Several people let me know today about the Samaritan's Purse delivery of food etc. for Sendai. I was really happy to know that they had coordinated with CRASH the Christian organization that OMF is partnering with in the relief effort on this end for delivery to evacuation centers, especially ones the government hadn't gotten to yet. The main problem so far is not that there is no food, but that it's difficult to get food from collection depots around Sendai into the area evacuation centers. Sendai was able yesterday to receive a supply ship at their port.
Read a report from one of our missionaries in Sendai who seems to be having the time of his life ministering and witnessing to Japanese people.
Read one comment that it would be good if people in developed countries made sure that missionaries who are already serving here were fully supported before just donating willy nilly to the general 'cause'.
Two OMFers doing some scouting along the coast to see where we should send a team, got government permission to get gas and to travel on the expressway rather than the back roads. It really pays to have people on the ground who know how things work here and follow accepted cultural procedures. Doing it the Japanese way is important for getting things done and being accepted.
Remember that if you want to look at the pictures more closely, click on the slide show and when you get to Picasa you have lots of options. You can even comment there if you like.
4 comments:
How are the Japanese people generally? Are they frightened or determined to survive or a mixture of the two? I was just wondering when you hear people talk about the earthquake what kind of attitude have.
Today when I went out at 3:30 am for rice delivery to the homeless, I noticed that, with the exception of intersections, all the street lights are turned off. All gas stations along the route were closed. Even Shibuya was dark with lights under the bridge all off. many 24 hour stores were closed or with reduced lighting. There is a good effort to save power.
Jaime Marie-people seem aprehensive because it is impossiblle to predict what will happen next on the nature/weather front, but they are getting on with what needs to be done. As Julie says, there are visible efforts to save power. Reports from the north are that local people are organizzing clean up where they can.
Thanks Georgia for the update x
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