Violet on Easter Sunday. This was her Easter dress from last year. Gabe found it in a pile of mud and sand in our home after the tsunami. The cleaners did an amazing job and she was so pleased to see her dress again. It was a gift from Uncle Jesse and Aunt Maya.
I cannot believe it has been 49 days already since the tragic events of March 11th. The days have gone by so quickly and yet slow at the same time. Does that even make sense. I am sure it does not. We would like to begin by extending a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all of you who have lifted us up in prayer and to all of you who have graciously donated montary gifts to us. The outpouring of generosity we have experienced has been truly overwhelming and humbling. We received some of your letters as well in the mail from America. Our eyes were filled with tears as we read letter after letter expressing your love and concern for us. Even from people we have never even met. I cannot say it enough how overwhelmed we feel by all of the love. Thank you and may each one of you be blessed.
I will try to give you an update on how we have been these past 49 days.
We have spent our days in the care of our beloved お父さん and お母さん (Japanese for father and mother). We have experienced in the flesh Matthew 25:35-36:
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me."
The day we left the shelter in Mark's car we had no idea what our next step would be. Mark and his wife graciously fed and clothed us and offered us a bed to sleep in. The town of Sumita had no electricity but the warmth from the hearts of our friends warmed our spirits like no fire could. We will be eternally grateful to them for the kindness they bestowed on us.
The next day when the Yoshida's arrived we were surprised and grateful to see our dear "parents". We embraced and they immediately offered to take us to their home in Tono.
For 46 days now we have been in their care. They have treated us as if we were their own flesh and blood. They have shared their home and have fed us 3 meals a day. They have given up their privacy to share their home with us. They have taken their own clothes and clothed us. They have driven us to the hospital 4 times in the last month as we all suffered from colds and fevers (including, Violet, our 1 and a half year old daughter who suffered a fever of 106.1 and an ear infection). They have shared their hearts with us, their love and Christian fellowship. It has been a most humbling experience to be totally reliant on others. We have not been able to return to work yet as the schools are still not fully functioning. But the Yoshida's have told us we can stay as long as we need. They tell us not to worry. Relax, take time to think and prepare for the days ahead. We have experienced Christ's love in the flesh.
私たちは私たちの最愛のお父さんとお母さん（父と母のために、日本）の世話で私たちの日々を過ごしています。 35-36：私たちは、肉マタイ25で経験している： 私は空腹だったとあなたが私に何か食べるものを与えたために」、私はのどが渇いたとあなたが飲むために私に何かを与えた、私は見知らぬ人だったとあなたは私を招待し、私は服を必要とし、あなたが私に着せ、私は病気だったとあなたは私の後に見えた。 " 一日私たちは私たちの次のステップがどうなるか分からなかったマルコの車の中で避難所を残した。マークと彼の妻優雅に供給され、私たちに着せ、私達にで寝るためのベッドを提供した。住田町は電気がなかったが、私たちの友人の心からの暖かさは、可能性のない火のように私たちの霊を温めた。我々は、彼らが私たちに授け親切のために彼らに永遠に感謝するでしょう。 吉田さんは、私たちは私たちの愛する「両親」を見て驚き、感謝していた到着した次の日。我々は受け入れ、彼らはすぐに遠野の自宅に私たちを取ることを申し出た。 46日のために今、私たちは自分のケアにされている。私たちは、自分の肉と血であるかのように彼らは私たちを扱った。彼らは彼らの家を共有しているし、私たちに1日3食を与えています。彼らは私たちと彼らの家を共有するために彼らのプライバシーをあきらめた。彼らは自分の服を撮影し、私たちを服を着ています。我々風邪や発熱に苦しんですべてが（、バイオレット、106.1の発熱と耳の感染症に苦しんで私たちの1歳半の娘を含む）として、彼らは先月病院に4回私たちを牽引してきた。彼らは、私たちと一緒に彼らの愛とクリスチャンフェローシップを彼らの心を共有している。それは、他人に完全に依存することで最も屈辱的な経験をされています。私たちは、学校がまだ完全に機能していないとして、まだ仕事に復帰することができていない。しかし、吉田さんは、私たちがいる限り、私たちが必要として滞在することができます私たちに語っています。彼らは心配していない私たちを教えてください。リラックス、と思うと、今後の日の準備に時間がかかる。私たちは肉にキリストの愛を経験している。 私はそれがそんなに良いが私たちの霊が癒すできるように、この安全な場所を持っている私たちの心を行っていると言わなければならない
I must say that it has done our hearts so much good to have this safe place to let our spirits heal. At the same time we feel guilty and continue to worry about our friends that are still in shelters. We have lost friends and heard of other losses today. We can't understand why something like this had to happen.
We have only our faith to rely on for answers. Actually there are no answers but we have to have faith that God will carry us through this.
The aftershocks have lessened in their frequency and that is a blessing. My hair has stopped falling out from the stress, another blessing. I am beginning to be able to sleep better as my fears have begun to subside.
Gabe has been a rock through all of this. He has been an amazing support to me and to Violet. One blessing to come out of this is that Gabe has been able to spend more time with Violet and I than he has since she was born. She is really loving being with her Daddy everyday.
And Daddy is definitely loving time with Mommy and Violet (although he daily worries about what to do for the future of our family and is very eager to get back to work).
Children are so resilient. When we arrived at the first shelter she asked over and over to go home. She would say "Ready Go. Go home now." She would also ask for her favorite toys and books. That first night when I was trying to put her to bed I was able to tell her the two stories that we read at bedtime from memory and even though we have replaced them I have continued to do this as it seems to be the new normal for her. When we arrived at the Yoshida's she slept well because she had already slept here before and she now says "We're here! We're home!" everytime we drive up their driveway.
She has grown so much in the last 49 days. So many times when I look at her I see that she is no longer a baby anymore. Her vocabulary has exploded and we actually have conversations. In 49 days she has learned more Japanese than I thought possible. The other day I picked up a toy carrot and said "what's this?" She replied " A carrot". Then I said "what else do we call it?" "ninjin" she said. I didn't think she would actually reply. But she did and she was right! Sometimes she will say "Mama says 'I'm sorry', Baba says 'gomenasai'". It cracks me up!
She prays diligently at each meal with her hands folded ever so sweetly and says amen. She loves to hear Jiji read the Bible. At night when we pray she says the names of all the people on her mind. One night I said "We pray for all of the boys and girls who lost their mommies and daddies" and she said "for the orphans" I have no idea how she knew that word. She amazes me.
She is doing somersaults and conducting music.
She is singing songs and memorizing prayers all on her own.
She can make 5 word sentences.
Yesterday after her nap she woke up and said "Vivey needs something to drink.". The other day she looked at me and said "I love you so much Mama". Oh how my heart melted. It is beautiful to experience this life through her. She has helped us to perservere when we don't feel like we have the strength anymore.
We are so thankful for this new day and for all of your continued prayers.
We are still waiting on our names to be chosen for the temporary housing being built and we are still waiting to have work again.
But each day is a new adventure and we are praying for guidance every day.
We love you all and again thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Our Easter morning family photo. Taken in the garden behind our former pastor's home
