I know everyone's talking about it today, but I just watched to post quickly about the tsunami in Japan after that earthquake near the island.
Arthur worked with a guy from Japan for about a year. They became good friends, and we spent a few evenings with him and his wife. They lived in Chicago, while they were here. He was completing his apprenticeship as a funeral director at the funeral home where Arthur worked. They worked many shifts/days together and really got to know each other. They are back in Japan now, and when he is here we get to see him. He was here around Christmas and came over for dinner and to see how big the girls have gotten since we saw him last. He had never met Addy.
He and his wife had a little girl since moving back to Japan; we have not yet been able to meet her. It was nice to visit with him. He told us all about his family's funeral homes in Japan and where they live and about the fast trains there and how far they are from Tokyo and whatnot.
This morning, when I saw that Japan had been hit by the earthquake and tsunami, I was thinking of them. I know Tokyo felt the earthquake and aftershocks and that there was damage, but I didn't know if it was felt out where Teru and his family are. Arthur couldn't get in touch with him by phone, so he called his other former co-worker, who then emailed Teru to see if he could reach him about whether or not they were safe. THANKFULLY, Teru emailed back that they were ok; they felt it a little bit but they were fine. Their phone lines were down, so they had to check in with family in/near Tokyo by Skype. His wife's family lives in Tokyo.
I was so happy to hear they were safe, but I started thinking about how crazy an 8.8 earthquake is and then to have a tsunami afterward. What devastation! I've watched some video of the earthquake on Fox News at noon, but I cannot imagine the terror those people went through....and the terror they may still be going through if they have loved ones unaccounted for. All we can do here is pray for now. I do pray they get the assistance needed to find those missing, to feed those without anything right now, and to be able to reconnect the lines of communication for those here in the US that have family there and aren't able to reach them yet.
The West Coast of the US and the islands of Hawaii were also in terror, awaiting any repercussions of the tsunami. They were under tsunami warning (and might still be, actually). We have friends on Oahu, who posted on Facebook that they were able to seek higher ground for shelter. They were up 1100 feet, so I'm pretty sure they'll be fine. They posted a little while ago that the warning for huge waves may have been overstated and that so far Oahu hasn't seen any big waves or major destruction. So happy to read that! They might not be out of the woods yet, but at least for now they are safe.
It is amazing what power the wind and waves have. We take for granted the ocean and the fun we can have or the wind and it's ability to calm. That fun and calm can be turned around in an instant to create such havoc! I am so thankful, though, that God is always in control. Whether or not we understand the purpose of such destruction is pointless; God has it under control and there is a reason that maybe only He knows. I'm ok with that.
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