New Nick-name, Grandfather's passing away and other events

My new nickname: So in the Japanese language there is no "v" sound. Nor is "r" really used and actually the "r" and "l" sound alike in Japanese. My name now sounds like this: "Ba-ji-ni-a" and looks like this: バージニア. Well like with the English language names are shorten. Well it just happens that the name for grandmother in Japanese is Oba chan which gets shorten to "Ba-chan"... guess what my new nickname is... Hehehehe..

Yep.. definitely getting to that grandmother stage..
me with one of the university students came and volunteered with us during his spring break!

My grandfather(Lolo): Dr. William Simons was an amazing man and definitely someone who I aspire to be like some day. He passed away on March 12 at age 92. He was the only grandparent I ever knew(all my other grandparents passed away when I was younger). I was his second to youngest grandchild. In fact he retired for the  2nd time from the mission field the year I was born. He was a missionary for over 40 years to China and the Philippians. He was amazing in how he always was encouraging those around him and constantly wanted to learn. He leave an awesome legacy over half of his 14 grandkids are in ministry in some form or fashion and overseas.

All the grandkids with Lolo. In 2008 our last family reunion everyone was able to make it.

Other events: We had many community events going on the past 3 weeks. With over 150 volunteers coming through we were busy getting them to serve this area. There was one particular event that we did over 6 different days in a 2 week span. We along with Samaritan's Purse hosted several different lunches in order for us to get to know more of the house owners. Two different teams(one from Hong Kong and other other Nagoya) hosted these lunches. It was a great time of fellowship, laughter, and fun. 

Samurai lady! she is awesome! Another neighbor who I remember distinctly from my first visit to Ishinomaki. So glad we have become good friends. 

The food was very good. Many of the nieghbors ended up coming by  and joining in. :)

Lots of fun and laughter!! :)

3.11 Memorial service

It has now been over a year since the earthquake and tsunami. Ishinomaki and all of northern Japan has face many difficulties in the long road of recovery. We at Grace Mission Tohoku along with Be-One, Watanoha Christ Church, Calvery Chapel, E-Free and Samaritan's Purse along with the community came together to remember those whose lives were taken and reflect over the past year. It was a good time of sharing of testimonies, singing, crying, and fellowship. Over a 150 people community people came to the event. God really blessed the time and gave us the opportunity to share compassion and love. Below are some pictures from the event.

Some very dear neighbors and friends. They have been through a lot.

Satoshi with some more great neighbors!

Lorna with a lady that I remember from the first time I went to Ishinomaki. She has become a great friend!

Lots of people! :)

The scarf behind me was made by people from all over the world. When they added to the scarf they prayed for Japan and the rebuilding of Japan. 

Saturday Event-Takidashi

The amazing tent that we use for our Saturday events and other special events.
Thanks to Samaritan's Purse for providing it!

Every Saturday is we hold our biggest regular event. This event has been going on since day 3 after the tsunami hit by our team. Many many volunteers from all over the world have participated and have made this event happen weekly. It originally was called takidashi which means soup kitchen. Now it is a community meal in which on average a 100 people attend and fellowship with each other. We start at 9 setting up and preparing whatever is the menu for that particular day's meal. From 9 to 11:30 the people come and chat and drink coffee and help prepare the meal. At 11:30 we have a game of Bingo for everyone. At 12 we serve the meal and thanks to our new permanent tent many people stay, eat, and continue to fellowship.

The reason why we have continued it even though the need for food is over the need for community and hope is still so very real! We have had many stories from people who come regularly that this event brings them hope and gives them courage to face another week. So many of the people who come have had loved ones die, lost jobs, lost homes, and endured unbelievable stories because of the tsunami.
Based off the constant testimonies of those who come every bit of weariness and frustration on the volunteer's and my part in order to make this event happen weekly has been completely worth it!
Below are pictures from this past saturday.

We set up small tents outside the big tent to cook under.

Inside the big tent people have coffee and enjoy being out of the cold.

It was snowing really hard this past saturday.

One of the local community members brought oysters in which many of the community helped cook.

Everyone loved the oysters young and old a like. :)

Massage and Make-up events (and basketball)

The last week and half has been non-stop with events and volunteer groups coming through. Last week we had very popular Japanese make-up group(equivalent to May Kay in America I think) come and do an event here at the house. They gave hand massages, make overs for the ladies, and a dietitian talked with them on various health issues. They have come before and done 2 events last fall. They will be coming two more times this month as well.

make up and hand massage

hand massage!

We also had a massage/acupuncture guy come through for 3 days this past week as well. He worked out of the house for 2 of the days and the other day he worked at a nearby temporary housing. We had a videographer come through  as well for several days. He was gathering footage for a fundraising video for childrens' programs in tsunami hit areas.

Thanks to meeting a home owner through a house dedication by Samaritan's Purse I finally found a place to play basketball. This is my favorite sport and I had not been able to play since being in Japan. They meet every sunday evening for two hours at the local elementary school. It is pretty exciting for it has given us a chance to get to know another group of people in this area. Below are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

One of the men on our team

This past sunday three different teams got together to play.

The man with the jersey #4 is the homeowner who invited us to play!  Many thanks to him!

So much fun! 

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