CLEANiNG UP JAPAN

As the earthquake aftershocks lessen in their intensity and frequency, Japan is left with enormous difficulty of cleaning up the devastation.   It is true... a picture is worth a thousand words.  The photos that follow were taken the last week of April, 2011 by Wendy Chan, a national who has volunteered in the restoration efforts.

The location of this clean up effort is in the area surrounding Sumita (my sister's village) where the devastation is the combination of earthquake and tsunami debris.  The second tsunami followed the path opened by the first one moving further inland to within a few kilometers of the village.  Mile after mile of rubble and ruins now stand where villages flourished, meadows blossomed and fields once grew.

Samaritan's Purse is an international aid organization that has a crew of workers stationed in the Sumita area for one year.  Now, that is truly a commitment of longevity!  My sister is working with them translating, hunting down supplies and assisting in the grimy, muddy work of the clean up. 

Upon viewing these photos for the first time, my son wondered where would a person even begin to clean this up?  It seems hopeless and insurmountable.  Yet, as it is with all challenges in life whether small or enormous; the place we begin is with that which is directly in front of us.  Each day we work toward the goal... overcoming one pile, one obstacle at a time.  If you keep your eyes on the goal, it is less likely you'll be bogged down by the enormity of the challenge.

Keep eyes wide open and you will see blessings all around like the people that inevitably will cross your path to encourage and assist you.  They are like flowers that grow in piles of dregs and trash... sweet gifts of hope and reminders of 'possibility'.

The sweet flowers of encouragement are the groups of national and international volunteers that come and go, working with various relief organizations.  Some stay for a few days and others for several weeks and all bring with them a ray of hope and sunshine to the people who live amidst this chaos. The presence of the workers is love in action proving that the world has not forgotten!

Found!  Someone once used these to share meals with loved ones.  I wonder where they are now?

A wedding album... to whom did this once belong?  A treasure of memories.

Samaritan's Purse.  Ordinary people doing extraordinary things to serve others in the messy areas of life. We are thankful for their commitment to dig in and stay awhile.  Everyone can help in one way or another.  Some can 'GO', others can 'SEND' and all can 'PRAY' for this country and her people as the road to healing and recovery will affect the emotional, spiritual and physical areas of life.

For more information, you can go to:  samaritanspurse.org