We're in the city of Miyako, Iwate prefecture, on the east coast of Japan, doing relief work among the people affected by the March 11 tsunami. Here's a quick update now that we're finished with our first week here.
One thing that especially strikes me about being here is just how incredibly beautiful it is: the rugged, rocky coastline with fjord-like inlets, the tree-covered hills, the clear skies, and the birds. The areas where tsunami came are relatively small, but unfortunately, the tsunami came to the flat areas right on the coast, where most of the people are living--right up the inlets and into the villages.
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| Jodogahama beach |
Yesterday I was sitting under a cherry tree, playing my cello for the outdoor café we set up at one of the temporary housing facilities. I admired the trees on the mountain, and watched a couple of large birds soaring against the backdrop of the clear blue sky. If I turned around, I could see the ocean, calm and sparkling in the sunlight--behind a swath of destroyed houses and a huge mound of trash. In other places we visited, a completely undamaged house could be right next to an empty foundation of another house. Some places sunflowers are growing out of the wrecks of houses.
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| Yamada |
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| Also Yamada: surviving house next to destroyed houses |
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| Akamae: trash heaps being sorted. The picture just doesn't do justice to the magnitude of the trash pile... |
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| Akamae: destroyed houses, green hills |
This place is full of these kinds of contrasts. As I watched the café guests talking happily and sipping their drinks, I feel a deep sense of peace and contentment. Yet we also hear stories of people reliving the day of the tsunami every night in their dreams.
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| First café location: Taro |
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| Playing for other relief workers after delivering children's tables and chairs to a shelter in Yamada. The chairs are very sturdy. :) |
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| This café location was in Miyako, only a couple of blocks from where we're staying. |
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| Some people listened from inside their apartments. One such person came out at the end and gave us a melon to thank us for the music. |
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| This mother and daughter stayed for the whole afternoon. |
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| At this café, I talked about music with some of the children. They even chose a piece for me to play. :) |
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| The aforementioned location with the cherry tree, Akamae |
This place is a gift from God. I pray that the people here see God's face through the beauty of the land and through the acts of service of God's people who have come to be here with them.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good--his steadfast love endures forever.
