Friday, December 22, 2006
Drivers Wanted: Apply Within
Life has taught me that everything happens for a reason, and some things pop up at the moment we least expect it.
I was visiting Tokyo Union Church not long after the New Year’s holiday of 2006 when Charles McJilton and I happened to brush shoulders during the fellowship held in the basement following the service. I had just resigned my full-time job after growing weary of working for a very traditional Japanese company. I’d just signed a marriage license a few months before, and faced the stress of planning a wedding ceremony and re-thinking my future. I’d also just begun the process of applying for a scholarship that would allow me to take my lovely new wife abroad and continue my education. Yeah, it certainly was not a stretch of the truth to say that I was going through a transitional phase (chuckle). Everything was “up in the air” for me. The only constant was that I felt a need to be a part of something, to have purpose; I had a truly sincere desire to turn over a new leaf in my life, making the most of the ensuing months, which I calculated to be possibly the end of a wonderful and rewarding 10+ years in Japan. It was time to give something back. I can say that with ease because in retrospect, our meeting was not coincidence, it was providence.
Charles and I sat down and had our first meeting in a Chinese restaurant just down the street from 2HJ’s warehouse and office, which are located between Akihabara and Asakusabashi stations. There was something about the genuineness and sincerity of his character. I suddenly found myself saying, “I want to volunteer as a driver for as long as I can.” I’m so glad I did.
Second Harvest Japan was and is continually growing and making a name for itself as a non-profit organization food bank in Japan. Now I’m a part of it.
In the coming weeks and months, I gave one day per week of my time on average to ride the subway in the morning to the warehouse, where I’d drive of 2HJ’s vehicles to one of the frozen food giant Nichirei’s warehouses in Funabashi City and pick up anywhere from a few hundred kilos to a ton or so of frozen vegetables, in frost-covered cardboard boxes of varying size and shape. Then, on to Costco in Makuhari where literally crates of bread, fruits, vegetables, etc. were waiting for me. I have joked with another volunteer that sometimes I felt like I was playing a game of Tetris, because the donations are often so generous that it was challenging to fit everything inside the van. After the food was packed up, it was taken back to the warehouse to be divided up and re-distributed to the refugees, the homeless, shelters, and orphanages that 2HJ provides with much needed food. From the first day onward, it never felt like I was putting in time as a volunteer at all. As a driver and now occasional weekend volunteer, I’ve got to say that there’s something captivating about 2HJ and the purpose we serve. The atmosphere is fun and family-like. Every day is a little bit different from the next, and nothing is ever boring. If you have a little bit of free time, a valid driver’s license, and the courage to selflessly put the needs of others before your own, I challenge you to come on board and be a part of something great.
Writer: David Adams
Photo: Carin Smolinski
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