One Month Later

Yesterday was April 11th. Exactly one month since March 11th. One month since the 9.0 earthquake, the tsunami, the beginning of the nuclear problems.

I was working in the Board of Education yesterday, which is on the 9th floor of city hall. In the afternoon, at the time the earthquake had hit, city hall held a minute of silence to mourn the nearly 15,000 deaths, and the 9,000 still missing.

It’s been a month. Aftershocks are shaking Japan daily. And a lot of them are big, like last night’s 6.6 that hit off the coast of Fukushima; causing landslides that buried houses and causes power loss to nuclear reactors 1-3. According to geologists, we’re going to be having these big aftershocks for the next year… People are still living in evacuation centers. They’ve been there a month now.

The loss is so devastating. But God’s church is on its feet, bringing supplies, and love, and hope and Jesus. CRASH is getting into full swing, and we have teams of volunteers pouring in from around Japan and overseas. Korean Campus Crusade wants to send 1,500 volunteers! My friends from Tokyo Christian University (where I studied abroad) are in Sendai as we speak. Kamizoku, the friends I went to Ishinomaki with are still making their daily runs to bring supplies to love on and serve those who have suffered such great loss.

This is not over yet!

I would do anything to be able to be up there right now, but God has decided that I am here, so here I am. I felt like God was telling me to stay in Japan over the summer before all this went down, and know I know why.

I had a welcome/farewell party for the staff at one of my junior highs, because April is the beginning of the Japanese academic year. I hadn’t seen everyone in a few weeks, because I was up north, and working in the Board of Education. When my teachers found out that I went to the effected area, they asked me to talk about my experience my first class back.

I’m super excited to be able talk about this stuff with my kids! I’m going to show them the video my friend made of our trip to Ishinomaki, and then hopefully have a discussion (which could very end up me monologuing… because Japanese students aren’t good at expressing their opinions), about HOPE and LOVE! What Japan needs right now…

So pray for me! That I would be able to encourage my students and pour love into their hearts in some way.