The Long Winter

Today is officially the first day of spring, though I prefer using Meteorological Spring, which starts on March 1st. 

Turning the calendar page to March, and seeing flowers, was such a relief! 

Winter seemed especially long this year. 

Snow started early. 

We had long stretches of bitter cold. 

Unspoken stress was high.

It's the first year in several years that we did not go to Florida ... or anywhere to escape the cold.

Florida with family for spring break was a longstanding tradition for Jim before I ever met him.  And our family has taken trips to Florida every year (I think) except the following: 

In 2011 Jim & I went to Japan instead. In 2013 we decided to escape the cold by visiting the Southwest. In 2017 we spent a number of weeks in Arizona for LM's birth. And in 2021, we spent spring break in Tennessee (because we had skipped our Christmas 2020 visit due to the pandemic).  Spring in Tennessee was absolutely glorious!  We hadn't been there in spring since 2010, and it was a magical time with warmer temperatures and green leaves starting to peek out. I saw redbud and dogwood on the hills! We hiked! We loved it!

Needless to say we are ALL ready for spring!! What are you looking forward to? 

Summer Vacation, Day 58

Wednesday, July 17th

Everyone slept in again.  VBS is exhausting! ;) 

Jim took LM to daycare. BK and I left early for the pediatric audiology clinic for his annual hearing test.  We made a few stops, including a fabulous used book store, which just reopened this week post-pandemic.  I found a variety (pictured) plus two sports-related coffee table-type books.

Drive-through for lunch, and then a hearing test which showed stable hearing!!  And then the new (thanks to the warranty) hearing aid was paired with the other one.  AND the audiologist added volume control, so BK can adjust the volume as needed, AND two programs (speech in noise and comfort in noise) that he can turn on as needed.  Lots of independence gained today!  Moving on from the "pediatric" constraints of pediatric hearing aids... Woo-hoo!  

But, as BK said, "I wish it were closer." Me too, buddy, me too!

Post office, pharmacy, picked LM up, took her to tutoring, pushed laundry through, picked her up, supper, and then VBS!! 

Now is now

A year ago things were shutting down rapidly. 

Ten years ago Jim & I had arrived in Japan to introduce him to my Japan world, but instead we experienced (from 240 miles away) the 4th most powerful earthquake in the world.  

But today is today.  "Now is now," as Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote. (See article here.)

We are hopefully winding down a virus that has gone through our family.  The children are back at school.  Yesterday we had a play date outside (in 70*F weather!) and I drove carpool to swim lessons.  

There are piles of dishes, mounds of laundry, and boxes of hand-me-downs to sort and put away in drawers or pass on to friends. 

On the farm there are hogs to send to market, machinery to prepare such that in a month we will see tractors dotting the landscape, and always paperwork to complete for the IRS or the USDA. 

In all of this, how do we process & remember the past, complete the necessary tasks of daily life, and live in light of eternity?  

Tim Keller writes about facing eternity here. It's a profound and sobering read.  

If you're looking for stories of hope, my friend Roger's books written about the events in Japan 10 years ago are free for download March 10 & 11.  

Pippy the Piano & the Very Big Wave is a children's story available in either Japanese or English. 

Aroma of Beauty is also available in either language.

A Good Year ~ in review

2011 is almost over, and it has been good.  Not always easy, but good, for He has been there, and He has been faithful.


In January, Jim made invitations, and we went door-to-door, meeting most of our neighbors and inviting them to a Q-place. 

My first blizzard delayed the start of our Q-place in February, but 3 or 4 ladies came for an encouraging six-week study on "How Could God Allow Suffering and Evil?"  We also attended the National Farm Show in Louisville, and visited an art museum there.

March 9th found us arriving in Japan, for Jim's introduction to my life and work and friends and co-workers there ... and to the quaking of the earth and subsequent disasters, uncertainty, and opportunities to watch (and help in a small way) the early days of relief efforts of the small Church there.  Part of our hearts are still there.

April found Jim doing spring fieldwork.  I don't remember much about the month; I think I was still in shock.  I had a fun trip, taking Amtrak to Chicago to see a friend and help her pack.  Later that week, we drove to the Chicago-area for Good Friday service and Easter worship at College Church in Wheaton.

In May, I made a quick trip back to Japan for a friend's wedding.  Jim planted.  I was sooo glad to get home and see him!  We combined our nephew's high school graduation with the Memorial Day weekend at the lake with family.

In June we saw family again at Father's Day, and then I met even more family at a reunion of Jim's dad's siblings and their children. 

In July all of Jim's family was in town for several days, and then we were able to go to a very special get-together of my relatives in South Carolina, and travel on to a cabin in the mountains to celebrate our first anniversary!!

The first week of August Jim's cousin's wife and I attended Book Club for the first time, and we had three sets of house guests, including an international student from Montenegro!

In September I started spending an hour every Monday in 2nd grade at the school in our village.  Fun!  Jim started harvest, and we were surprised and grateful to the Lord for a good harvest, despite a couple months of drought.

In October, I flew to Atlanta for a special weekend at the PCA Women's Conference. Later in the month we attended the Gettys' concert!  And, six neighbor ladies and I did another six-week Q-place, this time on "What difference does Jesus make?"

In November, we were able to attend a magnificent concert by a local university chorale and then spend Thanksgiving with 22 of my relatives, followed by a special weekend getaway.

In December, we took in a couple concerts (one at Wheaton College and one locally), spent 3 1/2 days celebrating Christmas with my family (600 miles away) and 3 1/2 days celebrating Christmas with Jim's family.


Looking back, our year was filled with family, travel, and concerts ~ and the Lord's goodness in our marriage, in the farmwork, in opportunities to serve (Q-place and 2nd grade), and in the uncertainties of life.

Looking ahead to 2012, we hope it will be filled with family and travel and concert and opportunities to serve.  But, we don't know.  One thing we know, 2012 will be filled with the Lord's goodness.

No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly. ~ Ps. 84.11

Our prayer is for our perspective ... to see "good" as He does.  And isn't that where faith comes in, for it takes faith to believe that what He gives, even when it's different from what we might want, is good!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 3, #79 & 80

788. reunions
789. introducing Jim to "my" Japan
790. sharing in our friends' suffering
791. the ministry of presence
792. safety
793. He is our refuge & strength, an ever-present help in trouble
794. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
795. email, blogs, facebook, skype and internet to keep connected with friends "on the ground"
796. a few days' cushion to re-enter this world
797. knowledge that it's okay to be overwhelmed with the vast differences between worlds
798. peaceful music, hot tea, time to sleep off jet lag, books to take my mind off everything
799. the opportunity to report to our church
800. having someone to go through jet lag WITH for the first time ever

These gifts are just that ... gifts!  And not just gifts, but the icing-on-the-cake gifts.  "All I need is Jesus," is not a trite statement.  He truly is the best gift.  He is enough, and I do not need these other gifts.  But the discipline of noticing them points me back to the Giver of all good gifts and helps me give Him my gift of thanksgiving.

To join in on reading others' lists or recording your own, visit the gratitude community at “One Thousand Gifts" or check out the new website:  One Thousand Gifts.

Did you go somewhere fun?

The day we arrived home, I went to the post office, remembering the last time I went after vacation.  The same postal clerk greeted me, asked if I had a box, gave me a bag, filled it up, and then asked,

"So you're back? Did you go somewhere fun?"

Um ... how do you answer that?

We went to a place I love, and a people I love, and we were glad to be there and be with friends, but was it fun?  

To feel the ground shake underneath us was scary, not fun.

To watch the tsunami live on TV, destroying houses and towns, and the lives of those in them was overwhelming, not fun.

To be awakened over and over the first few nights by the aftershocks, and to continue feeling strong aftershocks throughout the rest of our visit, was unsettling, not fun.

To scour the TV and internet and emails from the American Embassy for news was consuming, not fun.

To hear reports of how the Church was responding was encouraging, but not fun.

To live with questions regarding radiation and the what-if's was sometimes unnerving, not fun.

To experience periodic blackouts and ongoing brownouts was different, not fun.

To spend a day at the Help Tohoku command center, helping as we could, was a joy, but not fun.

How does one say all that in the typical 30 second attention span of the questioner?

Our two weeks in Japan, including the 12 days post-quake, were full of assurances of God's care, evidence of His protection, amazing stories of the Body of Christ being there for and helping victims.  Overall, we know our trip was in HIS timing, and we continue to join believers worldwide in expectantly praying for HIS work of redeeming a gruesome situation and turning it into one that brings much glory to His name.

NOT Japan ~ now USA - day one? two?

Arriving home at 1.30 AM, we slept half the day away, waking up around noon, when our bodies thought it was 2 AM.  And now that it is afternoon, we feel like we just pulled an all-nighter and are doing all we can to stay awake past 5 PM.  Can you say, "Messed up?"

Re-entry is always like a whiplash, but this time even moreso.  Going from the crowds of Japan to life on the edge of the cornfields would be enough of a shock.  Driving out of the airport parking lot without paying a dime (!), and speeding along on the interstates without stopping to pay $10 or $20 in tolls was nice.

And I'm certainly enjoying abundant electricity at any time day or night.  But just turning on several appliances at once makes me sad, because I know that our friends in Japan (in the supposedly unaffected areas) are enduring brownouts, keeping lights and heat to a minimum, conserving every kilowatt of electricity possible.

I instinctively checked the dashboard to see how much gas we have and caught myself wondering when I could fit in a couple hours to wait in line at a gas station.  I haven't asked our neighbors, but I'm pretty sure no one around here has done that in the past several days decades!

There were a couple of appointments we could have scheduled today. I'm glad we didn't. For one thing, we would not be coherent, but for another, I'm not sure I'm ready to handle normal life, even though I know that doing normal things is one of the best ways to cope.

I did go to the post office (more on that later), and thought I'd go shopping, but instead we'll eat soup for a few meals or days.  Mostly I'm glad for the cushion of this day (or two) to just be, to soak in being in our own home, gazing out at the sky and backyard (and cornfields), sipping tea and listening to calming music, easing back into life here. 

Japan - Monday evening

We arrived at the Help TOHOKU command center (aka Honda Chapel) around 10 AM and came home around 8 PM or later.  We weren't working all day, but we were there, on call, helping as able, hopefully just being an encouragement by our presence, and catching a moment here or there to speak with longtime friends, etc.

There really were a lot of reunions!  Upon arriving, I ran into Jay Kyle.  As always it was good to see Mr. T, a Japanese Wycliffe missionary. (His wife flies in from somewhere in Asia today, and they plan to stay there in the Education Building indefinitely while he helps coordinate relief.)  I also ran into Seima Aoyagi, whom I had not seen since the MTW Global Missions Conference in Atlanta 5 or 6 years ago.  He was on his way back to Tohoku for 3-4 days, his third trip in a week, I think.  We were in the same young adult group in '94-'97.  Later, Rev. & Mrs. Otake arrived, bringing goods donated from their church, and we were delighted to see each other.  Back in 1989, I taught English at their home/church once a week.  Oh, and a former 2-year missionary whom I oriented some time ago, showed up from the airport, on his spring break from seminary in the USA.

The day was not just social; lots of work was going on!  Neighbor ladies (who had never been to our church) came and spent several hours making rice balls and other food for the trucks to take up tonight.  Men were on cell phones almost all day, talking with the trucks that are up there, getting information about what the current situation and needs are on the ground, and making decisions about tonight's truck, this week's plan, the strategy for the next phase, etc.  Single ladies from the church were meeting and greeting neighbors and others who came to drop off supplies, arranging it by categories all over the first floor of the Education Building. 

And I spent most of the day sequestered in a room in front of MTW's Country Director's computer, going through hundreds of emails he has received since the quake and has not opened.  I can't drive a truck or go to Tohoku, but I can read email. :) 

Actually our sermon yesterday was the next one in the current sermon series on the ten commandments.  "Thou shalt not kill," and the counterpart, "Love thy neighbor."  One way we love our neighbor is by donating goods, or driving a truck to the suffering people, or .... reading email.  The pastor gave many examples.  Some ways that members of our church have loved their neighbors in the past week include standing in line for hours to get a few gallons of gasoline to be taken north, making 1000 rice balls a day to be taken north, etc.  But he encouraged us all by reminding us that we all can't do the most visible work, yet we all have a role.  The nursing mother, in this disaster relief, most definitely should NOT go up to Tohoku, but she has a role nonetheless. Her role is to stay home, care for her family, and PRAY. 

He also warned us that it's so easy in times of crisis and chaos and stress, to be short-tempered, to be short with one another (especially those closest to us), and to NOT be loving.  We need Jesus!!

Japan - Monday morning

Today is a holiday.  It is raining. The weather has been warmer the past few days, so people haven't been using as much heat.  Japanese are very good about not using electricity. The less electricity each one uses results in the need for fewer blackouts, so everyone is cooperating for the good of the country.

Companies sent memos from the top down saying to cancel all social activities, golf outings, parties, etc. with company colleagues.  Tokyo Disney is closed.  Not only are these efforts a way to save power, they are a way to share in the mourning of the nation.

I know there is much to update on the past few days.  We are headed this morning to the hastily-set-up Command Center, to do whatever we can that is helpful.  Our ride should be here momentarily.

Also, please pray for my asthma, as the weather has caused a flare-up.

Japan - Thursday morning

Ready or not!  Morning has come, whether we slept alright or not.  Here in Hiroshima, more than 700 miles from Sendai, we aren't experiencing aftershocks through the night, but the devastation and unknowns are constantly on our minds.

We spent yesterday at the Peace Memorial Museum, learning about the A-bomb and its after-effects, seeing bodies gruesomely damaged, and learning about radiation levels and how harmful they can be.  That was probably not the most settling way to spend the day, in between watching news reports of unfolding events in Fukushima.

In less tragic news, we've enjoyed some good food here in Hiroshima.  Jim has really liked yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick), and we both had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki for the first time.  I thought it was very good, though different from Tokyo-style, which I'm used to.  The bakeries provide great comfort food.  And as if the ADD-type symptoms we're probably all experiencing weren't enough, I drank several cups of tea (with caffeine) yesterday.  We also toured Hiroshima Castle, and enjoyed the huge snowflakes falling as we walked around the city.

We were up a couple times in the night, checking English-language news sources (who were in the middle of their daytime, and thus posting more frequently than they do during our daytime). 

Exciting things are happening with the relief trucks our team and the PCJ are sending up.  I have been posting news here at the Aquila Report.

We don't know what we will do today ... or tomorrow.  I called the hotel in Hakone where we are to stay tonight. They are open, but are experiencing rolling blackouts, during which time the rooms aren't heated.  We most certainly will not be going to Saitama (western Tokyo) on Friday to see my cousins, as trains aren't running, they're having problems getting gas, and one of their sons yesterday had a fever of 104 and was diagnosed with influenza.

Pray with us for wisdom about returning to the Tokyo area.  There is so much information out there, some of it conflicting. 

Japan - Tuesday morning

Although most trains in Tokyo were not running yesterday, we waited two hours for a bus to Haneda Airport, and then caught a couple trains in a roundabout way to get to Shinagawa station, where we quickly got a seat on a bullet train headed to Nagoya. 

We left home around 9.40 AM Monday, and finally at 4.10 PM arrived at Nagoya station.  We continued with our plans to eat dinner at the Newsomes', and were delighted to find that a couple visiting from the States was there as well, a couple who knows my friend who sang at our wedding!  At first, we thought it would be good to debrief our quake experiences, but it turned into a normal evening of dinner at a friends' home, getting to know each other, sharing life, eating good home-cooked food, etc.  It was good to put the quake out of our minds for a few hours, though we know that millions of Japanese in the affected areas cannot do that.

The first recon truck which our team sent up to Iwaki, Fukushima with water and supplies made it there and back, having left Chiba after midnight Monday morning.  After midnight Tuesday morning, two more trucks went up.  They are partnering with a Japanese church there.  Pray!

Today's tour at the Toyota factory was canceled due to the plant being shut down.  (They can't get parts from factories in the north.)  (By the way, the rolling blackouts in the Tokyo area for the most part did not happen yesterday, but they're still on the schedule for today.  Most trains are still not running.)

We plan to head on farther west to Hiroshima this afternoon. 

I feel like the stress is affecting my ability to think clearly, summarize, etc., thus this disjointed post.

In completely unrelated news, Jim enjoyed a breakfast this morning of onion rings and fried chicken here at the hotel. :)

The cedar pollen count (see link near bottom of right sidebar) is out the roof, and my eyes are miserable, red, itching, running, and covered with film, even though I'm using allergy eye drops.  It's exponentially minor compared to others' suffering right now, but it is also wearing on me, along with the other allergy symptoms of cedar pollen hay fever.

Japan - Sunday night

I'm too tired and emotionally spent from the accumulated stress to report on the wonderful ways God met His people in worship services today. The words of the hymns and songs, the Scripture passages chosen to be read, the prayers offered, the messages were all good reminders of the all-knowing all-powerful God who is sovereign over the universe He created and is a loving God.

Rolling blackouts are to start in the Tokyo metro area tomorrow.  Ours is scheduled for 6.20 AM - 10 AM and 4.50 - 8.30 PM.  These could last one or two weeks, or they might last until the end of next month.  Already today we noticed several signs that were not lit, as businesses worked to conserve power.  We missed our turn once, and almost missed it a second time, because we were counting on the signs to be our landmarks. 

Some gas stations we passed are out of gas.  We went into three stores this evening ... all were out of bread and water.

Who knows what is happening with the nuclear reactors?  We were gone 10 AM until 10 PM today, and without news.  I think I've reached news fatigue, and really can't absorb much anymore. I do have the TV on just now, but my mind is having trouble concentrating to understand the Japanese language.  I do know that there continue to be frequent messages scrolling across the screen, reporting earthquakes.  The latest one was an M5.  We must have had hundreds of these in the past two days. 

In the midst of all this, there are some normal activities.  This morning and also this afternoon we were privileged to meet in the Lord's house with His people.  In between, we ate at McDonald's, rode trains, had a special visit with a friend and her family, stopped off for fast-food Chinese after the evening service, and are staying in a home with electricity, water, gas, and phone service. 

I cannot imagine the physical and mental fatigue (?), exhaustion (?), trauma, and distress of the people who are suffering ... homeless or without utilities or food or blankets. 

This afternoon there was an initial mobilization meeting for CRASH Japan. Pray for their efforts to coordinate relief work, wisdom to know what will be most helpful, how to best distribute resources and be a real help, etc.

I don't know how our plans for the day (posted earlier -- I had these on auto publish) will unfold. It seems we should be able to travel, as our plans are to go farther away from the affected areas, but we shall see.

Thank you for praying for us and for Japan.  You are literally being used of God to uphold us. 

Japan - Sunday morning

I slept almost 11 hours last night!  Having only slept three fitful hours on Friday night, waking up for aftershock after aftershock, I was exhausted (and cranky) by 7.30 PM Saturday.  I slept soundly without even taking a MidNite for jet lag. 

We continue to have aftershocks, though not as frequently.  Some have been an M6, which on any other day would be a big quake, but now are "just" aftershocks. 

Saturday we walked about 10 minutes to Oyumino Christian Center, where Jim observed an English class and I talked with a friend, basically just "being together" in each other's trauma.

We were to go out to lunch with my former team leader and his wife, but he was understandably consumed with details and prep for hopefully getting supplies and a team ready to go to the devastated area.  Many missionaries in Japan will be cooperating with CRASH - Japan, Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope, a network coordinating relief.

Although my former team leader was unable to break away, we ate lunch with his wife in a grill-at-your-table meat restaurant with private booths.  It was nice to do something normal (and wonderful for Jim to get to know this lady who has influenced me so much), yet the earthquake was never far from our minds.

It reminded me of when my parents were in ShockTrauma in Baltimore, and friends took us out to dinner, in between visiting hours.  I was shocked that everyone walking around the Inner Harbor was going on with life as normal, when other people's lives were hanging in the balance. 

In the afternoon, we attended a wonderful concert by a Korean Christian choir which arrived 30 minutes before the quake.  Then Jim got to sit in on a little bit of Gospel choir practice. (Gospel music took off in Japan, after the Kobe earthquake in 1995, and is now a very effective means of outreach.)

Our dinner plans were canceled as some of the men were either exhausted from being at work all night, or were headed back to work at 8 PM Saturday. 

PRAY for the Church in Japan today ... for words to speak to people, for hearts to be prepared to receive God's eternal comfort. 

I'm posting more on Facebook. If I know you, I'll accept your friend request. 

Japan - day five ~ morning after the earthquake

We ran into the street. The ground was moving. 

Water in the fish tank splashed out. 

Our host rode his bicycle 1 hr 45 min home b/c the trains were stopped. He took video on his iPhone of cracks in the sidewalk and roads. On the video, we could see the cracks widening and narrowing. Weird! Also saw his video of mud and water seeping up through the ground. 

We heard the explosions at an oil refinery 5 miles away, and saw the fireball. 

Watching the tsunami live on TV was ... there are no words. 

We keep having aftershocks every 10-15 minutes. It can leave one always on edge. 

Not sure what today will bring (6:45 AM local time now) ... what reports of deaths and devastation. 

Please pray for Japan ... for a spiritual awakening.