First Day In Fukushima

Today was everyone’s first day waking up in Fukushima! The team got a very early start to the day, as the sun rises here right around 4am! The house and church groups were able to spend lots of quality time running early errands, exploring the area, and getting ready together. After breakfast at about 6:30 most of the team split up and did devotional time. There is a beautiful river with a walking path just about 1/4 of a mile from Cindy’s house and the church where people split up to spend time meditation on God’s word. The beginning of church was at 9:00 with a short worship service with the families from the congregation who have children. We learned some Japanese worship songs outside the church with a beautiful morning breeze.

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Following that we all broke up into smaller groups and journeyed around the neighborhood singing worship songs aloud and silently praying for the residents in the houses to sing the same lyrics and also receive the worshiping our King! We then all experienced a Japanese Lutheran Church service, we were packed tight in the sanctuary with a ratio of 1:1 Americans to Japanese people! The rest of the afternoon after church different groups of our team invited the church member to go to lunch with us which led to an afternoon of hanging out and fellowship around the church area. Some people stayed back playing outside with the younger kids for the afternoon while another group went to a large festival that was going on in the city with some of the youth-age chinch members to experience more culture and spend time with our new friends!

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For the evening time there was another short worship time that was a mix of Japanese and English songs. Overall our first day was delightful to spend time with the community of believers at the Izumi church and build connections with different members. 

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Already we have felt God’s presence and see Him in all things around Japan. Our hearts for this country are growing and it is only the beginning! We know God is active in Japan! 

Prayer requests:

  • Physically the extremely long day of traveling and jet lag has been difficult....we need energy and endurance with the busy and stimulating days + the draining heat!

  • Courage to step out of our comfort zones and opportunities to talk about God; eliminating fear when language is often a barrier. 

  • Peace over our team and Cindy, remembering not to get too caught up in the busy itinerary that we never rest, but relying on Christ to be our energy source and place of calm. 

  • Continued safety and health ;) 


Abby Cole 



Cory Thomason