Tohoku Relief Trip #2

Two weeks ago I went back up to the Tohoku area, this time with three of my friends. I had seen pictures and heard stories from people who had gone up after my first trip, but I was interested to see for myself the progress that had been made since I was there, only 2.5 weeks after the disaster.

The actually highways were much worse to drive on than before. The roads had buckled under the pavement in areas all along the Tohoku and Sanriku Expressways from the initial 9.0 earthquake and then even more after the 7.4 aftershock in April. I think all the heavy trucks and traffic on these areas just made the roads wear faster. Needless to say, save admission on the amusement park tickets and just drive up to Northern Japan. 

We were gone a total of four days –– two for traveling and two for actual work days. We met up the the same group I had worked with before, BeOne. They have been on the ground since the beginning and really know the areas needs and have established connections with some of the local people. While there we worked with a couple from the United States (they were actually gymnastics coaches from the Charlotte, NC area!), an American who is now living in Singapore, a Japanese woman from Osaka, another guy from California, an American boy who has lived in Japan his whole life and a guy from New Zealand. We were joined by a young woman, Maya, who actually lives in the area.

On the first morning when driving to the disaster area of Ishinomaki, I kept thinking how much had been done, yet how little. In many ways it seems like some areas had stuffed just moved from one place to another. Some areas were totally untouched. Cars were still everywhere. Some places the people cleaned up around their own house, yet all around them lies complete carnage. In one location the ground actually sunk, so at high tide everyday water flows into the roads and houses. And the smell. Imagine two month old stagnant water with rotting fish.

This trip consisted of doing supply drops and then working in those areas.  Over the course of two days we did two food and supply drops, cleaned out a drainage system at a house, cleared dirt from the crawl space of a house, cleared mud from a house and garden area, and moved debris from a small swing set area so kids could come and play.

Besides doing manual labor and meeting the people physical needs, we also tried to meet their emotional needs. We talked with the people, listened to their stories and played with the children. I think in many ways this was more important than the actual work we were doing.

I have a hard time putting how this whole experience has affected me to "paper". My heart still aches and I think it will for a long time. It makes me sad that these people are already being forgotten as it is slowly becoming "out of sight, out of mind". It makes me more sensitive to other areas, which are experiencing their own hell trying to recover from tornadoes and flooding. In a blink of an eye lives can be forever changed. It could happen to any of us.

I met some awesome people, doing awesome work, on this trip. Ones who have no idea how in just two days meeting them impacted my life.

So this is my challenge to you. Go out and do something. Go change someones life. Go change your own life. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen. Go read with children. Make cards and take cookies to a nursing home. Donate blood. Take a meal to the family whose house burnt to the ground last week. Reach out to those who may be affected by a disaster in your own area. Go make a difference. 

I have posted many more pictures from this trip here on my shutterfly account.

My Experience Up North

Almost 2 weeks ago, I was a part of a 5-person team that went up into the Sendai area to help with relief efforts.  Our main role during this trip was to help distribute food and supplies. I am finally ready to put to paper (okay computer) some of the stories from my trip.

For most of the time up there, I felt like I was walking on a movie set. Living most of my life in the Midwest, I found it hard to wrap my head around the reality of the situation.  What I was seeing was a far cry from cornfields and soybeans.  Houses inside stores, buildings on top of buildings, cars inside houses, cars wrapped around poles, a ship in the road. Stuff was everywhere it shouldn't be.  The smell of stagnant seawater and fish was overwhelming.  It was all so surreal.  

So instead of thinking about the total devastation around me, I concentrated on the people we were there to help. Our main focus was to work with those who are not in evacuation centers. Those who have remained living in their homes, local areas or abandoned buildings.  These are the people who seem to have slipped through the cracks as far as receiving aid.  In the morning we went to the warehouse and loaded up the vehicles with food and supplies. Then we worked with other teams and went to the Ishinomaki area to set up several drop stations. 

At these drop stations we set up blue tarps and placed food and supplies on them for people to choose from. We then spoke with people in the area and asked them to help spread word that we were there with supplies and food.  You could tell during these drop offs which areas had not been visited in a long time as those people seemed more desperate for supplies and food items.  

The people were just completely amazing. You still saw people joking and laughing through their tears and their fears. We took candy in our pockets and passed them out to the children and it was wonderful watching their faces light up with the sight of a small piece of candy.  Then you saw the parents smile because their children were smiling. I was playing with a little boy, who happened to be the same age as my youngest daughter. We were playing keep away with a small piece of playdough while I tried to tell him in my limited Japanese that I have a beautiful 7-year-old daughter who he may find cute.  

One woman had a hurt knee and asked if I could help her back to her living area. Along the way she was telling me how she thought she was going to die in the tsunami and how she knew God sent us here to help. When we arrived at her place she asked me to "chotto matte" (please wait). She came back a few minutes later and handed me a bag with some bread and sweets that she was saving and told me to tabette (eat) and share with my tomodachis (friends). Here was this woman with nothing and she was giving me something to say thank you. I was overwhelmed with emotion. So I hugged her. And for those who know me I am not a hugger.

 

At another location a woman told me it was a special day because we were there to help her. She then told me how she fears every night going to sleep that she will die.  She told me how frightened she was.  This past Thursday there was a 7.4 magnitude aftershock and her face and story haunts me. I can't imagine the fear she much have had at 11:30 pm when this large quake started and the tsunami alarms went off again.  

 

The other people helping were pretty amazing as well. At one location we ran out of bottled water and one elderly woman needed water to mix with the chicken rice packet we gave her. One of the other relief workers with us, a boy of only 18, went into the car and got out his backpack and handed her his own personal bottles of water from his bag. We ourselves, gave the one group of people our food for the remainder of the trip. They needed it much more than we did. 

 

On that Friday the US Military was working with the Japanese Special Defense Forces on a 3 day intensive search. It brought tears to my eyes (like I didn't have enough already) to see my country there helping the country I have grown to love. From what I have read, the US Forces will be there until the end of April.  

When disasters such as this one occur, it is common for people to question or ask where is God in all of this.  How can God allow so much destruction and suffering? While we were driving to where we were staying the night after our first day of helping, it was starting to rain. I looked out of the van and over to the left, and right over the seaside was a huge, beautiful rainbow. I am sure the other two people in the car thought I was a bit weird for being so excited about this rainbow. But I am one who wants to see signs.  So for me, this rainbow was a sign and a promise that God IS there. God WAS there. And God WILL CONTINUE to be there.    

I have uploaded additional pictures to my family's shutterfly account. Please know these photos are both of the devastation and of our relief efforts. You can find the photos here.  I also took several videos. One of my friends made a compilation video of some of our footage while up North. Here is the compilation video.

 

It will be a long time before things are rebuilt. The train lines are gone. Debris needs cleared. Water needs pumped. Cars need removed from rice fields. But I have faith that Japan will come back and be better than ever. 

Japan's Greatest Natural Disaster

On March 11, at 2:46 pm, the country of Japan suffered a horrific tragedy. An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit off the Northeast coast of Japan, causing a catastrophic tsunami and crippling the city of Tokyo and northward. It is estimated the initial tsunami wave was over 30 feet high, and came over six miles into shore. Over 120 strong aftershocks have occurred and it is expected that will continue for days and possibly months. A nuclear power plant North of Tokyo is in a state of emergency with at least two of the reactors being completely unstable. There has been almost 1,000 people declared dead, with the numbers climbing by the hour. In one city alone, there are over 9,500 people reported missing. Towns have been completely taken off the map. This has been declared the worst natural disaster in Japan history, and Japan's most difficult crisis since WWII.

There are no words to express how much all the email and Facebook messages, instant messages, and phone calls asking about our safety, have meant to my family.  I know many of you have asked where we are in relation to the disaster zone. My family and I live in Kobe, Japan, which is Southwest from the disaster area. We are 267 miles from Tokyo and 402 miles from Sendai. Sendai is the closest city to where the epicenter of the earthquake was located. I know those miles do not seem very far, especially to those in the United States. Our distance in miles would be similar to driving from Cleveland, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio. However,  Japan is very mountainous, making distance almost two and three times farther.

 We did feel the earthquake where we live. It could be described as feeling like you had just gotten off a boat. The initial quake lasted several minutes. Matt was at work and the kids were at school. The kids' school was very proactive and implemented their "duck and cover" earthquake plan.  I was at home and you couldn't feel it as much here as elsewhere because of our location tucked towards the mountain. We have several friends who live in a 32-floor high-rise apartment building, where you would physically see the building swaying back and forth.

Kobe has been able to feel several of the aftershocks. Our house is located 1/2 way up the mountain, cushioning the aftershocks.  Our friends who live in the high-rise buildings have had a few rough moments riding out some of the most recent quakes.  We have been told rolling blackouts may be implemented throughout the large cities to help conserve power and to reroute power to the North to help aid in the search and rescue efforts. We are making sure we have all our cell phones charged in case this happens, as most likely the Kobe area will be part of this plan. We are monitoring the nuclear power plant issue, however being located almost 300 miles from the plant, our biggest worry would be the wind direction. I am the outreach ministry leader at our church and one of our mission partners have suffered much damage, so we are working to get a team together to help in the recovery efforts when the time is right.

Caterpillar, my husband's company, has been in constant contact over the past day, giving us updates when appropriate. The U.S. Embassy has also been giving us information and keeping us updated on the latest news. We are being watched even if we are not in the disaster zone. So mom and dad, PLEASE do not worry. We are being watched.

I have an earthquake application on my iPhone. As soon as I saw the initial 7.9 magnitude report I turned on the television to see if there was any news. I sat in front of the television for hours watching everything unfold. It is so surreal sitting here knowing the horrible images we are all seeing is happening where I live. While Japan is not my home country, and we have only live here a little over two years, Japan has become my home. It is no secret how much I love living here. I have fallen in love with the people, the culture, the country, and my heart aches watching all of this unfold.

I feel guilty for going on with our day-to-day lives, while so many are suffering. I feel like I should be doing something. I try not to think of the "what ifs". I try not to think about living in one of the world's most earthquake prone countries. I tell myself it won't happen here. But it could. It did 16 years ago. I try not to think about my husband, my son, seven other adult chaperones, and almost 60 6th graders sitting in the Sendai airport exactly three weeks before this earthquake and tsunami. This is what the Sendai airport looked like shortly after the tsunami hit.

I cannot close my eyes without seeing all the devastation. I doubt many people in this country have slept much the past few days. The next few days will be full of more heartbreaking images and devastation. I just have to keep reminding myself of Philippians 4:6. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

So I ask you,  please pray for this country. Please pray for the people who are located in the North. Pray for those who are helping in the search and rescue efforts. Pray for those who are battling the scary issues at the nuclear power plant. Pray for those who have lost loved ones, their homes, their jobs, their towns. Pray for the leadership of this country. Please pray for the foreigners who don't know how to handle a disaster such as this one. Please pray for Japan.

Taking a moment to remember 4 years ago

I remember sitting at my parents house on Christmas night '04 watching the shocking breaking news coming in from Asia. On Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 (the second largest ever recorded) had struck out in sea off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean and killing more than 225,000 people.

These tsunamis hit in eleven countries and inundated coastal communities with waves up to 100 feet high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, hitting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand the hardest.

This past April Matt and I visited Phuket, Thailand, one of the areas hit hard in 2004. I remember standing looking down this street, unable to even fathom the devastation only 3.5 years earlier.


We visited a memorial, remembering those affected by this horrible tragedy.



Whole villages (similar to this one) were wiped out after waves flooded and destroyed the area.


After 2004, many areas placed tsunami warning systems and evacuation signs.




Below are a few pictures from online just days after the tsunami. Today take a few moments to remember the over 225,000 people who lost their lives and the thousands of others who lost their homes, loved ones or were otherwise affected.