3/16 Friday: Ishinomaki; and Minami Sanriku & Kesennuma

Some of the women at the Ladies Day Retreat 

Today had two schedules, and two deep impacts: Sylvia led a special Ladies Day Retreat full of restoration, while Ralph and I drove with Andy and Jonathan up to Minami Sanriku and Kesennuma, and experienced devastation.

For Sylvia, this was a day in her sweet-spot, providing "oasis care" for 10 of the ministry women who have been giving care and comfort in Ishinomaki for the last year.  She said these ladies have been selflessly pouring themselves out for so long that they are virtually numb with fatigue.  The moment Sylvia started the gathering at a local cafe, one of the women simply started weeping.  They spent over two hours together sharing their burdens, personal cares, and heart-needs. Sylvia guided them in some times of reflection on God's strength and comfort, expressing their hearts in prayer, and listening for, and receiving God's care and comfort for their own hearts.  It was a powerful time, and they hope to repeat this kind of thing each quarter from now on.

At the SP camp with Andy, Jonathan, Brock, and Ralph

Meanwhile, we guys were driving through some of the worst hit cities in Tohoku.  But before we got there, our first stop was  in Tome, 30 minutes north of Ishinomaki, at the Samaritan's Purse camp.  SP has been here for the past year, with hundreds of volunteer carpenters and workers helping to "mud out" and restore some 300 houses in Ishinomaki and other cities.  We met Brock, the leader of the SP work here, and he showed us around the SP offices, kitchen/dining areas, bunk rooms, shower/bath facilities, and gave us a sense of the immense task they have been doing.  It's rather amazing how they've been able to do such a huge task with a constantly changing group of volunteers.

From there we drove another 30 minutes out to the coast and stopped at Minami Sanriku, previously a resort town of approx. 20,000 people.  But 95% of the town was destroyed by the earthquake and 50' tsunami waves.  Reports say that over half the town's population is missing; If so, the death toll in this town alone would form a large percentage of the total death toll from the tsunami.  See "MS" photos below.

From there, we drove an hour north to Kesennuma, a city of 70,000 known for it's tuna fishing industry.  The devastation here was compounded by fires which burned for 4 days.  They likely death toll here is close to 2000.  The city is spread around a large bay with hundreds of inlets, and an island in the middle of the bay.  Each of these waterfront locations, full of homes and businesses, was wiped out by the tsunami. See "K" photos below.

As we returned, driving past all the little villages and towns in between these two cities, we couldn't help but grieve and wonder at the immensity of the loss, the tragedy of it all, and couldn't even imagine it would ever recover.  We trust it will, but the the extend of the damage really knocks you back.

MS: attempting to clean up and begin restoration

MS: few buildings remain; note the boat on the porch roof of the left building.

MS: this is some 2 kilometers from the water; the train tracks used to be on the right,  but totally gone.

MS: water rose above this building, leaving the car on the roof.

K: part of a devastated community 

K: the toppled sea wall 

K: this house was owned by a family named Sato; not the debris piles in the background.

MS: looking toward the water

Remains of another coastal town.

An obliterated train line, and a solitary building where once was a thriving fishing village.

3/15 Thurs: Ishinomaki

The saga of Gilbert's ministry in Ishinomaki is about to take a quantum leap forward, and we got to see some of the major reasons why:

• the two houses that are opening up for them are a remarkable provision;

• the location for the Ishinomaki community center outreach perfect;

• a potential staff member seems interested in joining their team.

We spent the day doing some people ministry with them and seeing the various component that comprise their outreach world. 

This morning after bkfst, we drove the local roads through Matsushima out to Ishinomaki. One of the effects of the earthquake out here was an elevation drop of 2 - 4 feet, causing frequent tidal flooding. Also long stretches of the railroad have been mangled or even washed away in places; it'll be years before the trains are running through here again. 

What remains of a local train station near Higashi Matsushima

We stopped for coffee and Gilbert's explained their current network of connections and how their strategy of cooperation is starting to gel.  It's quite amazing to see the scope of the foundation they've been able to establish during the past 10 months here. 

Gilberts diagraming their network of relationships and outreach connections

 About 11 AM we went to one of the 20+ temporary housing sites in Ishinomaki to visit with displaced survivors over lunch. Our entree there was with a group of volunteers from a large EFree church in Sendai who come out weekly to provide lunch and conversation. This time, as a special treat, a tea ceremony expert came with them and performed the tea ceremony.  Amazingly, we visiting foreigners were invited to sit in and experience it.  It was a smaller group of survivors this time; but the ones who came seemed to enjoy the chance to do the tea ceremony - two of them said it was their first time! - and to enjoy lunch and chat together.  This all is so seemingly mundane, but in the process of restoring your life after a terrible disaster forces you to rebuild your entire life, it's a significant element.

Chatting over lunch at the temporary housing site

Sylvia gets included in the tea ceremony

Ralph and Mark trying to not make fools out of ourselves

When we finished there, Gilberts took us to see the two houses.  The first one is older, and in spite of being quite close to the water, didn't have any damage.  But the house is in dis-repair and has a very weird history: years ago the owner passed away, and his nephew lived there until he vanished 10 years ago and nobody has lived there ever since then.  Inside it looks like the guy simply got up one day, made breakfast, left the house to get the paper and decided never to return.  Once the place is cleaned up, it'll be a super functional house for interns and visiting teams: 3 or 4 bedrooms, a large downstairs room, and decent sized kitchen/laundry/bathroom sections.  The Gilberts know the deceased owner's sister, who said if they want to clean it up, they can use it free of charge.  Amazing provision.

At the older house: Andy talking to the neighbor

The next house is where Gilberts will live.  It's in a perfect location and very centralized for their work.  It's only 3 years old, so it has some amazing, "like-new" features and custom design elements.  But the first floor got entirely blown out by the tsunami.  The owners are one of the connections the Gilberts have made, but have decided to move to Osaka, and are willing to rent at a very reasonable rate.  We we got there, a team from Samaritan's Purse was hard at work.  A previous team had removed the wall board and flooring, and cleaned out all the toxic mud from the crawl space, and sprayed bleach/cleaner on everything up to the water line - which in this house was just above the ceiling of the first floor . This team was installing insulation and replacing the flooring, and will soon start completing the walls and ceiling.  SP rebuilds to the point of livability, including replacing windows and doors for security, but then the occupants need to finish off with interior design work such as paint and wallpaper, lighting fixtures, etc.  So the Gilberts have a month of work in front of them, but will likely be able to move sometime in April or early May.  Another amazing provision.

At Gilbert's "new" house: note all the first floor damage

With the Samaritan's Purse team inside on the first floor

We headed across the city, stopping en route to visit a couple other cooperating outreach groups.  Then just 100 meters on the north side of the train station is the future site of the community center outreach facility.  Currently, it's an old, one story house that was remodeled years ago into a little church.  The church that meets there now will continue to use some of the space, but have joined in a cooperative agreement with 3 other outreach groups, included the EFree missionary group that Gilberts are part of, to replace the building with a three story community center.  I haven't seen any diagrams yet, but you can see the eagerness and delight in Andy and Lorna's eyes as the talk about it, and envision the huge potential a place like this will have to help the community and build friendships and grow the church.

At the community center site; train station in the background

In the late afternoon, we dropped off the Gilberts to have a meeting with a potential staff member.  After we went to the Aeon mall for coffee and a bit of grocery shopping, we came back and found the 3 of them still deep in conversation.  They kept talking for another hour - which indicates a lot of mutual interest.  This guy is really sharp, speaks fluent Japanese and English, and has been working with ministry groups around here, so is well connected in Ishinomaki.  If he is able to join the team, he'd be another amazing provision.

We grabbed supper at the mall, and headed home.  It was a long day, but thinking it through, it seems like a rather momentous day.  3/11 was a pivotal day of somberness and grief, but today was a pivotal day of excitement and joy.  Wow.

3/14 Wednesday: Shichigahama & Sendai

Biggest news today: Gilberts have a house in Ishinomaki!  Actually it looks like they might have 2!  They returned late to the Guest House saying they'd met with the owners of these houses, and briefly told us the highlights of the arrangements and of what needs to be done to get them ready to move in.  We'll get to see them tomorrow.  

One is an old house where the good news is that it's undamaged in the disaster, but the bad news is that nobody has lived there for 10 years so it needs top-to-bottom cleaning in the worst way.  The other is a 3-yr old house that sustained first floor damage in the tsunami but Samaritan's Purse teams can do their "mud-out, clean-up" work on it, and then Gilberts can have a team come and finish up the interior.  

This will be a HUGE step forward in their strategy, and in their capability to serve the people of Ishinomaki.  Plus, after all these 10 months of commuting 90 minutes back and forth each day, and of living out of suitcases and boxes, they'll actually be able to settle in and unpack.  We're all so excited for them. 

Biggest joy today: Sylvia is here!  She and Ralph completed their meetings up in Sapporo and flew down to Sendai.  I met them at the airport in the early afternoon, and then we drove the coast road back to the Guest House.  

Am including several photos of the airport area taken during the tsunami, and from the same location and angle taken 6 months later.  Today, the Sendai Airport is virtually 100% operational, but the surrounding area is still completely devastated. It will be years before it is inhabitable again.

March, '11 Tsunami - Sendai airport just to the right

Sept, '11 - Sendai airport just to the right

This was Ralph's first time to see the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami.  Now, one year later with so much of the debris cleaned up, some of the worst hit places don't seem quite as obvious anymore.  I explained that it's like going back to the scene of a car wreck: the vehicles, the police, the fire trucks, the aid cars, etc. are gone, and all you can see are some skid marks and broken glass.  You know something terrible has happened, but it's just not as obvious anymore.

March, '11 Tsunami - Sendai Airport

Sept, '11 Aftermath - Sendai Airport

We stopped for coffee (at Mr. Donuts - yea!) to chat through the schedule for these next few days, and to review our primary goals: to help Ralph gain a clear vision for Relief, Recovery, Renewal; to learn about Gilbert's vision & strategy (vis a vis other organization's work), and to think through plans for funding & future teams.  Really looking forward to how these will all unfold in the next couple days.

Biggest improvement today: After years of faithful service, the stove and washer/dryer combo in this floor of the Guest House were replaced today!  Both had been faltering, and the new ones, shipped over from the States, were replaced by Dale Little, an EFree missionary who virtually grew up on this spot.  I helped him muscle the old appliances out of the way, and while I was out picking up Sylvia and Ralph, he and his wife Anne got the stove in - no easy job due to the narrow spacing - and then he and I finished up the washer/dryer install before and after supper together.  Gilberts are so delighted, esp because all the noise and racket of doing laundry is now gone and they don't have to leave the room when the machine is running.  Ahhh……

New washer/dryer on right, Mark at the new oven/stove

3/13 Tuesday: Shichigahama

Today was a work day here at the Guest House.  It's kind of like changing the oil in your car - not a whole lot of excitement and zip, but vital to keep the engine running well and the car on the road.  

See any mold?  No!  We zapped it with Kabi Kii-lah!

Gilberts had some projects that have been needing attention for a while, but their constantly active schedule meant they just couldn't get to them.  I happily volunteered for the routine stuff - cleaning out the bunk bed room, handy-man work on the deck, etc. -  freeing them up focus on more significant projects - visiting with the pastor of a large church in Sendai, and taking care of their Japan income taxes.  

Ann Lynne, the intern who is living and working here with the Gilberts for 6 months, worked with me on the bunk bed room.  We hauled all the blankets and mattresses outside for fresh air (thankful for a sunny day!), washed the mattress covers and curtains (the sheets and pillow cases are washed after every visitor leaves), then attacked some nasty black mold that had been creeping into the corners and up on the ceiling.  We used "Kabi Kii-lah"  (Mold Killer) and it worked like magic!  The mold is gone!  We put everything back in place and now the room is fresh and clean again, ready for another round of guests and teams to come work with the Gilberts.

Love driving this little K-car.  Wish I had one at home.

Mid-afternoon, I hopped into the fun little "K-car" (actually "Kei-kaa" in Japanese, and a very successful concept here) went into town for some lumber to replace some rotting 2 x 6 flooring on the outside deck.  Curious that it's considered 2 x 6 (and even pronounced "tsu byi seeks" instead of "ni kai roku" or something).  It's bit tricky getting 6' long boards into a tiny car but I reconfigured the seats and it worked fine. 

Supper tonight was spaghetti - yummy!  Ann made it, and Gilberts and I join her and Jonathan and Kathleen Long for supper.  The Longs are veteran EFree missionaries who have come back to Japan to work with Gilberts here, and are living in the first floor of the Guest House.  We had a great time sharing stories and laughing together.

These ruined fields were finally cleaned last month

BTW, on the way home this afternoon I drove through some destroyed neighborhoods and just had to stop for photos.  I find myself not noticing it all anymore, so it was good to stop and think about the families who used to live here, the drivers of the destroyed cars, and the kids who used to walk to school on these roads.  It still makes me sad.

What do you do with these stacks of destroyed vehicles?

3/12 Monday: Shichigahama

Wow - didn't realize yesterday's post was so long.  But it was quite a momentous day.  Will try to be more brief from now on.

Today was Gilbert's weekly attempt at a day off.  If anyone needs such a weekly sabbatical it's people like them who work in the midst of relief and recovery chaos and all the people care they provide.  So I told them not to even think about stuff here at the house and take off for a drive, a coffee shop, a mall, whatever will help restore their souls.  And they did.

I was going to spend the day helping another EFree missionary install a replacement stove and washer/dryer combo here at the Guest House, but he couldn't make it here after all.  Hopefully we can tackle those later this week?  Instead, I was able to get some personal "catch up" done, as well as do some grocery shopping, including the ingredients to make supper.  "Ah-ha!  Mark-san is now becoming chef-san?  Mo, taihen deshoo…"  Actually supper turned out pretty well thanks to some pre-cooked chicken for a main dish with brown rice in a handy rice cooker that's here.  Some of these Japanese kitchen appliances are pretty cool.

Cool appliance; the rice cooker & hot water pot are tops

A few sites have active restoration

The lady's house and business used to be here...

Also gave myself a bit of a drive around here to see the progress of clean up and restoration.  Went to one community where the April team visited with a lady who showed us her still-standing home even though the first floor and back yard area were ruined.  Sadly, that home is torn down now, along with most of the rest of the fishing neighborhood there.  The last of the debris-filled fields near here were cleaned up last month according to Lorna.  

But I haven't seen any rebuilding happening, except for 1 or 2 house foundations that are either new or washed clean ready for reconstruction.  In Tagajo, the next-door city from here on the way to Sendai,  life seems to returning to a new normal, and you have to look close to see much of the consequences of the disaster.  It's a good sign when Mr. Donut is open!

Note the mound of debris in the background

Yummy!

3/11 Sunday: Ishinomaki - First Year Anniversary of the Disaster

What a privilege to be in Ishinomaki on this day.  It's the 1 year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.  Don't think I'll ever forget the siren and moment of silence this afternoon at 2:46 marking the catastrophic moment.  

The day started in Sendai for me.  Being with Mika and Hidemasa again was delightful - such wonderful friends.  Had slept pretty well (surprising given the time zone changes) until 5:30 AM, then got a quick bite of roll and coffee, and headed back to Sendai station.  As I walked in, guess what was right there with it's irrepressible tractor beam pulling me in?  Starbucks!  Very cool!  

Caught the train out to Tagajo where Lorna Gilbert picked me up.  Went out to the EFree Mission Guest House at Takayama on the Shichigahama coastline where they live and our teams have stayed each time.  Not surprisingly, it was a full house.  One family is leaving today after the memorial services, so a la hotel style, I'll settle into their now vacant room this evening.  

Ishinomaki Brethren Church

Good to be with Andy and Lorna Gilbert again.  Terrific folks, genuine hearts, and very caring for the survivors. They aren't interested in the hierarchy  or "office politics" of mission agency structure (they've "been there, done that" before), but have a calling and vision - and gifting too - for working face-to-face and heart-to-heart with people.  

We headed out on the 90 min drive to Ishinomaki, but the expressway was jammed with traffic, evidently heading to various memorial services.  It improved after we passed Matsushima, and we dropped off Andy for a quick pow-wow at "the little brown church" near the Ishinomaki station.  It's a tiny congregation, but their location has become the center for a potential collaborative community center outreach.  Their denomination (Brethren I think?), the EFree mission, and 2 other large ministry organizations are teaming up to replace their weary, 1-story building with a new, 3-story building which will become the Ishinomaki Community Center.  The church will have space on an upper floor, but the first floor will be a large, multi-purpose room for a whole variety of community activities and ministry events.

The quonset tent at the "takidashi" site

Lorna and I continued on to the Watanoha area where the main memorial service was planned.  Gilberts and a dozen others had spent most of Saturday setting up a room about the size of  half a basketball court for the meeting.  She had some final details to take care of, so I continued on a dozen blocks to the vacant lot used weekly for "takidashi".  The Dickens group sang here last December and helped with the "takidashi" food prep and supplies distribution.  But since then a 50-person quonset tent has been set up, making the weekly event - and especially the Bingo game selection process  -  a much warmer experience through the winter months.

Leading the memorial service for volunteers

A secondary event was planned here for any short-term volunteers, so as to make as much room as possible in the main memorial service for community folks and the care giving ministry people.  I had been asked to lead this informal gathering, structured more as a prayer & fellowship gathering.  About 30 volunteers showed up, including a Japanese team from Nagoya, a Chinese team from Hong Kong, and an American team from different states working with Samaritan's Purse.  

Just as we were getting started at 2:30, the city-wide PA system which can be heard for miles and happened to be on a utility pole just 50 yards from our tent announced the 2:46 tsunami warning siren would go off as part of the memorial, and cautioned everyone not to panic.  It didn't strike me until later how important that caution was, because the last time everyone heard that siren was for the actual tsunami 1 year ago.  It could very easily have induced PTSD panic in many people.

A minute of silence at 2:46

We continued with our meeting, singing a couple songs, until 2:45 when everyone stood, and the siren sounded for 60 seconds. Then we had the most sorrowful minute of silence I've ever experienced.  Standing surrounded by silent, groaning echos of disaster where 1000s of people lost their lives, and 1000s more lost their homes and livelihoods and join in the grief and pain was a horrible, humbling privilege. 

How do you continue a meeting after that?  After that minute, I can barely recall concluding with a prayer acknowledging God's supremacy over the sea and earth, and asking him to bring healing and hope to survivors, and restoration to communities.  We sang another song or two, then people shared meaningful scripture passages, and we prayed together for the survivors, the communities, the civic and governmental leaders, and most of all for renewed healing and hope.

Afterwards, people chatted for a while, and got acquainted.  I drove a couple of the newly arrived Samaritan's Purse folks the few blocks over to a coastline park - or at least the remains of it - and paused again at the power of nature to send such an immense wave of water over the sea wall and cause so much destruction.

Fellowship time after the main memorial service

Around 5 PM or so, I was able to join the Gilberts at the fellowship time after the main memorial service.  They said it was a very powerful time with over 100 from the community.  A community supper was being served, and plenty was left over so I got to join the fun.  I met several of the people we connected with during the Dickens Carolers concerts, and also several of my missionary buddies.  Very cool.

A couple dozen of us all pitched in to help clean up, and we finally headed back to the Guest House around 8 PM or so.  Or at least I think it was - jet lag was finally starting to kick in, and I dozed as Andy drove home.  It was good to finally fall into bed around 10 pm.  

3/9-10 Fri & Sat: Seattle > Tokyo > Sendai

And they're off!  Final packing went well, got to SeaTac in good time, security not a hassle. But... 


Our flight tickets were "stand-by" status.  The good news is that "stand-by" tix are 70% discount (made possible via some generous friends); the bad news is that you risk not getting a seat. You guessed it: the flight was FULL!  Additional passengers booking in from a cancelled Osaka flight filled all the open seats, and we were starting to dread having make alternate plans. Eleven of us were on the "stand-by" list. With minutes before departure our names were called, we were given seat assignments, and we hustled onto the plane! Found out only 7 final seats were open - wow!  To paraphrase Shakespeare: we few, we happy few, we band of strangers on a plane. Ha!  Actually, we're grateful to God for whatever it was that set it up for us to get on, though I'm sure he would have helped us get through the alternate plans as bizarre as that would have been. 


Flight was smooth, arrival worked well (didn't forget any baggage this time), and then Sylvia and I zipped off different directions. She headed over to another part of the airport to catch a flight to Sapporo, while after renting a cell phone to use for the week, I jumped on the express to Tokyo and caught the bullet train for Sendai. 

Crazy!  but not bad after being up 22 hours traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles.

I'm staying with Mika and Hidemasa tonight and hook up with Gilberts tomorrow morning and go to Ishinomaki for memorial services. Meanwhile Sylvia is arriving in Sapporo about the time I get to Sendai, will overnight at a recommended airport hotel, and take a morning train to join the Clarks at the Teine church. 


Can you say "long day"?