Who's That?

Well, the one doing the presentation is a CRASH Japan worker, but the face in the power point or video presentation is a familiar one. This appeared on Facebook recently, so even though Carol hasn't worked at CRASH since June, she appears in this presentation, which probably shows a little of the short history of CRASH's response to the triple disaster in Tohoku a little more than a year ago.

Famous people have this experience all the time. They see their faces in magazines, or hear their voices singing in BGM in public places. It's a little more unusual for us, but in the past year we've had this phenomenon. There's a link to Heather's blog here, and her account of the day of the earthquake and her reflections on it have attracted readers from all over the world to her blog, and her words have appeared in church bulletins and other blogs and publications. If it's disaster in Japan that makes us famous, we'd rather be anonymous!

The Latest from CRASH Japan

A year ago I was in Mongolia when Psalm 46 happened in Japan. When the earth shakes, and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, when the waves crash and foam, and the mountains shake before the surging sea. As I returned to Narita airport, I suspected I was entering a totally different Japan, and that was the case. Train service, electricity, and supplies in stores were all less than normal. Meanwhile, Carol had started working at CRASH Japan, and I soon joined her. Our colleague Don Love and I drove the first team up to the base in Tono, a couple of days after the expressway was reopened, and before it was properly repaired. That was one rough ride, only outdone by the aftershocks we felt at the base camp in the middle of the night! Meanwhile, Carol Love established the financial department of CRASH, often working until midnight with all of the details.

Our first two weeks at CRASH Japan were 9:00am to 8:00pm with meals provided. The work day reduced to more normal hours, and we cut back to three days a week helping in volunteer coordination. I was able to help with Donor Relations from home, and Carol continued going to the office until June. Yet, as you can see from the one year video, the work has continued since our time there, and the statistics speak for themselves.

Carol, Heather and Laura experienced CRASH Japan as volunteers, helping to muck out homes. Heather was able to volunteer with United Japan, and then Carol Megan and I went with a group right in our neighbourhood to serve lunch to people in Ishinomaki, back in September. No matter how much help Tohoku receives, the work that remains seems endless. Much of what CRASH Japan has been doing in recent weeks involves meeting the emotional and spiritual, as well as physical needs of the people in the affected areas.

The Heads Go Bobbing By...

Out our balcony we can see a little of the road on the east end of our island. Between two apartment buildings and just over the elementary school we usually see cars go by. Today, we're seeing heads. We can't see the bodies underneath, just the heads, bobbing down the road.

I think this map will help you understand what we see once each year. The runners certainly aren't as bunched up as in the photo above, at the start line in Shinjuku. By the time they pass through Harumi, (#19) they've run almost all of the marathon and they just have a few miles left until the finish line at Tokyo Big Sight, which is a huge convention centre.

While I'm not a marathoner, I have run to Tokyo Big Sight (finish line), Shinagawa (#9) Asakusa (#16) and Tokyo Dome (beside #4). I just run those routes on separate days, not all together. I've also run around the Imperial Palace moat, at the center of the map. A local newspaper counted 3,500 runners on that route on a weekday evening, and I've been amazed at how many runners there are there. It's embarrassing to be passed by so many! Last time I ran that course, I was accompanied by a man who visited Canada for the Vancourver Olympics and toured the country coast to coast. We chatted for a few minutes until our paths diverged. It's a great place to run!

Valentines Tea

Yes, as a matter of fact, they did taste as good as they look.

...and, the Valentines Tea was a good time to discuss what the Bible says about marriage relationships.

The Covenant Players presented a brief but thought provoking play on marriage and appreciating one's spouse that everyone appreciated.

Am I Old Enough for These Glasses?

When you see the metal frames with the dark plastic panels over the lenses, like the ones Dr. Hinohara is wearing in this picture, you know those glasses are meant for men who are past a certain age. I'm not sure what that age is, nor do I know whether I've reached it. You'd be interested to know that Dr. Hinohara was born in 1911. He's certainly reached and surpassed that age, whatever it is. But, he hasn't yet reached retirement age. He's still writing, speaking and working at his day job which is...

running St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo, within sight of our apartment. The medical building is in the foreground, and the office towers in the background. This is where Carol gladly parted with her gall bladder last year. As the name suggests, St. Luke's is a Christian hospital, and because of his longevity, vitality and wisdom, Dr. Hinohara's books sell well, and he is often consulted by the mass media in Japan.

On Sunday one friend of ours brought in a clipping from one of the major newspapers in Japan. It was an article by Dr. Hinohara on the topic of "Forgiveness", something with which people in Japan struggle. Dr. Hinohara's article closed with the words of Jesus on the topic of forgiveness from the Gospel of Luke. It's great to see a believer with such a high profile and vast respect having this kind of influence in Japanese society.

Who Needs Walls?

A roof is necessary in Penang, but not walls. The clusters of food stalls on the island offer a variety of great and inexpensive meals. Dinner for a dollar!

It was no hardship to be called together for a Regional Leadership Team meeting in Penang, Malaysia in the coldest January in Japan in 26 years! Meetings don't make for great pictures, but this was the view we had as we met for three days.

We did get outside for one session, which we held on a nearby beach, with a barbecue lunch served to us. While it was only a few hours, I should have been more careful in applying the sun screen!

We travelled to Penang through Singapore, riding the immense Airbus A380 to Changi Airport, and arriving at 4:00am. We slept for an hour or so in the departure lounge and then got breakfast (runny eggs, Kopi and Kaya, of course!) and continued on to Penang.  On our return we arrived at Singapore at noon, and Toshimi san, our former neighbour in Harumi, joined us for lunch. That was a much more enjoyable layover! This is your typical tourist photo, where you can hardly see the people in the picture. The Merlion in the background is a symbol of Singapore.

A Soak in the Mountains

You can see the lights of Chichibu, a city in the mountains northwest of Tokyo, in the background of this picture. Our room overlooked the city, and so do the outdoor hot springs perched high on the cliffs. We were there for a night during Christmas break to enjoy being together, yet one of us has to soak all on his own in a separate hot spring. Still, it's enjoyable and invigorating to be in freezing temperatures outdoors and up to your neck in hot water, while hearing the rest of the family enjoying themselves on the other side of the wall in the adjacent hot spring.

If you follow Heather's blog, you've already seen these pictures. I'm borrowing them, and you'll see a link to her blog at the top right of this blog, so this is like an ad for her blog and its excellent photography. While the mountains were scenic, the one and only road out was blocked by a collision for two hours, and we had no way out, and an event to attend that evening. That's life in the mountains, I guess.

Getting into the mountains is like going back in time. So many great scenes to photograph, and so many good pictures taken by Heather.