In the spring of 2006, I traveled with my parents to Japan in celebration of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. My sister Vicki arrived at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, disembarking her plane even as I boarded mine for my flight returning to Potomac. She would be in Japan, with her son Kyle and daughter Naomi, for about 10 days.

After she got back to her home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she sent this email letter. She writes of the walk they took with my mother to a park in Ninomiya where our Aunt Kimiko lives, a beautiful walk I took with my parents when I was there with them. Ninomiya is on Japan’s east coast at the middle of the country. The park is at the top of a great bluff overlooking the Pacific. As if that sight weren’t magnificent enough to take in, you can turn inland, face west, and, on a clear day, “enjoy your eyes” (as the Japanese say) on the breathtaking sight of Fuji-san. This is a story about my Okasan. And it is a story about loving God and our neighbor.

My sister’s letter:

Mom, Naomi and I took a great walk on a beautiful day up the steep hillside in Ninomiya. Kimiko had shown us a shortcut that took us through a beautiful nature trail, around orchards, up nature steps and through bamboo fields to get to the site of the old castle in Ninomiya, the one that overlooks the bay and is surrounded by cherry blossoms and flowers. As I sat under a tree inhaling the view, I left Naomi to take photos and rest on the uppermost area catching the sights and sunshine.

I began to wonder what became of Mom after several minutes had passed. I walked back up to the spot and saw her talking intimately with a young man whom I had seen sitting on a bench rather pensively when we had first arrived. When I looked at Naomi quizzically, she said, “I think she’s saving that boy’s life.” We left Mom to her mission and she came over to us later in the field. She was troubled that the boy seemed despondent, staring without moving. She had heard that if someone is troubled and perhaps suicidal, it can take the encouraging words of anyone to bring them back to their senses.

In the truest form of Mom’s bold nature, she walked over, returning to him, and asked him if he was in some kind of trouble. He answered that yes, he was beginning his first day of university the next day and was deeply distressed about his “fashion” and this phase of his life. Mom spoke with him shared the gospel message, prayed with him, encouraged him about God’s love for him. Then, she left him to continue to ponder, and she came back to us.

A few minutes later, she walked back over for a time. We were nearby and she introduced us to him. We shook his hand and said hello, not knowing all that had transpired.

Later, she told us that she had forgotten to pray the sinner’s prayer with him and went back to ask if he would like to repeat that prayer after her. He told her that he would. So, on a beautiful hilltop on the site of an ancient castle overlooking the Pacific Ocean, our mother prayed with an 18 year old young man to receive Christ as his savior. We need to remember to pray for him, as well as all of our Tamaoki family.

As amazing as this story is, it amazed me also to learn that my daughter captured a beautiful photo of Mom praying with this boy with her hand around his back. I will try to send the photo, but will likely ask Naomi to do it for me. Of all the Japan photos, that is the one Kyle said he definitely wants a copy of. And so, I’m sure, will you all. He said, “That shows the real Grandma.”

Greetings from Tenwek Hospital, Bomet, Kenya. Things here have been rather eventful over the past month, to say the least! As most of you will have heard, tension has been very high since the announcement of the Kenyan Presidential election results on December 30. The results have been highly disputed by the two main parties in the election. During the first week of disputes, there was a good deal of violence throughout the country. On several days, we could stand on our front porch and hear gunfire and tear gas cannons being fired in some of the towns within two miles of Tenwek. We were essentially unable to travel, as roads in the area had been closed by roadblocks and protesting crowds. This lasted for about 10 days, and then seemed to settle down. All of us have been hopeful that some political solution would be reached between government leaders to bring peace. Unfortunately, there have been several new waves of violence which have essentially become tribal clashes in nature. Since the political parties tend to split down tribal lines, the violence also tends to be tribally directed in nature. The situation currently is marked by unpredictability. There have been many days when all seemed to be well, and business was returning to usual. In fact, we traveled to Nairobi as a family just one week ago, and everything was very stable. This past week, however, saw the killings of two politicians, which again sparked significant unrest in our area. To date, there have been no signs of violence coming near Tenwek, although many of our Kenyan staff who are not of the most common local tribal background have decided to leave the area temporarily as we wait to see how the situation will develop. In the hospital, we are certainly seeing the effects of the violence. Our elective surgery cases have decreased significantly as people find transport to be difficult and unpredictable. On the other hand, our cases of emergency surgery have increased markedly! Our male surgical ward is overflowing with two patients in almost every bed, with more than half of them victims of violence related to this current situation. We seem to have at least one or two patients shot with arrows brought to the hospital every day, along with at least one gunshot victim. You may remember that arrow injuries are not uncommon, but this volume is certainly much more than usual. However, the Lord has been gracious. Throughout all of this time, we have only had one patient die who had made it alive to the hospital with an injury. Further, we have generally been able to get the hospital supplies we need to keep taking care of patients. Most importantly, we have been able to show Jesus’ love to hurting people in very difficult times.Please continue to pray for this entire situation, as the stress level is quite high for everyone. Some of our missionaries have had very difficult situations trying to pass through roadblocks and being threatened by large crowds. Many families of our national staff have experienced losses of many different types. We are praying daily that the Lord will bring peace, and that we may be His hands, feet, and mouth as we deal with these dangerous situations. Currently, we have put a temporary hold on new people and visitors coming to help us with work here in Kenya. This is making the work-load more difficult for many. As a group, our World Gospel Mission Kenya field leadership is keeping a close eye on the situation and meeting frequently to keep abreast of the situation. We do not feel a need for any of us to leave Kenya at this time. Please pray for wisdom in all of these difficult decisions. We also have a Crisis/Relief team working on helping the many displaced people within Kenya. Please pray for their safety as well.There are some bright spots in all of this also. We are now one week into our new surgical residency program here at Tenwek. We had decided to go ahead with beginning this training despite future uncertainties. This has been a dream and hope for many years for many of us here at Tenwek. Many of you have prayed with us for this. We have taken on two great, young Kenyan Christian doctors for formal training in surgery. These tumultuous times make certain aspects of the training difficult, but it is certainly giving them a lot of exposure to management of trauma cases!The family is doing well, although the stress of uncertainty is wearing a bit on everyone. The picture above was taken Sunday after our service. I was the preacher and I reminded all of us that we are strangers and aliens on this earth, and that our true citizenship is in heaven. We’ll try to keep you updated as the situation develops. We very much covet your prayers, and so appreciate your support of God’s work here at Tenwek.