We went to a yearly “family fest” day with our church’s denomination yesterday.  I should clarify – I “went” (no responsibility – in fact, I showed up 10 minutes late because I got lost biking there) and Robert worked.  He oversaw sound and staging and some other stuff.  While my day was from 10 to 3:30, his was more like 8-5 with several other meetings thrown in.  Anyhoo…

Eight pastors shared briefly how last year’s triple disaster affected them – some spoke of loss and others spoke of calling.  A few snippets from a couple of pastors and others:

• one shared about his house and church building being washed away
• another pastor discussed his already-small church having several key families and members move away
• a Christian camp director spoke of cancelling usual programming and housing people displaced from radiation for a year
• a musician spoke of people who recently returned to their homes near the nuclear plant, but the radiation level was too high to remain for long (my words – indescribable disappointment)
• a young man shared how he moved from an area not affected by the disaster to an affected community and the sights and stories that he saw and heard

Radiation, shaky foundations, displaced people, PTSD, burnout.  We saw a photo montage from 3/11 and the clean up that followed.  The photos were devastating.  It was painful to watch with people who lived so close to the tragedy – some who lost homes, family members, and peace.  A lady 2 seats over sobbed, a pastor in front of me had tears in his eyes, a lady next to me held her 2-year-old daughter very close.

Although a lot of global attention is on other parts of the world now and even most of Japan has moved on (to quote a Japanese friend), there is still great need for hope and healing in northern Japan.  Thanks for partnering with us in prayer.

a scene from a community near our home