Easter Sunday in Miyako. Kind of a strange mix to think of resurrection, new life, hope, salvation, and all those themes in the midst of destruction and disaster all around us. Yet we've been seeing a few glimmers of renewal and revitalization the last few days.
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| Coffee break at Mister Donuts in Miyako |
We left the Tono base with the 3 CRASH gals and drove an hour and a half on the mountain road to Miyako on the coast. This is the town of 60,000 many of us saw on iconic video clips with the black wave washing over a sea-wall, and a boat being "smushed" under a road overpass. Arriving from the hills above town, you wouldn't guess over 500 people died here and only 30 of the 1000 boats of the local fishing fleet survived the tsunami. The main train station was spared and we were happy to see Mister Donut open (and enjoyed a quick coffee break before church).
We arrived at the Miyako Christ Church for their 10:30 service, and met Pastor Iwatsuka, a warm, friendly, humble man, capably serving his church and his town as best he can. The church only has 20 members and meets in the first floor of a house - the second floor is the pastor's home. This was no dry, boring meeting with a dry, boring sermon. Christina translated as Iwatsuka Sensei talked about the power of the resurrection in clear, simple terms with easily understood stories and explanations of the Bible texts. No bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs here, but a focused application of the truth that the seeming disaster of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, was actually a victory over the power of evil and death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ verified that fact. In the face of the aftermath of the quake and tsunami, it brought the rather improbable idea to mind that even here - and in all the devastated towns and cities affected by the disasters - it is possible to have hope, to find the strength to rebuild, to consider a future of revitalization and promise.
After church, we talked with Pastor Iwatsuka about his experience leading this church, and what his thoughts were for the coming months and years. And it was more than talk: he invited some of us to come with him to deliver a couple "Start Up" boxes to disaster victims. These are large plastic boxes of basic supplies and small kitchen appliances such as a rice cooker, hot water pot, and similar items. The first box had to be taken to a convenience store where the recipient would pick it up later, and the second box was delivered to a person temporarily living with a friend at an apartment.
As we left Miyako in mid-afternoon, we drove through the disaster area, over the bridge where the boat was "smushed" and saw terrible destruction. However, we saw some areas that had already been cleaned up and large open lots where ruined cars were being placed for future removal. Our route took us south on the coast road, paralleling railroad tracks, or at least the twisted remains of the tracks. The rails were ripped off ties, warped way out of line, and hard to see at times, as though they were kid's plastic instead of steel.
Once again we drove through Otsuchi, past the ruined sea-wall, and through Kamaishi on our way back to Tono. Even in the 24 hours since we had been there, we saw significant clean up had been done. We've been impressed at the industriousness of the people, and the steady work of the Japanese army and police force. Another impressive aspect here is the total absence of looting. People are orderly, cooperative, and trying to help each other, instead of the opposite.
At Tono, we packed the van, said farewell to Jill, Maki, and Christina, set the van GPS for Takayama in Sendai and hit the road. BTW, we've found plenty of gas at highway rest areas all the stations where we stopped for fuel, though we saw many gas stations still closed and inoperable. We made good time, in spite of the major road bumps on the expressway. The quake caused roadway settling of some 3 - 6 inches on approaches to bridges and overpasses, and even though road crews had repaired the worse ones with asphalt ramps, it still created the effect of a massive speed bump - which taken at 120 k/hr gives all passengers in the van a roller coaster ride, and occasionally some "air time".
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