Thank you for praying. We are overwhelmed and immensely blessed by so many e-mails and FaceBook messages. Sorry I haven't posted. Life has been a little crazy. I did want to let you know we are ok and summarize our situation here in Tokyo for you.
First of all, we are extremely blessed that our family, house and possessions are safe. The 8.9 M earthquake on Friday and the many big aftershocks have left us feeling pretty wobbly. The earthquake caused a tsunami that hit the northeastern coast of Japan, where most of the pictures and footage you see on the news are taken.
After several big earthquakes on Friday afternoon we had to ride our bikes to the boy's school to pick them up personally since the trains were down. Since our cell phones weren't working, we were so thankful to finally hear they were safe. The school handled the crisis very well and we were thankful that just the day before the students had practicing an earthquake drill.
We have heard of two explosions now at a nuclear plant about 130 miles away, but only those living close by have been evacuated. We'll continue to keep an eye on this situation. Please pray for wisdom and protection.
CRASH (Christian Relief Assistance Support and Hope) is a network of Christians (Japanese and missionaries living in Japan) ready to do relief work. http://www.crashjapan.com/ I attended the first meeting yesterday to see how our mission organization OMF International, as well as our family personally, can be involved in the relief and recover stages. Pray for God's clear leading and open doors to serve and share Christ. OMF has started a Sendai Earthquake Relief fund and more information can be found at this link if you are interested. http://www.omf.org/omf/japan
We have heard about possible power outages here in Tokyo, but haven't experienced anything yet. So far we are thankful to enjoy hot food and warm feet. But today we went shopping and were surprised to see many of the shelves empty. There was no milk, eggs or bottled water. I have to admit it was a little un-nerving. We don't want to panic, but want to be careful and prepared.
Millions of Japanese were stuck in downtown Tokyo on Friday evening and couldn't get home after the earthquake. Like our family, many Japanese in Tokyo don't have a car and rely daily on trains to get around.The trains have been running off and on. Today our station was closed with big gates in front locked shut.
Psalm 46 has come to life for us the past few days. "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though the waters roar and foam; Though the mountains quake at its swelling."
