Immediately after graduating from medical school, Dr. Kawashima made a journey to Brazil to visit a Japanese evangelist. The purpose of his visit was to investigate the possibility of doing future medical mission work. A member of the church gave him a book entitled Is That Really You, God? by Loren Cunningham. The book mentioned Mercy Ships and their hospital ships – the perfect environment for Dr. Kawashima’s medical mission work.
In 1993, Dr. Kawashima attended DTS (Discipleship Training School) on the Anastasis, the first ship in Mercy Ships fleet, and in 2004 he joined the Field Service in Sierra Leone. Since then, he has served six additional times onboard – once more on the Anastasis and five times on the Africa Mercy, the Mercy Ships flagship – and he was a member of a Mercy Ships land-based medical team in Honduras.
His most recent visit to the Africa Mercy was in March 2011. He was in a hotel in Brussels, just a few hours before his flight to Africa. He was stunned to hear a report on BBC News about the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. The images of destruction broke his heart. He was faced with a dilemma. Should he continue to the ship? Or should he return home to help the people in his country? He shares, “It was a very difficult choice. But I had made a promise to come to the Africa Mercy.”
By the time Dr. Kawashima reached the ship, he was able to contact his loved ones at home. Thankfully, his immediate family was safe. His town was not damaged, and the situation there was stable. However, one of his uncles lived near the earthquake’s epicenter, and no one had been able to contact him.
Dr. Kawashima noted that the Japanese people are not hoarding food and water. They are not looting damaged stores. He describes them as “very nice people,” known to be very respectful and caring for others.
When his boss from the hospital in Japan contacted him to join a medical team going into the disaster-stricken areas to provide medical relief, Dr. Kawashima agreed. Fortunately, there were other anesthesiologists onboard the Africa Mercy, and he could return home without feeling that he was leaving the hospital ship short-staffed. Dr. Kawashima now plans to “spend his time for the suffering Japanese people,”---just as he has done for many years with Mercy Ships – to assist in the recovery from the recent natural disaster.
Story by Nancy Predaina
Photo by Debra Bell
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