There is a story in Japan of a young girl named Sadako who bravely fought and lost her battle with leukemia 10 years after the atomic bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many people around the world have heard her story, and that of her classmates who raised money to build a statue of a little girl holding a crane above her head.
In Japan the crane is sacred, a symbol of peace and longevity. When someone folds a paper crane in Japan as a gift it is like a meditation. They are folding their hopes and desires into each crease. In the last month and a half of Sadako’s short life, she folded some 1300 origami cranes by herself! So great was her desire to live. And in response . . . to this day people from all over the world send thousands of cranes each year to the Hiroshima Children’s Peace Memorial where her statue stands, to pray for world peace. For many people outside of Japan this is the singular meaning of the cranes, but if we understand that the meaning for the Japanese people extends beyond simply peace, then we come to the heart of this ministry project, which is hope and healing. The “gift of a thousand cranes” is a tradition in Japan to bring prayers for life and recovery to a sick loved one, or hope for happiness and realized dreams to someone reaching for a high goal. When someone receives a thousand cranes as a gift, they believe their prayers will be answered!
We want to show the Japanese people that even though they are a strong and proud island nation, they are not alone. Even though they are across the Pacific from us, and several thousand miles may keep many of us from being able to go help in recovery efforts first hand, that we have NOT forgotten them! We want to show them that we care, that they are loved, and covered in our prayers. We want to show them that our God loves them. He’s reaching for them even now. We are praying for softened hearts and open ears in this time of suffering and loss.
Writing one prayer and folding it into a delicate paper crane may seem like such a small thing . . . but it’s a small thing each of us can do. Elderly people too frail for labor or travel can write a prayer. Children too young for mission trips can fold a crane. Now multiply all these prayers… a thousand times, ten thousand times . . . What can our God do with 10, 000 prayers? What did He do with 5 little loaves and 2 fishes? Suddenly the number doesn’t seem unimaginable or unreachable.
This is a tangible, meaningful way to speak to their culture and gently remind them that they are loved. Less than 1% of Japanese are Christian. There are many who are lost, lonely, hopeless, searching . . . It can be seen in their art, heard in their music. They are a nation seeking God, though they don’t realize it. If they have ever needed to hear the Good News, it is now, during this time. Won’t you join with us to pray for new Hope and Revival throughout Japan? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the “Land of the Rising Sun”, became the “Land of the Risen Son?” Now there’s a thought. ^_^
For more information, email the Frankton First United Methodist Church at cranesproject@franktonfirstumc.org.
