Shaken, but still Standing

I feel as though it’s taken me a really long time to actually write this blog post about my experience during the earthquake. I made the mistake of not writing about it right away. For some reason I thought that Friday’s experience would be it, but it's not. It was only the beginning. But for what it’s worth here’s my tale of what happened Friday the 11^th of March, 2011, at 2:46 Japan time.

I was about to end what had been a really good day with teaching elementary Bible, along with Kumiko, who was translating. I was reading the story about Paul and Silas being in prison and singing praises to God, when suddenly there was a great earthquake and they were free. Right on cue there was an earthquake!!!!! This isn’t unusual here. However instead of the earthquake ending like it usually did, it got worse. Kumiko told all the children to go under the tables where we huddled together. When we saw the older kids running outside we followed suit. We ran to a little field out in front of the school. Everyone from the school and a couple of people that where in the chapel (next to the school) where all outside huddled together in little groups praying, crying and just holding onto each other. As the earth shook I had the need to hold one of the little kids or be held by someone. I really wasn’t scared though, mostly just thought it was exciting. I knew my family was safe in America, (they didn’t even enter into my thoughts till later). But looking around and seeing all the kids scared to death, I realized I how extremely self-centered. I was. I was surrounded by all the people I loved, while most of them had no idea where the rest of their family was. Besides that, this was their country that felt like it was being torn apart….

When the ground finally stopped shaking we went back inside the school. There was about 15 minutes before school was technically supposed to be over, but really? What do you do after you’ve just survived what was the longest and worst earthquake on record in Japan (9.0 on the richter, 7.8 where we were)???? Well, I don’t know what you would do, but we just started checking the class rooms and seeing if there’d been any damage done… A couple minutes later, the aftershocks started and we all ran back out to the field. The first aftershock was bad, and almost as soon it stopped another one started. While we all huddled in the field together, we all suddenly realized we smelled gas!!! I envisioned the school and chapel just suddenly blowing up!! Carol, (one of the missionaries and head mistress of the school) and another lady went to go turn the gas off. I almost freaked out!! I wanted to scream “don’t go!!!!” I contained myself though. Knowing my imagination was just working over time and the kids did not need freaking out more than they already were… We heard that a tsunami was coming now and to get to higher ground…. While all this was happening the sun was shining so brightly and the sky was a beautiful blue, the heavens looked so peaceful. For the first time I experienced, literally, the world in utter chaos, but God is always there, always faithful, always stable. It was hard imagining that somewhere a tsunami was happening and people’s world was coming to an end.

Slowly parents started coming and picking up their kids. Those of us that didn’t leave went into the chapel where some moms cooked rice and pulled some other food together for everyone to eat. We huddled around laptops and iPhones to watch the news. It was scary watching the news and seeing all that the tsunami was doing right then!! It wasn’t like at home where you hundreds of miles away… this was only like 200 miles north of where we were!! As we prayed for the lives of those people, I cried. I remember a time, not very long ago, when that sort of thing wouldn’t have even phased me….

Jenna, Melanie and I had been planning a sleepover for Friday night and then to go shopping Saturday. Jenna and Melanie did spend the night with me Friday. But instead of watching a movie as planned, we all had our laptops out and were communicating with family and friends back home and watching the news. There were 6 people in the house that night doing this, looked like H.Q.!!! We watched a video that one of the guys on our team took during the earthquake. The ground looked like it was a living creature, breathing, and moving. Water and mud came up out of the ground. CREEPY. So glad I didn’t actually have to see it first hand. I imagined the ground opening at any minute, but to have actually seen it….?? At about 10, we interns decided we needed to go to bed. Together in my room we talked about our experience, and then read Psalm 46:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the sea, though the waters roar and foam though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when moring dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations

-Psalm 46

Then we prayed for a long time after that. The tremors having continued during this entire time, Melanie prayed that God would please stop the shaking so we could sleep. We understood and appreciated His awesome power, but we’d really like some sleep… Right at that moment another really bad aftershock hit the house!! God has such a sense of humor...!!! Finally midnight came, and what was the longest day of all 3 of our lives finally came to an end! After waking up every 2 hours, due to aftershocks, I decided at about 4:30 I really had to go to the bathroom. So after carefully crawling over Melanie and Jenna and was successfully in the bathroom, this REALLY creepy, eerie music starts playing outside, then this man start talking in Japanese (duh, we’re in Japan), then the music starts again….!!! Totally ruined my bathroom experience!! We all went downstairs after that to wait out whatever that announcement had been. It was freezing!! After about an hour of trying to sleep, we (Jenna, Melanie and I) went back upstairs to try to get some more sleep, being told we’d be gotten up if anything happened. Thankfully, nothing further did.

Here in Chiba, where I am, you would never know there had been an earthquake. Just a little further west there’s huge damage! One of the team’s families is living on reclaimed ground that tried becoming ocean again during the earthquake!! They are without water now, and there whole city is pretty shaken (as in sidewalks and parking lots that are now nice and rippiley, huge gaping holes in the ground, etc). Unlike with Katrina or any other really bad hurricane, where it was terrible, but that was it. Here, it’s not that way. The shaking doesn’t stop, the tsunami’s don’t stop, plants/ factories don’t stop blowing up…. It’s horrible!!! Every time I watch the news, or read the newspaper, my heart just breaks for the people of Japan.

It’s been 4 days since this all started. I keep thinking about passages in the Bible that talk about “the plans of man” and “My plans are not your plans”. I feel like we make plans and do all these thing, but when it comes right down to it, what does it really matter? Not that the plans we make are “bad”, they’re just not God’s plans…. When the Bible talks about “if the Lord wills”, it’s serious! Friday morning and all that I did; it seems so petty and insignificant now. I remember praying that God would take me out of the equation, to be less self focused. Does it really take an earthquake to wake me up and move me out of myself???!!!

So many people have died or are missing. But yet the missionaries are all safe, why? Because God still has need of them, (the only conclusion I can come up). Please pray for the missionaries here! A couple of the guys from the team have rented a truck and have been taking it up north with water and food for the refugees, please pray for protection as they do this. Earthquakes and tsunamis are still happening where they’re going. Due to a nuclear reactor blowing up, there’s a concern for radiation poisoning. Please pray for a wind to blow it away…. And of course please continue praying for the people of Japan. I keep thinking about the fact that I was reading about Paul and Silas in prison when an earthquake came, both in the story and in real life. Was it just a coincidence, or….???

I feel like I’ve just been rambling. So many emotions, so many thoughts, I feel as though they're only half thoughts at that…. Thank you for your prayers!!!! Can’t tell you what a world of difference they really do make, (prayers that is). =D

Not the Exception to the Law of Physics

Every year CCSI’s the jr. and sr. high get to go on a ski trip to Nojiri. The Alps of Japan. Since I teach to jr. high kids, I was “required” to go on the trip. Which sounds like I didn’t want to, but I totally did! I was thoroughly excited about getting a chance to get to know the kids away from a teacher/student relationship.

The whole adventure started with a party at the Iverson’s the night before the “big” day. We left Monday morning at about 6 in the morning in pouring rain. I rode in Sally’s car, later christened Baby Red, with Carol driving, Melanie (intern), Elizabeth and Hannah (11^th grade students). We got to the cabin in Nojiri at about 12 in the afternoon. The boys stayed in the Iverson’s cabin. Which is very rustic, tiny, no running water, no heat no… You get the point. The girls got to stay in a different cabin, it was SO nice! Heated, “big”, running water, heated toilet seats, on the lake, etc. The rest of Monday was spent just hanging out at the cabins playing games and just goofing off. Later we went to the onsen.  What is that? Natural hot springs. Basically the public bath house. All the rage during the age of the Roman Empire. Unlike in Rome, boys and girls baths are separated. Quite the experience. There were a couple girls that I didn’t know very well yet, suddenly we were very intimate and close.

Tuesday found the whole CCSI gang out on the slopes either snowboarding or skiing, or attempting to be. Someone told me that they snowboarded first, because it “looks cooler” when you crash. But that skiing is the easier of the 2 to do. Snowboarding first wasn’t even an option in my opinion. I was going to ski!! This was the first time I’d ever been able to have the chance to ski. So I was pretty pumped about getting to make a fool of myself. This was a good thing; because I did just that. It was Melanies first time to ski too, so together we mastered the “bunny” hill and decided we were totally ready to handle a real slope.

Before I say more about skiing, let me just say, I loved riding a ski lift! I’ve wondered for years how you actually get on and off one, now I know!! One more thing I can check off of my bucket list.

Once at the top of the slope, I suddenly realized I wasn’t ready for it. My skies thought differently. Basically, I was GOING, regardless of the fact that I was not mentally ready for it. I crash landed, losing a ski. I was convinced that was it. I was going to have to go down the rest of the way on my you know what. While all this is going on Melanie is still at the top of the hill, mentally preparing herself. Next thing I know there comes Melanie, head first on her stomach, with her poles at least like 10' behind her on the hill! I laughed so hard. Aren’t I just the greatest friend ever??!! I somehow managed to get myself over to where she landed, we both decided we’d go down the mountain on our you know what’s and practice some more…. One of the guys, Matt, found us at this point and was like “you’re going to do what? No you’re not.” He showed me how to get my skies back and explained yet again how to break and cut. To always lean forward and lean into the hill/ mountain. Physics. I tried again. Fell again. Put my ski back on again. Tried again. Fell again. Thought about not trying again. Thoughts of my older brothers popped into my head. Up again I went. About the umpteenth time I fell, I decided I really like falling. It’s so exciting! One minute I’m going, vertically. The next I’m still going, but horizontally. That split second I’m no longer standing, but I’m not landed yet, not knowing what kind of awkward position I was going to land in this time, was I still going to have my skies on…. The suspense! So exciting!! Basically, I am a pro at falling. :P 

After lunch I tried the slope again. This time both Melanie and were going to do it. Long story short, Melanie wound up taking the lift back down, leaving me to make my way down the slope by myself. I figured though that since I had these skies and poles, I might as well make use them. I mean hello? So I went for it! Fell more that time, but I got back up faster. This time I had the experience of going backwards down the slope. That was exciting!! Let me tell ya. I got to the bottom tons faster then the first time. Suppose that’s why I fell so many times. Did I mention that ski boots are really uncomfortable? But I was so thankful for them every time I fell. I’m pretty sure they’re the only reason I didn’t break an ankle.

After the onsen we went back to the cabin. For dinner we had Curry rice!! Afterwards we had a teaching led by Matt. The majority of the girls ended up on one couch for some reason, which was fun. It’s warmer that way. When we ran out of room to “sit” on the couch, we just lay across laps. It was great!! It was decided that we’d sleep in the next day, then put in a half day at the slopes. Then head for home.

Being able to sleep in was amazing! Let me just say. After a semi lazy breakfast we did devotions, packed and cleaned the cabin. The guys were supposed to pick us by 11:30. We were ready and waiting by 11. So we did each others hair, to pass time. It’s 11:30 now and still no guys. Since hair was done, the next best thing to do is massages! So we got in a massage line… it was awesome!! Then the guys came…. Time for lunch and more slopes!!

The slopes were beautiful!!! Much higher than the day before…. But it looked like there may have been some easier slopes to do. However there was a miscommunication and I didn’t actually get to ski. Sad face. But I did get to spend some quality time with one of the students, Hannah, and Melanie, they also didn’t ski/snowboard that day either. We did get to ride the ski lift to the top of one of the mountains and back down again, that was amazing!!

After that we packed up and headed for home. We all rode in the same cars we’d ridden up in, which naturally was fun. It was late before we got back to Chiba, so the high school kids (and myself) spent the night at the Iverson’s. We all went to school together the next day. What could have been a really rough day turned out to be one of the best! We were all still on such a high from the trip!!!

The best part of the entire trip I think was all the girl time. Might sound strange. There was such a close safe feeling that I've never felt before... It was really incredible. Not explaining that very well, am I? And I'm not going to. :P