An inconvenience rightly considered

It's been about five years since my last post and a lot has happened. I'm in England now. I've been thinking for a while of reviving this blog, mostly as a way of putting down some of my many observations, complaints, and joys of living in a foreign country.
This is the inaugural post, but so as not to have such an abrupt break between the previous post and this, I'll fill in the blanks in a nutshell.

I left you all while in Japan, experiencing the aftershocks of one of the biggest earthquakes in history. I moved back to the US shortly after that (which had been planned way before the earthquake). Since then in only loose chronological order I...

• Got married
• Started going to a great church
• Got a job as a writer
• Moved into an apartment
• Started volunteering at a local food bank
• Left my job as a writer and moved to a job as an editor in NYC
• Traveled a LOT - many trips to England (Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Oxford, London), Boston, Washington DC, Wales, Philadelphia, Niagara, Bermuda (first cruise!), Scotland, Tennessee, and an epic West Coast US road trip (Las Vegas, Sequoia National Forest, San Francisco, Pacific Coast Highway, Seattle)
• Author-husband got his first book deal
• Hurricane Sandy hit (no power for a week!) - volunteered with our church to help people who were badly hit.
• Had trapeze lessons (!)
• Lost both Grandma and my dear Nana
• Had to put down the best dog in the world
• Got a new old car
• Quit my job and went freelance full-time
• Said goodbye to our apartment and lots of our stuff
• Said sad goodbyes to our friends, family, and church family 
• Went to England

All the gaps in between each of these are filled with normal life. Making so many new friends, working, spending time with family, hanging out with friends, Thanksgivings, Christmasses, etc.
I'm still in the process of moving to England officially, but am on an extended visit at the moment. Thus a new adventure in blogging begins.


Maybe.

If I can remember to update it.

Well it's been just over a month since the original 9.0 earthquake on March 11th. The whole country continues to shake with quakes as big as 7.6 in some areas.
I was reflecting this morning (as a 6.1 in Chiba woke me) how strange my life has become in just a few short weeks.
It has become such a commonplace thing to have my entire house shaking and rattling that I now deal with it with resigned annoyance (not to say I am never a little scared by it - the uncertainty of whether or not each quake is going to get stronger or not is always nerve-wracking). I feel a bit like a character from one of my favorite childhood books, The Twenty-One Balloons, who must get his "mountain legs" on Krakatoa to deal with the shaking and moving of the island. Hopefully my own experience will have a better outcome than his.

I have handed over my job at CRASH Japan to a few other volunteers. I may still help here and there but now that school has started again it was too much for me to try to do both CRASH and full time teaching (and part time English teaching). Now that we aren't driving into the command center every day I feel very out of touch with what's happening there, but I do know that the work continues every day. My housemate is going up north again as part of a CRASH Japan team this week - please pray for her and the team.

As the end of my time here in Japan is within sight, I have begun to think a lot more about how much has happened in the last two and a half years - the people who have been part of my life, the relationships I've made, the changes I've seen in people and situations.
Today I was teaching Keito, one of my Tuesday English students, and remembering that when I started with him two years ago he was only three and a half and knew only a few words in English. Not only that but he cried for most of the first few lessons. Now he knows many words, can ask and answer questions in English, and is beginning to read (also, he really likes me and never cries). It's nice to see how far he's come and to know that I've been a part of it.

I had my portrait drawn by a child today... apparently I am blue and have hair that sticks up off the top of my head.
He's three, but strangely perceptive.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

While it would certainly be a stretch to say that I haven't been growing weary, I can definitely say that God has given me the strength to not grow weary *while I'm doing His work.* It is definitely a God thing that I am able to work through each day at CRASH without feeling too tired or sleepy. I pretty much fall into a coma as soon as I get home, but that's beside the point :p During the day I have the strength and concentration I need. Working at CRASH these two weeks has been amazing. This week will be the last where I am able to go in and work each weekday; next week school begins again and I must go from being a PR web consultant, to being a high school teacher. Isn't life strange?

Still not radiated. Still no x-men powers. Though I am working on telepathy, I think I nearly have it.

Two more teams left CRASH this morning bringing up supplies up north.
It's important to remember that in the end, no matter how many supplies we bring up to these people we can never give them back what they lost. Not just their homes, but their neighborhoods, not just their jobs but their offices and workplaces, not just their cars but even the roads they used to drive on - so much is gone it is unfathomable. Nothing we can give them can replace that. The only thing we have that we can give is something to put their hope in. There is no hope in physical objects, we've just seen how quickly they can be taken away. We're really hoping that by going through churches to distribute supplies, it will let people know why we are doing what we're doing and open up opportunities to tell people about Christ's love and sacrifice. Hope is for all people, but not all have it. We can share it with the people of Japan.

It's been a whirlwind so far, but it's far from over.
It seems like most major news stations have begun moving on past Japan and we've been demoted to second page news in some places. Don't let the lack of media attention fool you - things are far from settled here. We are still getting aftershocks of over 6 magnitude. In fact, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency today (Tuesday) alone we have had no less than three M6s, two M5s, four M4s, and an M3. Additionally, the reactors still aren't out of danger, though things are looking positive.
However, most important of all, there are people dying in evacuee shelters due to lack of supplies, illness, and cold. It's still very much winter in the north of Japan - Sendai had quite a bit of snow the other day. A lot of places still have no electricity or running water.
I say these things not to make anyone panic or get discouraged, but to help convey the urgency that we get the people, money, and supplies we need to help. It's too soon to forget about Japan. Please keep spreading the word about CRASH.


Several people have asked me what they can send. The answer really is just money or people. Sending supplies through the post, though it is a satisfyingly physical activity, is rather impractical. The amount that would be spent on postage would be put to better use if donated directly to CRASH. I know it doesn't feel as helpful to click a few buttons on your computer screen, but I assure you all that every cent is going toward an amazing cause.
There are about 75 people here every day now, working 11-12 hours each day, and not one of them is getting paid - any donation you send is not going into anyone's pocket.

Please support CRASH Japan - www.crashjapan.org

In my life news - we have cancelled school until April 4th. This means I will be able to volunteer for a couple more weeks. This makes me very happy, as I've been helping out with updating the website and it's not a simple job to pass on to a new volunteer.
I've been working with the PR department helping to raise awareness of CRASH, and I think slowly we're getting more streamlined. It's hard to be at optimum efficiency when everyone is a volunteer and not necessarily professional at what they do - but having certain people volunteer long term has really helped.

Since my group drives in every day, and it takes us about an hour to get to the command center, we've been leaving at around 7am each morning (and getting back just after 9pm) so I'm ready for bed now. Also, I've been staring at my computer screen for 12 hours, so I should rest my eyes.
Please keep praying for strength and a clear mind for all the volunteers.
Goodnight world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okkIfbPhUWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWrMFuC2z8

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365947/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Nothing-prepared-Alex-Thomson-Hell-Earth.html

Keeping posts up is hard. Lately I spend my days entirely at CRASH headquarters writing newsflashes and other things, so by the time I get home I'm too tired and brain dead to write blog updates. But I know everyone wants to know how things are going. Just forgive the lack of cohesion among my statements and if I repeat something I said in an earlier post - well, just ignore it.

Things continue to be really intense at the command center but I think we're moving along and each day everyone gets better at what they're doing.
Since we're all volunteers very few of us are actually trained in what we are doing.
I have been mostly focused on writing press releases and getting them posted to the crash website. It's a lot harder than one might think - gathering the news from various team leaders and then putting it in a newspaper-ish format. Since things are so intense here, diverting a leader from their work for even a moment feels like taking vital time away from relief efforts. But it's important to get the news out about what CRASH is doing so that people can see where the needs are and what prayers are being answered.
Today, for instance, some great news, CRASH has been promised 500,000 meals by Feed the Hungry. Our biggest problem now is getting it and other supply donations distributed. We need to raise a ton of money to pour into distribution so that we can get these supplies to where they need to be.

Our first team left at 7:30 this morning, bringing supplies with them, to head up to Sendai. Among them were my friends Erin, Drew, and Megumi. (follow Drew's twitter for up to the minute updates - http://twitter.com/the_goose84) Please keep them in your prayers, they had to drive within 40km of the nuclear reactors in Fukushima; hopefully they are fine, the wind was blowing away from the road toward the ocean so if there were radiated particles in the air, hopefully they weren't near the roads.
The team arrived in Sendai this afternoon and unloaded supplies but I have no other updates other than that it is snowing there. This is not such a good thing obviously, because it makes it much harder to work.

At around 3pm today several of the teams in the command center were moved to a different building so everyone could spread out more and not be so cramped. This was a good idea, but makes some communication between departments difficult. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Christian Academy in Japan, where we are based at the moment, are being totally awesome in letting us use their space, their internet, and their school laptops for the relief efforts. School is canceled until April 4th so we will continue to be able to use the space til then. After that we'll figure something else out. Since school is cancelled, a lot of their high school students have given their time to help out. They're really awesome people with hearts totally on fire for God. I wish I had been as cool as them when I was 16. My only memories of being 16 are of being rather awkward and still trying to figure out who I was.

Around 4pm we got some news that the group of high-schoolers who went out to Shibuya earlier today had been able to raise around $2000 by asking people for donations. This is completely awesome, not only because it's a large sum of money, but also because people in Tokyo are not normally very open to giving to charity, especially on the street. Also, I have to say, personally I'd be highly unlikely to donate money to a bunch of teens asking for it on the street of a city. Being a skeptical person, I'd be really doubtful of their authenticity. But apparently there were enough un-skeptical and generous people that the fundraising today was a huge success.

Well it's now half past midnight and I have to be up early tomorrow to head in.
I am really so blessed to be able to help out in such a time of crisis. I know a lot of people are feeling really helpless right now, wanting to help out but not having the opportunity. Please just do what you can - pray, donate, and tell others about CRASH so they can donate.

Just another quick note - I see a lot of people still worried about the reactors. And again I have to say that I don't know what to believe since reports seem to be conflicting. BUT whatever happens, I am going to go where God wants me to go. Right now, HERE is where He wants me, and I am so very very sure of this. As long as I can be of help, I am not leaving.

I'm writing this at 7:14am on Wednesday. We just arrived at the command center about 15 minutes ago after a 5:30am start. Traffic has been so bad that even though most things won't begin here til 9 we have to continue leaving early if we don't want to waste gas in traffic for hours.
A lot of the traffic is caused by the fact that most area trains are not running, so people are all driving if they're going to work at all. Most gas stations are rationing 20 litres per vehicle and the lines to get gas stretch for many blocks. Even this morning we saw cars lined up as far as 2 blocks at a gas station that wasn't yet open for the day.

The atmosphere here in Tokyo really feels like one of waiting. With aftershocks still happening (only last night there were a couple more in Fukushima of 6 magnitude which I felt clearly in west Tokyo) nobody can really get back to normal life. The nuclear situation seems to change every day and people aren't sure if they should worry or not. People back home in the US keep asking me about the nuclear reactors and I really have nothing I can tell that isn't in the news. I get all my information from the news as well and it's very hard to know what to trust. For now, to the best of my knowledge, Tokyo is a safe area radiation-wise. That's all I can speak for though since the situation changes so often.

Despite Tokyo not being one of the harder-hit areas, there has been a lot of panic buying of water and bread. A lot of people can't get to work because of the power outages and trains being stopped. It looks like it's going to take quite a bit more time before life can get back to a semblance of normality in Tokyo.


As for me, a quick update about what's been happening at the CRASH command center.
Things are moving along and the volunteers have poured in - What began with 6 or 7 volunteers the day after the disaster has grown to about 50 people at any given time working here at Matsukawa Place in Higashi Kurume.
My group in Kabe tried to get in to volunteer on Monday but we found that leaving at 8am was too late and traffic had gotten so bad we had to turn around or waste precious gas sitting in traffic. So we went back to the church and did what we could from there - answering phones, helping update the CRASH website, and putting together training manuals for teams going into disaster areas.
Tuesday (yesterday) we left much earlier, at 5am, and made it to the command center before 7. So, success! But a tired success.
I was put on the team that manages press and fund raising so I helped out by writing some of the press releases we are sending out, and putting CRASH news up on the web. It's very very important to keep attention on this disaster and the relief efforts of CRASH so that we can continue to get volunteers and funding as we prepare to send teams in.
The atmosphere here at the command center is one of intensity and concentration. We have separate teams working on press, volunteer coordination, communications, base camp assessment, and more. Yesterday volunteers were here working from before 9am through midnight and today is looking to be about the same. There is so much work to be done and with the nuclear situation so volatile our plans for teams could change at any time.

What we most need right now is: Prayer, bottled water to send into the affected areas, and funding. We have many teams who have volunteered to come from churches all across the world and help in the relief efforts, and as soon as our assessment teams can find safe places to set up base camps we'll start having those teams come in.

The volunteers here are really amazing. A lot of us are missionaries, but we also have a lot of normal people volunteeering their time and a huge amount of high school students from Christian Academy Japan which is next door to the command center.
Some of the youth went to downtown Shibuya yesterday and simply by asking people for help were able to raise about $400 in donations.

Don't think you can't help - please even if you can't donate your own money, you can help us spread the news about CRASH and help us raise funds.
Please share these links with as many people as you can:
CRASH Japan: http://crashjapan.com/
CRASH Japan Facebook page "Love On Japan": http://www.facebook.com/crashjapan
CRASH Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/crashjapan



Sorry if this post is a little disconnected. I'm not really awake fully. Today looks like it's gonna be another long day.

Well this seems like a good time to start posting again. With everything happening so crazily around here lately I'm trying to make sure I can get news out to as many people as possible about how things are going here.

Just a quick update about what's happened so far:

Update from March 12th

I am alright and so is Simon. Ome is about 280 miles away from the epicenter. School was in session when it hit here, but all the kids were at a park near the school for PE class, and so they were all safe. We were a little shaken by the earthquake but in our immediate area there was no damage other than some things being knocked off walls.

Where Simon lives (Koga, Ibaraki) is about 70 miles closer to the epicenter so it was rougher where he is. He and his housemate are both safe but there was quite a bit of damage to their house and the houses in their neighborhood. Aftershocks are still hitting and could continue for days but for now it looks like we are safe here.

Please keep the people affected by this earthquake in your prayers. This is the largest earthquake in Japan's history and the 7th largest in the world.

Millions of people are affected and thousands are missing. Please pray for the rescue of those in danger, for comfort for those who have lost loved ones, and for wisdom for authorities and relief organizations to know how best to respond in this time of crisis.

Update from March 13th

Just an update on what's happening with me. CRASH Japan is re-mobilizing after a relatively disasterless period. CRASH is a Christian disaster relief organization endorsed by JEMA (Japan Evangelical Missionary Association).

Saturday I went to church and Erin and I spent 9 hours there calling through a list of missionaries in the affected areas. We couldn't reach about 50% of the ones we called, and the ones we did get through to varied from people in lesser affected areas that were mostly fine, to people in more affected areas who were still slightly panicked and without water and electricity.
Erin and I compiled all the info and feedback from everyone into a database so that other volunteers can keep trying to contact people and can know where to send help.
CRASH will not be sending too many teams in right away since rescue operations are happening now, and unless people are trained professionals they'll just get in the way and cause more chaos.
We're going to be organizing data to find out where volunteers will be most helpful and what they can do so teams can go in from next week or so.

Today was crazy as well. Immediately after church we went to Higashi Kurume where the CRASH command center will be for the next month. We helped set some things up and Jonathan had a meeting for volunteers so he could explain what is needed.

School is canceled for tomorrow, so Erin, Anna, and I will be going in again to help at the command center. But as of Tuesday I think school will be back in session as normal.
We might be able to volunteer again during spring break - possibly by then more physical volunteer stuff will be needed and we can actually go in and help people in the affected areas.

As for how things are with us now - there are rolling blackouts across Japan to help conserve electricity until power plants can be repaired. The blackout times will be changed daily and they're for 4 hours at a time. Hopefully this won't affect school too much but we might have to be inventive with our lighting options.
All the gas stations in the area are either out of gas completely (with big signs up saying they have no more gas) or they have looooong lines of cars waiting to get gas. We passed a line of cars leading to the only open gas station in a 45 minute stretch - they were lined up for a good 5 blocks along the side of the road.

If you're hearing about the nuclear power plants and possible meltdowns - I don't have any new info, you're probably hearing all the latest.
Looks like there are a couple power plants in Fukushima that are threatening meltdown, but they are hoping that cooling them with seawater will help. If you look on this map


you can see where Fukushima is in relation to Tokyo. There is another power plant that has declared a state of emergency because radiation is leaking, but they're trying to find the source of the leak and they say that no levels dangerous to humans have leaked yet.
Whether or not the news can be believed is another matter. I don't know if we should be concerned or not. I'm going to opt for not being concerned since it wouldn't help anything anyway.

Will keep you all updated as I can :)