DAY 2: Word Spreads

I honestly went to bed Friday night, thinking everything would be back to normal Saturday morning. We’d wake up with power and we could tell people we were safe. Of course, that wasn’t the case. We felt tremors through the night and many people were still pretty jumpy. Luckily, I have become so desensitized to the feel of an earthquake that it really didn’t bother me much. Saturday we decided to go around to each other’s homes and help clean up. Both as something to do and none of us really wanted to be alone. 

Most homes had moderate damage with stuff on the floor and leaks. Nothing compared to the damage only a few miles away. It was this day that we really started to sense the magnitude of what just happened. We learned of the Tsunami, people trapped, houses collapsed, loved ones lost. To be honest, I still have seen very few picture of the overall devastation. I think I personally preferred ignorance to keep my piece of mind.

At this point, I felt so bad for all my family and friends back home because I had no way to contact them to let them know I was ok. All people could hear and see was that there was devastation in Sendai. I’m pretty sure my mom knows of two locations in Japan, Sendai where I lived and Tokyo. To people back home, I could have been right by the water in the wreckage. Luckily, we were a few miles inland and didn’t get any of the Tsunami damage. All I heard was that the damage stopped a few miles away. I still have trouble typing this and comprehending how we were so blessed to be unscathed when so many places and people very close were dismayed. Honestly, I felt guilty because we were hanging out at the school playing catch with a football and eating Ice cream that was going to melt all afternoon while all this was going on. I was looking for anyway to just send a message home saying we were all safe.

We caught a rumor that there was a working phone at the ward office a few blocks away. Several of us jumped in a car to see. It was here at the office that I got my first real glimpse of the reality of the situation. There what seemed like thousands of people literally laying on top of each other, in aisles, all over the place. All were with that same hopeless and scared look on their face. I should also mention that only about 1% of Japan is Christian. Imagine having no hope for what’s to come or understanding that God is with you no matter what. Now I’m not one to throw my religion in someone’s face but I have a deep belief that I was continually going to be protected and a weird feeling of peace through the whole ordeal. I also feel like any time we needed Him, he was right there for us to give us strength. 

Saturday night, we all enjoyed a great meal and decided to hold a time of fellowship for anybody that was interested. Within minutes of finishing the prayer service, the lights to our building came back on. People were literally overjoyed like it was New Years. We still had no running water or gas but felt so great to see where we were going without a flashlight and to no longer guess if you’re aiming at the toilet JK. With the power, came the 3G network. (Thanks iphone! Send me a free one and I’ll be a spokesperson J) .  Ironically, Saturday was supposed to be the day that all the new teachers were supposed to get phones and trade with teachers that were leaving. All this time I’ve been here, I had no phone and no real need for it till now. 

Luckily, a teacher was kind enough to pass her phone around and let us contact home. I was so relieved to talk to my mom for a few minutes just to let her know I was safe and to pass the word on. We all watched “Blind Side” on a school projector and went back to sleep in our classrooms…living comfortably in the situation.