Fifteen women gathered last Tuesday in Ishinomaki…we learned together a lot about weaving kimono fabric, cutting and smoothing pieces of broken dishes and ceramics gathered from the tsunami, and soldering silver.

None of us knew much what we were doing — we watched YouTube together, experimented, laughed at our mistakes, and tried again….

and we cheered for each piece of broken pottery that,  having been found in a place of pain, was transformed into a lovely piece of jewelry.

Then we met two days later – last chance to make a few more pieces for us to bring as samples to the US.  And what was so amazing – and even more beautiful than the jewelry– was what happened as we worked both of these days.  We laughed at our pieces of jewelry that didn’t work and how silly we felt accidentally melting the sponges and learning how to use machinery that we had never touched before.  And while we worked, we shared from our lives.  It seemed to feel safe to be busy working, looking down, and opening up.  We talked about challenges of being moms.  The majority of the women are single moms, and began sharing some of their insecurities and fears of raising children alone.  One of my friends cried that day for the first time.  Two of us who have lost our moms talked about how we don’t remember our moms getting mad at us…wondered why we can’t be as good as our moms had been…  and we found ourselves needing to stop soldering for a bit as we cried together for each other’s losses.  Someone joked that the name for our group should be the Tissue Team….

As I reflected on those two days together, they felt like… an old fashioned American quitting bee.  Women working together to turn scraps of something into beauty.  And while doing so, they became freer to share their  own lives.  It felt like this same magic occurred in the midst of our jewelry endeavors.

During lunch, we talked about several of the different name options for the jewelry.  The name was decided when one of the women, Y., blurted out, “I really want the name to have the word ‘hope’ in it.  Before I met you, I had no hope.  You told me that there is hope.  Now I believe it.”  And so, we chose the name:  Shards of Hope  (English name)  and   希望のかけら is the Japanese name.   Here’s to hope!  I love it that it was decided by these women – they are the ones this is about.

While we are in the US, the women are continuing to meet once a week to work on projects, experiment, and increase prowess in the various stages needed to make soldered silver ceramic jewelry.  We are hoping to get things started in September when I return; able to begin sales as early as October (bring on the Christmas sales!).  I am praying for a building that we can use solely for this purpose starting in September.  We hope to bring one or more artists/jewelry makers  to help train us.  I am meeting with different people while we are back here to cast the vision, gather ideas, hopefully some funding, and put together a team who can help us carry this through successfully.

If you are interested in being part of this team, we are looking for:  graphic designers to help with the logo, branding, advertising;  website designers to help us create a website that can serve both Japanese and North Americans;  those in the retail/wholesale business in the US/Japan who may know of some available markets for the jewelry;  a few willing to come and teach us in September;  help in ordering jewelry supplies in the US, one or more people on Japan side who know about setting up a business in terms of taxes, etc.  Please email me if you are interested in any of these things!  And pray for us.  It is about much more than creating a business for these women.  There is something special happening through the creating that parallels what God is doing in our own lives.  Our friend Peter T. just shared a quote he heard at the recent Asian House church conference that says it well:  “True dreams are not what we see in our sleep, but those which, for the sheer joy of their realization, rob us of sleep each night.”  This is one of those dreams that is keeping me awake at night.  But I don’t want me to get in the way of God wants to do.  Another friend I was sharing with recently at dinner said, “Don’t do anything without letting the Holy Spirit lead you.”  That is my prayer — to listen and follow God’s leading.   Please pray for the Be One staff continuing in Ishinomaki while we are gone to stay strong and not grow weary;  to find great joy in their relationships with others.  Pray for the funding that we need to get things started.   Pray for new creative ideas to spring forth from this artwork.  Pray that God continues to take this project  forward, step by step.  For His glory;  For the Hope that we desire to shine into the lives of each of these amazing, talented, beautiful women we are working with.

This morning’s verse in my daily reading spoke to me:  “Brethren, pray for us.”  (I thess 5:25)   Or perhaps a bit more updated: Friends- please pray for us!  We are feeling the need for prayer up here on many levels.  I would like to write on a personal level because I have realized this past year that those of you who are reading here regularly really are praying for us!

**Most urgently, perhaps, I would like you to pray for one of our friends up here.  In just interacting and investing in the lives of those we meet, we become privileged to know of their struggles.  One of my friends is dealing with a lot of pain, discouragement, and depression right now. Today as she shared with me some of these things, I read Jeremiah 29:11 and prayed with her that she will believe that it is true:  that God does have a special plan for her life.  She needs to believe this is true – a lot depends on this.

**New ministry opportunities:  This morning before 6 am Eric and Chad went to survey and pray a home that is potentially being offered to Be One as another ministry base. It has great potential, but would also need a lot of work and focus.  We also had a meeting with a support ministry about ways they could be involved in what we are doing.  We talked more about the jewelry project – and are realizing it may need a staff person who can really focus specifically on this.  Then another local contact showed Chad another property that is a possibility for a coffee house or the jewelry or — who knows?  We need to be listening carefully and obeying diligently as God brings opportunities.  And I have been thinking how we need to keep praying for God to send more workers to the harvest!

**Prayers for me as a mom – this has been a really really tough week since returning from Sanda.  We have had two kids sick each day since we got back;  mornings and getting those who aren’t sick off to school have been incredibly stressful.  I don’t know why this has been!  Two of our children have had morning meltdowns and insisted that they don’t need to/want to go to school.  And I have not handled these very well!  I haven’t been proud of my own little meltdowns in the midst of these things.  God needs to work in me a lot!  Yesterday I read Genesis 21:7, 8 – the story of Hagar in the desert with her son.  An angel comes to her in her despair and said, “come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand…”  This is a good verse for me!  I need to lift up each of my precious children before the Lord and hold them fast.  I hope that I can find some time to get away in the coming days to just pray over these things, but especially for each of my children who are in need of a mom who holds them up regularly before the Lord.

So my friends – pray for us!  Thanks.