First People We Met

When we got to Furukawa, the first people we met were the Asano's.  They are the go-to people with Mormon Helping Hands there.  They are the cutest Japanese people.  You just meet them and you instantly love them.

Sorry, not a very good photo of Sister Asano.

Shortly after arriving, I had a few minutes alone with Sister Asano.  She shared her story with me.  It was fascinating.  Last night, before we left Furukawa, she approached me and asked if I wanted a printed copy of what happened to her.  I was thrilled.  Only one problem, it's written in Japanese.  She asked me to make copies for everyone else, so I will.  I will also try to come up with a translation, so I can check the accuracy of my understanding of her story.  For now, this is her story as I understood it on my first night in Furukawa.

The day of March 11th, she was helping a woman in the ward who owns a floral business.  She'd been helping her a lot around that time and her shoulders were starting to hurt with all the lifting she was doing.  Because of that, she had called her husband to come help her, so he did.

They were 25 minutes away from their home in Higashi Matsushima doing deliveries for their friend.  Brother Asano's mother, who lives with them (very common in Japan for the eldest son to be the caretaker for his parents), was at the hot springs, so she wasn't home either.

Sister Asano told me the exact time of the earthquake--2:46pm.  As I spoke with people, one thing I noticed, you can ask nearly any person from northern Japan about the earthquake, and they'll tell you what time it began.  It was THAT intense.  She said it was like nothing she'd ever experienced before.  It was three gigantic earthquakes--one right after another.

They heard, shortly thereafter, that a tsunami was coming.  She said that because they were in the car, they were safe. They headed for higher ground.

This is their hometown now:

Higashi Matsushima - August 2011

Their home was completely destroyed.  They went back three times to retrieve things, but there was nothing to salvage.  They left it all behind and moved into a shelter.

Sister Asano shared that her time in the shelter was some of the best times of her life.  She said the first thoughts in her mind as they drove that day--March 11th--were the words spoken to Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail.  She knew tough times were ahead.

She said she knew that it wasn't going to last forever but that she had to make the best of whatever she was given.

She also said, "You know what we learn about losing yourself in the service of others and that if you do that you will truly be happy?  Well, I learned that that's true."

While in the shelter, there were others who had lost so much more than the Asano's had.  There were families who'd lost children and other loved ones.  The Asano's knew they had been very blessed.  They spent their time concentrating on how they could bless the lives of all the others in the shelter.  She said there were no volunteers, just the victims.  They had to make the best of it.  She said there she was truly happy.  She lost herself in the service of others.  In so doing, she made some great friendships.  She said she still talks to them on the phone all the time.

Here's a woman who had lost all of her worldly possessions.  She lived in a very nice neighborhood and had a very secure life.  Suddenly, she had nothing yet she was happier than she'd ever been?  Wow!  What a lesson to be learned.

Over time, the church put the Asano's in charge of the Helping Hands effort in Furukawa.  They greet each person that comes to help.  If there is no international driver's license, Brother Asano plays "taxi driver" and gets the workers where they need to be.  He is also the contact person for the people in the devastated cities.  He arranges what needs to be done and who's going to do it.

This means that this man holds a meeting every morning, Monday through Saturday, at 7:10am.  Before that, he opens the church and goes and picks up the people staying in the farthest away apartment.  He directs all the workers on getting out the equipment and supplies--including the food boxes for those who have recently moved back into their homes and still have nothing.  During the meeting, he makes sure to tell all the workers two specific things--where to go if you need to use the restroom and where to go if there should be another tsunami.  He warns about wearing masks and not stepping on nails and he makes sure there is always a group prayer to begin the day.  He drives if needed, acts as tour guide at times and ends some of his days by greeting the new Helping Hands workers as they arrive; sometimes this is late at night.  This is a man who has everyone's best interest at heart.

Last night, knowing we were leaving, he and his wife threw a takoyaki party for us.  They had three takoyaki cookers going and made little bread balls with octopus, green onion and red ginger in them.  He wanted to make it a special occasion to see us off.  He does this for everyone who comes to work.

Honestly, I know very few people like that Asano's.  They may very well be the richest people I know.

More Traveling Vids

Traveling Vids

It took us a long time to get out of Tokyo.  Well, at least it seemed like it did.  In reality, we arrived in Tokyo at 4:55am and got on the bus to Sendai by 9am.  We arrived in Sendai at 2pm.  Good times.

Japan Video #1

This was when we first arrived at the airport.  I have a number of videos of our travels.  I'll post them as I can.

It was difficult to find a bus to Sendai, but we got it done.  We ended up on a number of trains first.  Fun times!  We caught the bus at 9am and arrived in Sendai at 2pm.  Made some friends on the bus on the way there.

One woman came up to me when the bus stopped for a ten minute break.  I thought later how brave she was to approach me not knowing if I spoke Japanese.  She spoke to me very slowly at first "Konnichi wa."  She wanted to know why we were in Japan.  I told her and she told me that she was grateful to us for coming and that knowing that, she wanted to cry.

Later, she approached me again and asked if she could introduce us to everyone else (on the bus, I think) and tell them why we were here.  She said she wanted everyone to clap for us.  I turned her down.  Oh my goodness...embarrassing.

When we arrived at the station, she followed us around for quite a long time.  My traveling buddies said she was all teary.  What?  Okay.  Funny.

I sat across from a man named Shingo from Hokkaido.  He was sitting typing away on his computer doing something that looked really important.  I couldn't help myself, I had to know.....So, I turned to him and asked if he was typing in Japanese or English.  He was typing so fast.  I wondered how he typed Japanese on an English keyboard, so he showed me.  It is SO COOL!  You type the sounds--Japanese is all syllabic, so if you type the word "mizu," which is "water," you type "m-i" the hiragana character for "mi" comes up then you type "z-u," and the hiragana for "zu" shows up.  After that, you push the space bar and it turns into kanji.

Anyway, after that, the lady came back and asked me where I was from.  When I told her Oregon, he chimed in with, "Oh, I went to Oregon."  He was speaking Japanese--we had been the whole time, but then he shared that he had gone to New York University for his Masters degree.  WHAT?!  He speaks ENGLISH?!  Well, you'd better believe the Japanese went right out the window.  We sat and chatted about everything.  It was pretty darned great.

Japan!!!

I was going to post a video from Japan, but the server is rejecting it.  Ugh!  I have so much to share.  Wish I had more time to write.  We're struggling to find a place out here in Furukawa to get internet access.  DARN!  It's been an amazing ride.  I realized today, while we were working, that had #1 not come, I would not have been working.  We plus one other are the only ones here, and all the rest are men.  So glad she's here.

Here's a photo from yesterday and today.

The view from the train in Tokyo.

How could I not take a photo of "Freshness Burger?"

The taxi in Furukawa just after arriving.

Before going to work this morning.

The leaning tower of Ishinomaki--right across from the house we worked in.

One of the houses we worked in.  The water line was just above my head.

The apartment complex we're cleaning out.

First we have to clean the walkway.

Our crew.

So, I will try to find a better source for internet, but if not, please check back from time to time.  Please be patient.  I will post A LOT when we return.  Sooner if possible.