Dear Friends,
Here at the end of the third day after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the numbers arrive with a terrific estimation of 10,000 deaths. This is so unbearable, if one does not believe in God our rock. Therefore the distress of this nation is truly understandable. It’s easy to shrug ones shoulders after a while and wish that this would pass, or even pretend it would.
How does the rest of Japan live while the full impact of the earthquake-tsunami is yet to be felt? In the nation’s capitol and surrounding area where one-quarter of the population of Japan lives and works everyone is left scrambling to “have enough” for themselves. Gas is short. Stores are running low on goods, because much is being shipped north, and nothing is being shipped south; on the other hand, the main staple of fish no longer comes from the north; the fields in the far northwest, however are abundant. The small farmers there live well but aren’t big enough to have markets in the metropolitan areas. It’s hard to find batteries and flashlights. Blackouts occur in some places but not in others. Is that fair? Some trains are on one blackout schedule but others are on another schedule. You can get ½ way to work. Or maybe your company can’t find all their employees, so they are taking a 4 day holiday, like Toyota. This means that you won’t be paid. Schools are taking an unexpected disaster holiday, which means working parents must make other arrangements. Schools like Shoshin Gakuin cancel high school graduation. Nationwide English proficiency tests have been canceled, which will delay many a student’s plans to study abroad. Our Japan Baptist Women’s Conference to be held next week was canceled. Many who planned to go cannot attend at the time it has been rescheduled for. People here are made up of the same stuff of people in the northeast. And yet, we think life is difficult or not treating us right. In this sense, humanity is truly hopeless. Who will save us from ourselves! Well, you and I know!
Today I rested a little easier. I received short messages from several people up north who gave me information about “survivors.” I tend to keep thinking of the tragedy of loosing everything, but no one says anything about what they’ve lost. Only, “she’s okay” or “he survived,” even though I know from another source that they’ve lost everything. I want to ask, “did your house survive” or some insignificant question like that. They’re teaching me a lot. When you’ve physically survived something like this, you don’t see anything else around you, at least for a while. This reminds me of what it’s like for a joyous Christian in the midst of a terrible trial or storm. Just glorying in the only thing that counts, our relationship to Christ.
Some of the finds today include Shokei Gakuin’s situation. There was extensive damage to the main high school building for falling walls, ceilings, water tanks but the building itself is not unstable. The whereabouts of some staff, and families of staff are still unknown. I learned that the pastor of Shichigahama Preaching Place is fine (but what about the building? See, here I go again!).
What a challenge John Armagost will have, with Pastor Tamura from the Hiroshima Peace Church as they drive up north to determine the needs of our churches. I do hope they’ll take into consideration the fact that people in the NE Japan can’t find gasoline, and when the do, they wait up to 5 hours in line, and are only allowed 10 liters (2.5 gallons) at a time. If this is not a point of prayer, nothing is!
So what is God thinking, asking, implying, hoping, feeling when He looks down at Japan? I’m still pondering these questions. I do know that He’s crying and wanting each person to feel His warm arms being wrapped around them.
Your servant, here, Roberta
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