From the Land of Tomorrow

An update from my sister, Debbie, who lives in Iwaki, Japan - in the Fukushima prefecture, near the nuclear plant.

She is quite shaken - physically and emotionally. It is truly a miracle that Masato and her are together. They live 15-18 km from the ocean, and within 20 km of the nuclear plant. Masato works close to the ocean. His car was the only car not swept away and that could start in the parking lot. The water was up to the tires. He was able to get to Debbie. They shook for an hour during the initial earthquake. Their 3rd floor apartment, in case of a Tsunami, would be safe unless it was a huge Tsunami. The earthquakes in Iwaki, where they live, have a jolt kind of feeling. The earthquake night they slept in the church as it is a newer building with better earthquake building technology. They did not want to be on the third floor with all of the aftershocks. Then they went to Funehiki, 45 km from the plant. That is where she lived and worked first before moving to Iwaki. There, the aftershocks are felt more like a swaying or rocking back and forth. She can hear the earth rumble before she feels the swaying as the earth continues to move beneath them. They have 2-3 days worth of clothes with them and she has her passport. Masato does not have his. Iwaki has no water, no gasoline, no food, no electricity. It is good they are not there, especially with the radiation issues. Funehiki has water, gasoline, limited food, and limited electricity. All of her friends are accounted for, scattered, but alive. On March 20th, they have tickets to get to Hokkaido, where they have friends who are there and have prepared everything that they need. I think that means they will leave their car in Funehiki. Also, if she has to leave Japan, it will be easier for her to leave from Hokkaido than it is to try to get to Narita. At this point in time, they have peace at this time about the decision to move farther away from their home, again.

Please keep praying for them as well as all of Japan during this difficult time.