Heading to Snow Camp…

Sue TakamotoLeave a comment

I am really thankful for our family and friends of faith who join us across the globe, especially before and during significant events.  We would ask you to pray with us this coming weekend… our Be One team is taking 52 of us to the mountains in Iwate prefecture for snow camp.  They have FIVE FEET OF SNOW there right now!  Woohoo!

We are really excited for this!! Seven of our Nozomi staff and their children/families will be coming;  a number of high schoolers, our regular Sunday morning group, and our staff.  For many, this is a first experience at something like this.  We really want it to be a special time of getting away, having a blast, and experiencing deepening relationships.  We will be gone from Saturday morning until Monday afternoon.  We appreciate your prayers for safety, for great fun!, for God’s work in all of our lives.

Thank you… I will post updates and photos when we return!

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Back to School — on the Last Day

Sue Takamoto1 Comment

Today is the last day of the school year for all of our kids.  But it was special for another reason — because it is when our community of elementary kids returned to their neighborhood school after being away for three years.  The school had been damaged by the tsunami, and was also used six months after 3/11 as an evacuation center.  Post – tsunami, the children would gather each morning in front of the school and ride charter buses up to a temporary school built quickly on the grounds of another school.

Finally, the old school has been fixed up and is ready!  Eric and other parents, teachers, and community members have spent several weekends helping to move everything from the temporary school down to this school.  I really loved that the sixth graders last week were able to graduate from the school where they started;  and that all of our kids were able to day to have a few hours getting a feel for this place that will be their school home. (The next two weeks are spring break; then our children and all those in Japan will begin a new school year in early April).

I have heard from numerous friends and Nozomi moms about the fear and unease that some of their children have had about returning to this school.  One mom told me that her daughter had seen dead bodies after the tsunami in the outdoor school pool;  Y. told me that she’s already told the school that her daughter will be excused from swimming class this summer.  
Yesterday, I talked with a mom who said that her daughter is really worried about what she will see and hear when she returns.  When I asked her why, she said that her daughter in this area sees and hears dead people.  Particularly in the evening and at night, she hears them whispering to her.

Many of these children fled to this school when the wave was coming;  they lived in this freezing school with no toilets or electricity or warmth.  We know that the memories associated must be so so difficult.

I decided to walk the kids this morning – they really didn’t even know which gate to enter from, since they had never actually gone to this school. The two older ones ran ahead, so Olivia and I went together.  Today was the last day for her to wear that bright yellow hat!  All first graders wear it when they commute back and forth to school.

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As we turned the bend to the front of the school, we were surprised by the group that awaited us.

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About thirty or so members of the community were lined up in formation on either side of the entranceway to the school.  As each child walked between them, they cheered and clapped, waving their “welcome back” signs.

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And just in front of the school, the principal was there to greet them.

 

 

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I quickly ducked behind the trees;  my emotions got the best of me for a minute.  I was so moved by this welcome to all the kids.

Honestly, we don’t know the best way to help these families, especially these children, cope with these things.  We can’t imagine what that event and its aftermath was like.  But we are really thankful for the privilege of walking with our friends through each of these transitions towards normalcy.  And grateful for all those on the sidelines, cheering.

 

brokenness

Sue TakamotoLeave a comment

Today our children were singing at the front end of a violin concert nearby.  We were getting set up, and I headed off across the next door field in search of a drink at a vending machine.  I stopped suddenly, transfixed by what I saw half-buried in the dirt below.

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I have gotten really used to the broken pottery that can be found in this whole region where we are living.  It was created and left behind by the 2011 tsunami, and still litters many fields, gutters, and driveways around here.  Our kids during the concert’s intermission brought me handfuls of the stuff.  My youngest came in panting, holding out his grubby hands and exclaiming, “Mommy!  More jewelry!”

Much of our lives right now are all about this broken pottery, as we are working with the Nozomi Project.  A social enterprise comprised of 18 local women, we are making beautiful things out of what is broken.  All day long I have the incredible pleasure of seeing lots of brokeness… becoming beautiful….

project nazomi_by renee booe -6 copySo I’m not sure why, two years and lots-of-broken-pottery-since our move up here, this one piece really got to me. But it did.

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I picked it up, and then kept walking.  And fingering this piece of brokenness.  I think it had been a tea cup.  I looked around me.  There was a 3 story apartment building, a few homes, but mostly now-empty fields that used to be adorned with houses, which had been filled with grandmas and working dads and housewives and children running and playing. And their kitchens were filled with rice bowls…. and beautiful platters… and tea ceremony cups, and….  I wondered the story of this tea cup.  Who had bought it?  whose thirsty lips had sipped from it?  what had this piece of teacup experienced three years ago?  and where, oh where, is its owner today?

This piece – it is the perfect shape for making a beautiful Nozomi pendant.  I decided then I do not want to have this piece cut symmetrically, ground down smooth, with a bail placed on it, and strung with pearls and beads.  Not all broken pottery becomes beautiful, despite our desires.

Half a lifetime ago…

Sue Takamoto5 Comments

I have now lived my life without a mom for as long as I lived my life with my mom.

My mother, Dorothy S. Plumb, died suddenly at the age of 58 on March 15, 1989.  Twenty-five years ago this weekend.  She had a valve replaced on her heart, a result of a weakened valve after having rheumatic fever as a child.  The doctors told us it should be no problem, and they thought she did great through surgery.  But that night after we left the hospital her blood pressure dropped, and human error didn’t catch it in time.  We rushed back to the hospital but she had already gone.

The loss was of course layered, huge, deep for each one of us.  She was an anchor to me and to many others as well.   I still have those odd moments, twenty-some years later, where I almost move towards the phone to call her for a quick piece of advice.  Or I feel a physical sensation of pain still because I realize that I can’t pick up the phone and call her.  My own girls are pretty perceptive and to some degree recognize this loss in my life.  One of them asked me a few days ago if I thought I would probably be gone before her wedding too (it was actually a bit comical as she didn’t know how to talk about death  diplomatically so she used the gesture of running her finger across her neck with that grkkkk! sound.  I got the picture).

While the loss at times still feels great, I love some of the special moments that surrounded her leaving this earth.  Before the anaesthesiologist came to take her the morning of her surgery, she kissed my dad and my three sisters and I, and to me she said, “Sue, no matter what happens, I still want you to go to Japan.”  I had been preparing to move here as a single missionary.  Those words were gold to me in the months and even years that followed.

And then after she came out of recovery, she was conscious but couldn’t open her eyes.  My sister and I were sitting by her bed.  It was hard to see her all tubed up and all.  So I told her I had recently memorized Psalm 139, and would she like me to recite it?  She squeezed my hand yes.  So I started in,

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me;  you know when I sit down and when I rise up;  you understand my thoughts from afar…”  And I got down to verse 8:  “Where can I go from your presence?  Or where I can flee from your spirit?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there...”

And these little tears came out of her closed eyes.  I had to stop.  All three of us were crying.  We kissed her cheek, and left the room for my dad to take the final shift.  And then we drove home, and got the call…

On her last day on earth, she commissioned me for Japan. And I commissioned her for heaven.  What an amazing privilege.  It was a long time before I could see it as that, but I know many do not get such an opportunity.  It still comforts me, all these years later.

And she left us a letter.  I decided tonight that I needed to read it again.  She had written it in the hospital before her surgery.  We shared parts of it at her funeral;  it has encouraged and brought hope to various family and friends over the years.  And even now, half a lifetime later, I read this letter and I am anchored again to truth and wisdom, and to the transcendent love of an amazing mom.   Here is the last part:

March 13, 1989

…. Stay close to the Lord.

Follow your dreams.

Love and be loved (but love without thought of receiving back).

Be thankful – in all things — with your wills until your emotions catch up.

Make a close relationship with the Lord be your heart’s desire.

Girls, help your daddy in every way you can.  You know it’s different for him than for all of you.

I do love you so much.  I’ll be waiting for you.

              Your honey and your mom.

Stay in the Scriptures.  Jn. 14 has always been a favorite of mine.  Let the Lord comfort you through it.

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Being Let In — More Snapshots from 3/11, three years later

Sue Takamoto3 Comments

The past few days have been among the richest of our two/three years of ministry in Ishinomaki.

We are still learning what it means to walk with our friends up here through their grief and through their healing.  We are still trying to figure out exactly how to “weep with those who weep”  and to celebrate the times when we see glimpses of the joy that comes in the morning. We don’t always get it right.  Thankfully, the very fact of our being here – for the long haul — has allowed our friends to trust us.  They have let us in.  And it is such an amazing privilege.

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I was walking into the Nozomi House when I saw her in the distance. I stepped out towards the road to wait for her.  She was walking toward me, with the cold snow pelting us both.  It was so so cold!  As she came closer, she looked at me, and then she looked away.  I knew she didn’t want to talk about it.  But I hugged her, and I felt her body sway, then brace again.  I’m sorry it’s snowing and so cold, I said.  She nodded.  “Yes, it’s just like that day.”

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Our team today made four or five visits to some of the Nozomi staff who couldn’t or didn’t come into work today.  My friend S. and I went to see Chi.  I knew her daughter had had the flu last week;  when she came to the door she was wearing a mask and confessed that she herself was on her fourth day of recovery (in Japan the doctors require five days of staying home before you can go out after an influenza diagnosis).  She invited us in anyway- I was so glad.  We sat on the floor, gave her the Russian Tea Cookies that some of our team and kids had made on Sunday, and we asked her how she is doing on this day.  She said that almost worse than remembering three years ago was the challenges that she was having with her autistic son.  “I am so weak and tired from the flu, and this morning we had a battle.  He ended up scratching and hitting me and I couldn’t take it anymore.”  Chi. is always so calm and quiet, but she was crying.

S. prayed for her, and for her family.  I translated, sitting next to Ch, holding her hand.  When S. had finished, Chi explained, “that was so strange!  I felt like a heat pack was on my back under your hand as you were praying.  The heat flowed from my back down into my hand that Sue was holding!”  We explained that it was God at work, bringing His healing touch.  The Holy Spirit is so powerful!

Chi then told us that back in December, she had been working at Nozomi and sitting next to a long-term volunteer.  She confessed to that volunteer that she doesn’t really know if God exists or not.  The friend suggested that she tell God that, and that at times of need she could pray and allow God to respond to her need.  So she said that since that time, she has begun praying.  When she gets upset at her children, she has been uttering simple prayers to God.  And she said it has been so strange how a peace from outside has come over her….

“Now I believe in prayer….”

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As part of our desire to provide rituals to remember, we planted a small camellia tree today in front of the Nozomi House.  We gathered at 2:30 pm, spent a few minutes praying, and then we had silent prayer as the city siren went off at the time of the earthquake three years ago – 2:46 pm.  Right as the siren started, our postal lady came to pick up our packages.  We pulled her into the circle, and stood in silence.

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When it finished, Eric and one of the Nozomi staff took the tree and planted it in the prepared hole.

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We sang a song that we do often at our Sunday morning worship.  Eric closed our time in prayer.  It was a small and simple way for those who wanted to to join together.  But the tree will continue to grow and thrive and bring forth beautiful flowers;  and we will remember.

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In late afternoon and through this evening, Christians and our local friends began congregating at the Rock, a big local warehouse/hangout place being run by our Be One coworkers.  Our friend Y. asked if we could come and join her after work.  There were people milling around in different parts of the large room, some seated together sharing tea; others standing in small groups.  Y. went over to a couch area where no one was sitting, and asked for a few minutes to be alone.  She had brought with her the photo album of her sister growing up, and another album of her mom.  She had not been able to open these album since both of these family members had died in the tsunami three years ago.  But she was ready for this next step.  She wanted to be alone, but not alone, so she asked if we could just sort of linger nearby.

Sometimes just being nearby is an important task.

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M. also went with us after work to the prayer time at the Rock. About 75 or so had gathered – it was such a beautiful mix of our local friends and believers who are choosing to be up here to walk together through the grief and the growth.  When I came back after dinner, M came bounding over to me.  “They prayed for me!  This couple from Sendai – I don’t even know their names.  But it was amazing!”  She is struggling so much with her daughter.  But I saw hope being born.

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Eric wasn’t sure what to expect.  We knew Y’s dad had been alone all day.  We know he’s chosen aloneness for most of the past three years, but he had seemed so touched, so happy by our surprise visit on Sunday night.  So we talked about it and Eric went over in the early evening.  Her dad came to the door, and Eric gave him a platter of sashimi and some grapes for the granddaughters.  And he began sharing with Eric…. today he drove out to the place where his wife’s car was found washed away… and then the place where his daughter’s car had been found.  He told Eric that he just stood there and started shouting their names, waiting in vain for a response.

And as he stood there in the doorway next to my husband, he wept.  But this time he was not alone.

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Conversations at the kitchen table…. remembering 3/11

Sue Takamoto4 Comments

She sat across from us and pointed to the empty chair.

“He’s a boy and he’s only six years old, so he doesn’t talk much about his feelings.  But a few weeks ago, out of the blue, he said, ‘So, I don’t have a mother, do I?’  Of course he knew that his mom had died three years ago, but it was like it suddenly hit him in a new way.”

His grandmother continued.  “I told him that he does have a father and a grandmother and that we are a family and we are going to work hard to stick together.”

Her voice broke.  “He said, ‘I don’t want to work hard for that if I don’t have my mom.’  I couldn’t take it.  I couldn’t say anything.  I had to leave the room.”

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“My [grown] son and I ran upstairs when we heard the water coming.  This house was built well so we knew we could be safe.  But my daughter was working at a store near the water, and our grandson was at the school near the water. My husband was traveling on a business trip.  I didn’t know if any of them were still alive… When they didn’t come home I figured they had died.  There was no radio, no cell phones, no lights.  Just darkness.  We waited together and it felt like forever.

“Around 6 am I heard a crashing sound and it sounded like my grandson’s voice calling out frantically.  But it was my daughter — their voices sound the same.  She had waded through all the debris surrounding our home to come and see if we were still alive.  There were no words;  only many tears that morning.”

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“We went to visit her [this afternoon] – it has been awhile.  We rang the doorbell a few times.  Then I walked around to the back of the house and noticed that her heater was on.  I knew that she must still be there.  When I walked back to the front of the house, I saw her riding her bicycle away fast.  She has ups and downs.  On the down times she still just doesn’t want to meet anyone.  It’s too hard…”

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“Tomorrow I want to just work.  I don’t want to remember.  It is too hard to remember.”

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“The morning after the tsunami I started walking all over the area in search of the 100-something of my store employees.  We had no idea where they might be seeking refuge but it was my job to report to the central office that everyone has been found (or not).  It didn’t matter how dangerous it was or that my family didn’t have much food.  I had to do my job.  I took my second grade son with me and we started wading through all the debris to visit all the schools and temples in the nearby areas serving as evacuation centers.  I couldn’t stop until I had somehow accounted for everyone on the list.”

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“We didn’t know what to do when the siren started.  We left the home on foot and started running towards the school, but it was in the direction of the water.  When we saw the dark force moving towards us, we knew we had to run in the opposite direction.  I kept tugging on my daughter’s arm to run faster.  My husband finally put our 3rd grade [autistic] son on his back and even though he was so heavy he didn’t stop running.  We heard the noise and finally ran into the stairwell of a small apartment building.  We pulled our children up the stairs and there was a family in the top apartment.  They let us stay with them until the morning light came.  We didn’t know what we would find when we went back down those steps…”

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“I don’t know what we are going to do when all the children return to their [fixed up] elementary school this next month.  My fifth grade daughter is so traumatized by what she saw at that school three years ago.  I’ve already told her that she doesn’t have to do the PE swimming lessons in that pool.  She saw those bodies floating in there and I know she will never be able to forget….”

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“On the one hand, I almost cannot bear to relive the memories of 3/11 three years ago.  But on the other hand, if it hadn’t been for the tsunami I never would have had friends like you.  Some days I don’t know how to deal with such extreme emotions….”

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Please pray right now for our friends in Ishinomaki.  For so many, life is still so very hard.  But we do believe in a Living Hope; in a Healer; in a Savior for this broken world.

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Waiting to be invited…

Sue Takamoto4 Comments

We are in the countdown leading up to the third anniversary of the triple disaster.  Two days away now.  We are struck every year with the enormity of the task of how best to walk through these days with our friends who are still grieving.  It is not easy.  For some, gathering together is cathartic;  for others, being with a group of people reminds them of their pain and loneliness.

This year our Be One team has decided to focus on going out in twos and threes over these few days to visit our friends across this city.  Today we had an awesome team come to our home after lunch and make about 280 Russian tea cake cookies and packets of notes, origami cranes, and snacks that we can use to give out to individuals, families, school children friends.

IMG_9686While they were doing that, a few different groups went out to visit our friends across town.  My coworkers and I had a chance to visit three families related to the Nozomi Project.  We visited one of our Nozomi friends who’s mom is going in for a brain procedure tomorrow.  We had a sweet time of praying for her mom and the family while we were there.

We then went to visit one of the families who had lost a mother and a sister in the tsunami.  It had been such a hard day for them;  they had been to the different gravesites of both of their lost loved ones that day.  When we dropped by, we weren’t sure how it would feel.  But it was such a special time.  Y.’s father — who we have barely met before –was so warm to us!  He rarely leaves the house, but seemed genuinely interested in hearing about his daughter’s work, her friends (at one point he said, “Oh!  So you really do have friends!), and coming one day soon to the Nozomi House to see where she is working.  Here is one of his granddaughters, in front of the family altar, modeling a Nozomi necklace tonight:

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After my coworker prayed a very inspired prayer over the family, we each shook his hand to say goodbye. He gripped each of our hands so tightly, barely able to let go. We realized that he probably never gets hugs or hand squeezes from people these days…. And even just when he mentioned the name of his wife and daughter he teared up and couldn’t speak.  It has been three years but the pain is still so great.  Our little visit — that we were scared to make — seemed somehow so significant.

We also had the chance to visit the grandmother of one of our Nozomi coworkers, T.  She had told me a long time ago that sometime she wanted us to go with her to meet her grandmother and to pray with her.  She said she was afraid her grandmother, Tomi-san, would die before she had a chance to hear about the “real God.”  Today was that chance!

When we walked into the hospital room and I saw her grandmother, I was struck with how very tiny and frail she was.  She couldn’t weigh more than eighty pounds;  her ninety-four year old body looked tiny in the large bed.  But her eyes lit up as she saw her beloved granddaughter standing over her;  she became alert and talkative and we loved her instantly.

We talked and shared together.  T. told her grandmother that she wanted us to tell her grandmother about God – the God of Jesus.  Tomi-san responded, “Oh yes!  He’s the God of the world, isn’t he?”  T. said, “Yes, he is, grandma, but He also loves each one of us so much.”

Tomi-san told us several touching stories.  She had married and had four children.  Two of them died when they were infants.  Then her husband went off to the Philippines to fight in WWII against the Americans, and he never came home.  Tomi’s one son got mixed up in the wrong crowd, ended up joining a gang, and has never been heard from since.  Her remaining child, T’s father, died of cancer at the age of 60.  T. has told me previously that on his deathbed he had asked his daughter T. to take care of his mother.  T. has faithfully visited her day after day, despite being a single mom with two children and working at the Nozomi Project.

She also told us an amazing story of her childhood.  There had been a small church in Watanoha (our neighborhood) when she was a little girl – some eighty-some years ago!! They had a gathering on Saturday or Sunday — she couldn’t remember which she said– where they sang hymns and learned about Jesus.  She wanted so much to go!  But as a girl she had one leg shorter than the other and walked with a limp;  as a result she was bullied and didn’t have friends.  She kept waiting for someone to invite her to the Christian gathering but no one did, and she was too afraid to go alone.  So she missed the opportunity, she said.

We told her she needn’t miss it now.  We played for her a short segment of our morning worship time, and shared more with her about the Savior of the World.  His love for her;  His desire for her to believe in Him;  His promise that He has gone ahead for all who believe and is preparing a place in heaven.  She said she wanted to pray with us.

I prayed for Tomi-san, and in the middle of the prayer asked Tomi-san if she is ready to believe in Jesus.  She belted out a strong “YES!”  And so, we believe, in that somewhat-smelly old people’s hospital, a darling darling 94 year old woman said yes to Jesus.  I think He has been waiting such a long time, and He didn’t want her to miss another opportunity because no one would bring her.  Her granddaughter T. made sure of that.  She brought Jesus to her grandmother.

Going home in the car, we asked T. more about her mother’s childhood experience in not going to church because she was never invited.  And she said, “I think there are so many people today like that.  They want to know about Jesus — but they are afraid to go unless they are invited.  Lots of people are just waiting to be invited.”

How often we shrink back from asking people because of OUR own insecurities or our own preconceived ideas of who should or shouldn’t come.  Who in our everyday world may need a visit because they are waiting to hear, or needing a prayer, or wanting to grasp a hand?  Who needs to be invited to a place where people gather to celebrate the hope of Jesus?  My heart has been convicted and touched so much today.

Below is one of the most beautiful photos my iPhone has ever taken.  Tomi-san is reading the Bible verse, “I will never forget you!  I have written you on the palm of my hands.”  Now she nows, for sure, that she is not forgotten.

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Freezer-Crockpot Cooking #2 — Best Practices (and how you can learn from our messes)

Sue Takamoto4 Comments

About six weeks ago I did my first try of making a bunch of pre-made crockpot meals that are put into ziploc bags and stacked in the freezer.  (Here for blog post details of that).  My first attempt was a lot of work – the greater part of one day with shopping and all– but the payoff the past five or six weeks has been totally worth it.  I’ve loved having twelve meals that I can pull out of the freezer, throw in the crockpot, and know that we will have a good meal for dinner.  (Stay tuned to the end for I  my favorite recipes at the end).

Yesterday, my friend Jennifer wanted to try, so the two of us prepared and did this together. We worked hard but it was a fun time to share and spill! and laugh together.  I loved the company and think two is always better than one when it comes to this kind of thing.  I might have cried at the messes but instead — all we could do was laugh!  (And nearly howled when it happened two – and then three times!)

Here are some tips from my experiences in making freezer-crockpot meals.

  • Choose your recipes, and pre-make your ziploc bags with instructions.  (This is a good evening job a day or two ahead of time).  I think you can use any of your favorite crockpot recipes.
  • Make a shopping list.  I made a table with 3 categories:  Meats, fresh vegetables, and canned goods/misc.  Then we just needed to go through each column while shopping.  crockpot freezer .  (Herbs and other items that I know I had on-hand I didn’t add to the list.)
  • Do your shopping.  Because this is Japan (and we live in an area without many large grocery stores), shopping requires some work for meat and colored bell peppers, especially.  Jennifer went to three stores the previous day, and I went that morning for the last few things.
  • We had a number of crazy things happen while doing this yesterday.  The first was when my box broke while I was leaving the grocery store!  Note to self:  reinforce cardboard boxes for heavy groceries like meats.

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  • Jennifer and I together made 11 recipes (doubled – one for each of us) yesterday.  It took us about 4 hours together to cut all our veggies and meats and assembly all of our ziplocs. (As I stated in a previous post, in Japan we have to do a lot more meat prep than in the US, like taking the skin off the chicken, cutting beef, etc.)  But we also made three more sets today that didn’t happen yesterday  so we now both have 14 meals in our freezer.  Woohoo!

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  • Best way to chop a bunch of onions – I can tell you now–  I chopped 23 onions.   I did some research on the best methods not to cry while chopping.  Based on what I read and trying myself, may I suggest:  a) using a very sharp knife;  b) chopping each onion quickly, and most importantly c) chop under or very near to your exhaust fan.  I didn’t cry once.  Twenty three onions.  I also lit a candle as one author suggested – I don’t know if this helped or not.  The top two methods I read that I didn’t try are:  a) wear contact lenses;  b) wear goggles.  As a glasses wearer right now, I couldn’t do those.  but the exhaust fan seemed to do the trick.  And my husband’s latest sharp knife purchase. Phew.  (We had some chopped onion left over.  I threw this in a small ziploc and froze it for when I need some quick).
  • Mushrooms – my best research suggests that you slice and sauté recipes ahead of time, and then put them in smaller ziplocs separately in the freezer.  If you don’t want to do this, just throw them in the day you are cooking in the crockpot.  For some reason they don’t seem to freeze well with other ingredients.
  • We decided at the end of the day that in the future we will not add canned tomatoes.  You can write on your bag  (and on your freezer list) what needs to be added later.  This will save on freezer space (which for us with smaller storage options in Japan is key), and also save on potential mess.  We had the unfortunately problem of ziploc bags that were too full, tipping over and spilling.  Photo below is Jennifer putting together southwestern chicken chili, which went both south and west, unfortunately:IMG_9611
  • Which leads me to the next best practice:  put each ziploc bag into a bowl or container when you are filling it.  (See above photo and you will be sure and do this every single time.)  This did not just happen once, but three times.  We did not learn.
  • Buy strong ziploc bags, or double-bag each meal.  We had two of our generic bags burst.  It wasn’t pretty.  (Sorry – we were too tired at that point to take photos).
  • Get as much air out of the ziploc as possible after you have filled it.  I read a tip of using a straw in the corner of the ziploc to suck the extra air out.  I tried.  It looks ridiculous.  And we weren’t convinced that it helped.  It just leaves you feeling light-headed.  So use your hands to get out the extra air.
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  • For chicken thigh recipes, I like to dredge in flour, salt and pepper for a number of the recipes.  This will make the chicken a bit more tasty, and it will also thicken the liquid that remains as a sauce.  This is especially good for chicken cacciatore, drumsticks, etc.  The beautiful thing is that you can do it directly in your pre-made ziploc bag, and not need to waste a bag for dredging.  Simple throw in your chicken, add about 1/4 C of flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 t pepper, close your bag and shake.  From there you can reopen and add the rest of your ingredients.  Here is my meal ready for the freezer:
  • IMG_9626Make a list for your freezer door of  the wonderful meals available for choosing in the order in which you have stacked them.  Otherwise you will forget your options.  It’s not neat (I was bushed by this time!)  but it’s for me and I am very excited about this list!
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  • Check off a meal when you pull it out, and then rate it after dinner so you don’t forget.  I used 1 (not very good) to 5 (delicious and a keeper) – to rank mine last month.  I asked my family to help with the ranking.  I clearly remember my husband one night saying, “So…. -I guess this isn’t a keeper!”  (It was either the orange chicken or the lemon chicken – these were the two we were least thrilled about).  But I then took  my best-ranked Freezer Crockpot Meals and have repeated a few of our favorites:
  1. Molly’s drumsticks – this sauce is delicious.  It sounds weird but it is really good.  A number of reviewers shared that they have used chicken thighs or breasts. I did drumsticks again but may try thighs next time.  Great over rice because the sauce is so crazy delicious.
  2. chicken cacciatore –  my husband said it needed more flavor.  I think I went to soft on the herbs and spices the first time around.  Be sure and taste your dishes before serving. I am going to add some red wine when I start cooking it and some green olives at the end, which I do with my regular stove-top recipe.  Overall a really great recipe for variety over spaghetti.
  3. honey cheese pork chops — LOVED this flavor.  Don’t overcook.  we used parmesan cheese instead of romano based on what is available here
  4. mock beef stroganoff – this is an old family favorite from my growing up that I have just converted for the crockpot.  Easy – but I know if its been a hard day this meal will make everyone at our dinner table happy.
  5. chicken fajitas – this was the only recipe that I liked using chicken breasts.  I find that this is the only meat i really don’t love in the crockpot because it dries out. But with fajitas, you end up shredding it and mixing it with enough other things that it can still taste quite good.

I found a number of new recipes that we are trying, as well. We will rank these and let you know!  Here are some of the ones I am excited to try:

  • Sausages and peppers (this uses Johnsonville sausages, which we can buy locally!)
  • southwestern chicken chili
  • honey bourbon chicken (which incidentally doesn’t have bourbon in it)
  • chicken taco soup
  • ground beef chili
  • chicken and sweet potato
  • beef broccoli  – the sauce sounds really awesome.
  • coconut chicken curry -a Martha Stewart recipe – we are both excited to eat this one!  It called for butternut squash which we can’t get here so we threw in sweet potatoes.

A few more tips I have discovered on the cooking part of this method:

  • If you forget to defrost your bag the night before, just throw it in that morning, adding about two hours onto the cooking time
  • You can also defrost frozen meat in the crockpot and just continue cooking it through.
  • For chicken recipes, I find that it uses cooks fine in 5 hours – 6 at the most — in order not to dry it out.  Soups, pork, and beef  generally take longer.
  • Make sure and mix your whole meal well once it is cooking, to be sure and spread the herbs and tastes that may all be stuck in one place.  Taste it and be sure you have enough seasoning.

We were pretty exhausted by the end.  (We had cleaned up a few spills along the way, in addition to making 22 meals).  But we were both so glad to do it.

Here is a link to some sites with some of these recipes (and more ideas).  here and here and here.

What is your best crockpot-freezer practice?  Your favorite recipe?

Signing off now to go and pull out of the freezer — a bag of chili for dinner tomorrow night.

New Environments: Reflections on our Hawaii Trip

Sue TakamotoLeave a comment

I was talking with some of our team this week about why I think it can be so powerful to be removed from one’s everyday location to a new environment for a few days… especially when the environment still has many reminders of recent tragedy. My recent trip to Hawaii for five days with two members of our Nozomi staff is a great example of how significant a trip away can be! Here are a few reasons the trip to Hawaii (and other times like this) seem so valuable:

1) Stepping outside of our very known environment can allow us to “try on” a new personae; to step into new and different shoes.  Or to be more who we’ve always wanted to be.  I loved seeing Y and C shine — in ways that I have never seen before. I loved as they dressed up and looked so beautiful… and receive so much attention. They were both greatly respected whenever they shared and welcomed by our Hawaii hosts in such wonderful ways. They carried themselves with dignity and it was really an honor to be alongside as a friend and a coworker. (Below is with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and friend Rene).

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2. Being in a new and foreign environment bonds people in amazing ways. I could not have planned a better way to bond with my two Nozomi managers! We were up until 2 or 3 am every night, preparing for the next day’s events/talks/sales etc. We were often giddy with tiredness or jet lag; we needed to be a team at every function. They needed me to translate; I needed them for all that they were bringing to each event as they shared about their experiences back in Ishinomaki. Even since returning there is a much stronger sense of trust as a result of this trip.  We text each other funny pictures and reminders of the trip and there is a new depth to our friendship.

3. We bonded with others who were there to help out. We had a few amazing friends who stuck by our side whenever they could – their help was invaluable and I know all three of us will remember their friendship to us on this trip forever!  (Yes – those are underwear in the picture below… which brings us to the next point!)

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4. We had SO MUCH FUN. Really! Even when it rained our only afternoon at the beach. Mary Poppins even showed up.  Whether it was laughing about a pair of old lady’s underwear that kept mysteriously showing up or the same English phrase over and over, being out of one’s element can allow for lots of laughs, and lots of bonding.

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marypoppins5. Sharing about our experiences brings new meaning to them.  My professor used to always say, ‘expression depends impression.’  Finding ways and words to share can bring healing and clarity.  I loved hearing Y and C able to share about their last few years, reflecting and finding ways to allow others to enter into their pain and their triumphs. I think they both experienced healing in new places. They are amazing women, and many had a chance to realize this.

IMG_9289IMG_92876.  Being overseas helped produce pride in the workmanship of the Nozomi Project as well as a desire to increasingly better our products. We were so encouraged by the invitation by Sloane, a beautiful boutique owner, to carry our products in her amazing store in Kailua! Her comments and feedback were incredibly helpful and we are excited for this new partnership, and a few others that have sprung up from this trip.  At our staff meeting after returning to Ishinomaki, C. shared that she is anxious to create even better Nozomi products as she realized that they really are going out to the world and represent who we are.  One of our staff the next day began brainstorming ways that we can improve the work that she is overseeing.  LOVE THAT!

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7. There’s something about being away that let’s us look at our own world differently. Coming back we spent over four hours of our airplane ride debriefing the experience and talking about the future of the Nozomi Project. They were so perceptive, and had insights that showed depth and a different tone from a week before.

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So thankful for the chance we had for this amazing experience! On the last day, C. said, “My heart still thinks I am living in a dream so I can’t believe the dream is almost over!”  Here’s to dreams come true.

What lies around each bend…

Sue Takamoto1 Comment

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This past week has been a really amazing experiences in seeing the power of social media for those of us working at the Nozomi Project. A writer for treehugger.com received a “tip” about the Nozomi Project and ended up writing an article about NP a week ago Friday.  (Shout out to Kimberely Mok!) We didn’t know about it, but quickly realized something was going on when internet orders started pouring in.

As a result of that article, the actress/producer/writer Amy Poehler wrote about the Nozomi Project on her Facebook site Smart Girls.  Thus a day later, our sales continued.  A few hours after that, theweathernetwork.com ran the treehugger article on their front page of “Latest News.”  This is mainly for Canadians, so for the next several days we had wonderful Canadian shoppers buying from the Nozomi Project!  The last two nights I have been communicating with the editor of a major Middle Eastern  airline interested in writing an article about the Nozomi Project for their inflight magazine next month!  She heard about us also from the treehugger article.  Wow. We are so thankful!

I was approached last summer by a group in Hawaii, the Soroptimists, about coming to participate in a women’s leadership conference this February.  The Soroptimists have a strong presence in Oahu… I love their mission statement:  Through international partnerships and a global network of members, Soroptimists inspire action and create opportunities to transform the lives of women and girls by: Advocating for equity and equality; Creating safe and healthy environments; Increasing access to education; Developing leadership and practical skills for a sustainable future.  

I really wanted our Nozomi manager to attend, but she didn’t think she could get away in February because of other commitments.  In the past few weeks, however, through a lot of prayer and God’s guidance, the door has opened for our manager, our grinder leader, and myself to be able to attend.  A member of the Soroptimists is paying the whole way for one of our staff and for some of the additional expenses – so awesome!  We are all excited.  It is our first overseas trip for the Nozomi Project.

We are going to be really busy — the conference begins the evening of our arrival on Thursday (February 13th)  and is the following two days (with us sharing about the Nozomi Project on Friday and selling Nozomi products on Saturday).  We will also be sharing with two different churches about Nozomi Project (Honolulu Christian church and Kaka’ako Christian Fellowship), and then on Sunday night, before leaving, our friend at the Soroptimist Club is organizing a final dinner with different women’s‘ groups in Honolulu.  It will be a packed trip but certainly memorable on so many levels.

For our two staff, this trip is HUGE.  They had to apply for passports (first time overseas!).  For one of the women, it is her first time to fly on an airplane.  They have had to make extensive arrangements for their children’s care during their five day absence.  What has really touched me has been how their families have rallied to make this happen for them.  I think they have realized how important this opportunity is.

(Thanks to those who responded to the insert here!)

We really appreciate your prayers for this trip!;  pray for us and our families to stay healthy.  We’ve had a lot of sickness and injuries lately — asking for God’s protection on all that this trip is about. I have continued to see how God uses times away to bring perspective, paradigm shifts, and healing.   I am really praying that our two staff will benefit greatly from this trip and find further healing, dignity, and growth through this wonderful opportunity.

Leading a social enterprise has been so much more work than our team would have ever, ever guessed;  but the process of trusting in God and seeing what He brings around each next bend has been so so amazing.  I am praying this year for more faith to trust Him in the things that I cannot see or imagine.