December 12, 2005
Dear Friends,
Warm Advent greetings of joy and peace from Tokyo. The time to
reflect on the past year has come. Remembering that I have had
a year of full of peace, I cannot help but appreciate from the
bottom of my heart God’s countless blessings and the warm
support of the people around me.
But it is difficult not to feel the suffering of people around
the world, and one can only pray that more people pray with us
and take an active roll in this time of need.
At HELP (House in Emergency of Love and Peace), the Asian women’s
shelter where I work, the flow of women in need of support and
care continues on a daily basis. Yesterday four case workers were
on site taking care of various matters.
The director was in meetings and dealing with visitors. Another
staff member was with a non-Japanese ex-resident of HELP, traveling
over two and a half hours to visit a lawyer. The third staff member
was babysitting the children of the ex-resident, and the forth
staff member was counseling and spending the morning with a 40-year-old
woman who had just been badly beaten by her boyfriend. With little
money, she had just spent seven hours traveling back to Tokyo
(normally less than a two-hour ride on a super-express train),
running away from her partner, but at the same time had a hard
time admitting that he is abusive to her and wanted to contact
him to go back to him.
In addition to this, we wrote letters to thank those who donated
food, clothes, toys, or money to HELP, answered calls from abused
women in need of help, and tried to find safe places for homeless
women to stay. The hours fly by like this, and the next thing
we know it’s time for our end-of-the-day meeting.
When we have survivors of human trafficking, our work involves
dealing with embassies, the national police department, the immigration
office, and other international organizations to help them return
to their home countries safely.
On December 4, we held a Christmas party for all the children,
40 in all. With the addition of the mothers, the room was so full
that even the simple act of moving was difficult. The mothers
are mostly of foreign origin, physically abused by their Japanese
husbands, and using HELP to escape and rebuild their lives. (A
woman from Thailand and another from the Philippines are part-time
staff at HELP.)
Akiko, who is in charge of childcare at HELP, is a very creative
and energetic young woman, and with the help of volunteers from
colleges in the Tokyo area, she held successful Christmas party
that was fun for the children.
On the December 11, we held a Christmas party for the volunteers
who donate much of their precious time to HELP. These women support
every aspect of HELP’s ministry, but mainly they help out
in the kitchen and cleaning of the facilities. There is also a
volunteer who helps with the schooling of the children. Organizations
provide computer training for ex-residents of HELP will cosign
a lease for women of foreign origin when they find an apartment
to start a new life on their own. The volunteers enjoyed the home-cooked
meal that staff members prepared for the occasion.
Due to financial reasons, we do not have a full-time caseworker.
For communication to be clear, all the part time caseworkers must
have a detailed meeting every morning and evening in order that
the care of the women and children in need be consistent and reliable.
However, there is still a limit to what we can do with part-time
caseworkers; we need a full-time fundraiser so that HELP can be
more effective in its efforts.
During my interpretation assignment in the United States this
spring and summer, I was able to visit some of my supporting churches
and introduce the work I do to them. I am very grateful to the
people who greeted me with a warm welcome and listened to my stories
with their kind hearts. I was also able to meet some old friends
in Montreat, North Carolina, who had spent many years in Japan
as missionaries. I enjoyed spending time with my daughter Erin,
who now lives in San Francisco.
This summer my older daughter Kristin and her daughter Akika
visited with me for a month in Japan. The time spent with my granddaughter
is always very precious, and my resistance to being called “bahba”
(baby word for grandma in Japanese) has vanished.
As the mountains in Japan were changing colors this fall, I was
diagnosed with pneumonia—possibly due to the exhaustion
of all the travels in the United States this summer—and
was hospitalized for over a week.
I’m reminded that my body is not as young as I believe
it to be, and that I must take care of my health and well being.
May God fill your hearts with Christ's love, joy and peace at
this Christmas. Happy New Year!
Yukiko Altman
Mission Co-Worker in Tokyo, Japan
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 252 |
