direct involvement from me whereas usually I am in the background making sure things happen. And I have had zero time to start another new project with that kind of commitment. :) 


Well by God's grace we started two classes today! The first class was in the afternoon at our base Hope House. Nine people came!(just the right amount!) I could not have done it without Micheal and Satako. Michael has taught English classes to Japanese before so knew how to keep the class flowing and Satako helped with translation. The class in the afternoon was all older people so very laid back and easy going. I was fun! A lot of laughter and fun time working on several easy English sentences to say.

  English time!! :) We learned John 15:13 at the end of class.

Everyone was really into it! :)

(To the left standing: Satako(my right hand assistant!) & Michael(a long term volunteer)

The second class was at a home owner's cafe. We are currently working on repairing this homeowner's home. The crowd at this English class was younger and knew more English. It was lots of fun! We had it more together at this class and I actually gave a mini-devotion on our verse of the week. 

Me explaining siblings..

 The chirashi(flyer) that Satako made for the classes!

It was fun! 

(a big thank you to my co-worker Satoshi for taking these pics and helping out with logistics and etc!)

Support Letter

Below is the letter that I am sending out to everyone. It describes my work in Ishinomaki and that in order to stay I need help with prayer and finances. Please read and remember me in your prayers and consider supporting me financially so I can stay in Japan.

Dear Friends,

As you may know I have been serving as a voluntary missionary intern with Mission to the World (MTW) in Ishinomaki, Japan. I have been here since last May after graduating from Jackson State University with a degree in social work.  After the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, MTW, through Grace City Church, Tokyo, and the Chiba team began relief work in Ishinomaki, a city devastated by the tsunami. I only planned to stay 3 months, but in July was asked to continue 9 months with the Grace City Relief team. It was increasingly apparent that God had led me to this mission field and was calling me to stay. Despite the language barrier and the challenges of living in a second culture, God has seen fit to use me for the extension of His kingdom.

A recent article outlined the situation: “In Ishinomaki, one of the hardest-hit coastal settlements, more than half of the city’s 61,000 houses were either swept away completely or severely damaged by the tsunami.”(http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hI7hL5Zo1uD6o8wliQ9SBBM_17Gg?docId=CNG.593fe6ca820e30d0ab50ec6e2b135a3e.e1)  Not only does the city have physical needs, but also spiritual. This region is one of the least churched areas in Japan and Japan itself has less than .2% Christians. I have helped coordinate short term teams, organize community events, restore dilapidated houses, strengthen ties between relief organizations and build relationships with the local community of Ishinomaki. This work, so far, has been a great outlet for communicating the gospel to Japanese people in a real practical way. However, there is still much work to be done. Because of this, I have accepted an invitation to stay in Ishinomaki till May 2013. 

I have and continue to depend on the prayer and financial support of God’s people. Pray that as I work to help rebuild communities that I will also have the opportunity to share Christ. Pray for my neighbors; there are several with whom I am in contact daily. Pray for my health. During my time here I have struggled with various sicknesses. Also, to effectively communicate the gospel to the Japanese, it is necessary for me to speak the language. Please pray for me regarding this endeavor.

Additional financial support is needed to continue in my work here. This includes $3,800 per month and $4,500 in one time support. Please prayerfully consider how you might support me in this way.

You may contribute online through the following link and  designating the gift for“Lavallee, Virginia #14489.”  https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/default.aspx Or a check to "Mission to the World," designated for  "Virginia Lavallee #14489,"  may be sent to:    Mission to the World, P.O. Box 116284,  Atlanta, GA 30368-6284.

 Thanks for your prayers and support for the ministry to the people of Ishinomaki, Japan

In Christ,

Virginia Lavallee

two Japanese university students who volunteered with us