Prayers for Japan

Joe told me first thing when I woke up the other day about the earthquake in Japan.   I immediately grabbed my cell phone to see if my friend Vicki had posted anything on Facebook.  Vicki lives south of Tokyo.  She works for the Dept. of Defense schools.  She and her husband work at an Army post there.  Vicki had posted and said they were safe.  Vicki and I know each other from when I lived in Okinawa.  It was 1991 -1994.   Vicki was a DODDS teacher where my kids went to school  and I was a military wife stationed there.  We taught childrens choir at Koza Baptist Church.  I know two families that still live on Okinawa from my days  there, the Russells and Reimers.  The Reimers posted and said they did not feel any effects.  Vicki said they are out of gas at the stations there.  I know there must be a lot of fear over the nuclear reactors. 

I loved living in Japan.  The Japanese are wonderful, hard working, honest people.  They can survive this and thrive.  There is an Okinawan lady who is a custodian  at my work.  She is in her 60s and can work circles around me any day.  I pray for the country and for their safety from the after effects. 

When I lived on Okinawa we would have ground thunder.  We lived across from the beach.  It would sound like a big truck moving quickly.  However, there were not any highways for big trucks to speed down.  The Okinawan lady who did sewing for me told me that next time I heard that sound, I should go upstairs.  I did not really know what a tsunami was at that time.  I think I may have been more afraid if I knew then what I know now.  My sew lady knew about a tsunami and was telling me to go to higher ground.  We did have a few actual tremors that shook our cinder block town house.  There were four townhouses connected made from cinder blocks and it would shake.  The hangers in the closet would start to rattle and the towels would swing back and forth.  That is enough of an earthquake for me.  We were not in a good location for a tsunami since Okinawa is a small island. 

I will be praying for the military families stationed in Japan and the Japanese people.  It will be hard times ahead for everyone.