Earthquake

Many of you already know this, but we had a massive earthquake in Japan on Friday.  We live in Sendai, which is about 80 miles from the epicenter.  We were at our house and it shook for a while.  I ran to get our sleeping baby and Michael went to help my grandmother who could not move because she was so scared.  It seemed like it would last forever.  We lost our power and water immediately, and then we completely lost our phone service.  My dad was 4 hours away and didn’t know how he could come home.   It was snowing outside so we tried to stay warm inside while we kept having aftershocks.

We thought we would have to evacuate but community leaders decided only old people who lived alone would go to the nearby elementary school because there would not be enough room for everyone.

We were up all night long praying.  At that point, we didn’t even know what was happening.  Only source of information was a radio and we could tell that the news reporters were in shock as they saw the damage from the helicopter.  We heard a crying mom and a baby because she could not feed her baby.  There was a small child who was left at his school and he had no idea if his parents would ever pick him up.  An old man was just crying and asking “why, why???”  The news said many towns on the coast were completely washed away by tsunami.  We couldn’t even believe what we were hearing.  Only thing we could do was to pray.

We started to have water again on Saturday which was a huge blessing.  Since many people still didn’t have any, we delivered to those in need.  We also waited in line for several hours at 3 different stores to get food.  At this point, we should have enough for a week and we are sharing what we have with our neighbors who don’t have anything.

On Sunday, we headed to our church without knowing if the church building was okay and if anyone would show up.  Thankfully, the church was okay and about 12 members showed up.  Since we didn’t have power, we had a worship service outside of the church and had a special prayer time.  We cried out to God for His strength and protection for those who were still waiting to be rescued and also for His comfort and peace for those who lost their loved ones.

It is Monday morning here and we still don’t have power at our house.  We came to my dad’s house to charge our laptop and phones.  We were so encouraged by all the messages and phone calls that we have received from you all.  Because of limited internet access, we are not able to write you back individually.  We sincerely apologize.  But please know that we truly appreciate your prayers and support.  Just knowing so many people are praying for us and Japanese people comforts us.

Damage in Sendai is minimal compared to the coastline.  We have some cracks and water damage, but we are thankful to have a place to live.  In our neighborhood, there are broken walls, windows, roofs, water pipes, and pavement and foundations are uneven.    There are a few people who have minor injuries but they are okay.

Damage on the coastline is devastating.  In a few seconds, all the houses were washed away.  Many people didn’t have enough time to evacuate even though they had left their home right after the earthquake.  We still don’t know how many lost their lives and how many are missing.  As I write this, we still don’t know if my grandparents and aunts are safe.  My grandparents live in a city by the ocean and both of my aunts were visiting them on Friday.  Thankfully, they live on a hill but all the surrounding areas have been flooded.  The city officials said the area my grandparents lived look okay from the sky, but they haven’t had a chance to send a helicopter to rescue people.  We are praying for everyone’s safety in that town.  Since the phones are not working, my cousins tried to go there to rescue them, but the roads were closed.

The power plants in another prefecture are having so many problems and some are exploding.  It is scary.  Government is telling everyone in that area to evacuate immediately.

We are thankful for God’s protection, but we are heartbroken for those who have lost their lives, loved ones, homes, and everything else they had.  We are trying our best to help those in need.  At this point, we are delivering food and water to people in Sendai.  We are not allowed to go to the coastline right now but we hope to find out what they need the most so that we can buy and bring them to those people.

Many of you have asked how you can help.  Words can’t express how thankful we are for your willingness to help Japan and Japanese people.  Some of you have offered to send supplies, but we don’t know how long it will take for us to receive them.  So we are asking for monetary donation so that we can buy what people need the most and deliver those items.  You can go to “Our Story” page on our blog and learn how to give.  We can promise you that your gift will be used to minister to those who are in need.  Our prayer is that God will use us in mighty ways during this difficult time.  Our hearts hurt so badly knowing many people died without hearing about Jesus.  As we help others who are hopeless, we want them to know God’s love and hope.

Please continue to pray.  We believe in the power of prayer and we know God will answer our prayers.  We know God is in control and we will continue to trust in Him.