March 11, 2011

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. "

~2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Needless to say, this day changed my life forever. This last week has been one of the longest and exhausting weeks of my life. I think I have felt every sort of emotion a human being can possibly face and I know it isn't over yet. What I have experienced will take time to heal from but I know that God will be with me through it all.

Right now, Ally and I are sitting in the Tokyo Haneda Airport waiting for our midnight flight. We have been here since 10 am this morning and have 8 hours more of waiting. I think today is the first day that I have not shed a tear. I would like to say that yes the majority of my tears were shed w/ sorrow but there were some that were shed w/ JOY. This tragedy has caused much devastation in all of Japan and throughout the majority of our world, but I would like to focus on a different side of it all.

I truly believe that there IS a reason for everything, and that God's Light WILL shine in ANY situation. It may be hard to understand His reasoning behind it all and I don't know if we ever will, but here is what I do know.

The moment that ground began to shake, people started calling out God's name. The moment the news was aired in the States, people were flooding my facebook with messages of prayer and concern. I was seeing and hearing God's name everywhere, our world was turning their eyes upon Him. Our only hope in this world is God and this experience has definitely solidified that.

The Sunday after the quake, my co-workers and I evacuated to the Misawa Air Force Base up in Northern Japan. They housed us, fed us, and gave us a warm shower, words will never be able to express how much gratitude I have for them. The same with MeySen Academy. MeySen has definitely been so strong in this whole situation. Not only are they caring for us foreign staff but they are also able to provide and care for the citizens of Japan that are still suffering from lack of food, water, and shelter. These people have made a commitment with the Lord and they are living it out right now as we speak. I'm sure it is not easy for them to stay behind knowing the risks that they have to face. However, they are allowing God to use them to help those in need. If you would like to help MeySen continue to aide those in need, please continue to prayer for them. I will keep you posted on when and where you can donate money if you wish to do so.

God's light is shining bright right now. The earthquake was His way of saying "HELLO," now all we need to do is answer back. Keep praying for the people of Japan, but let's also continue to praise our God because he has definitely been with this country through all this pain.