The bag is nearly packed, I’ve made most of the purchases I need, and of course, I still have that unsettling feeling that I’m forgetting something. Then there’s the thought of “did I pack too much? Do I really need that?” Fortunately, this is only a two-and-a-half week trip…if I were like my friends who’ve done one or two year stints somewhere, I’d be even more frantic. Please tell me it’s not just me.
I’ve a bundle of letters written by students at La Ballona Elementary School (Culver City, CA) to be delivered to the children in Sendai, words of encouragement from one group of students to another. I also packed my “Hope for Japan” t-shirt from my kids’ school, I want to make sure I take a photo with the shirt. The school also had all of the children sign a big poster that said “Nihon gambatte!” (“Perseverance, Japan!”), sent to Sendai last month. We’re going to Japan to remind the people there that they are not forgotten.
I don’t know how many children and families I’ll encounter, nor do I really know what I’d say to them. Our director Tommy warned both Donna and me that I should prepare to have my heart broken. Today at church, there was a family that was visiting, evacuees from Fukushima, here in Los Angeles for the next three months and hoping that there’s a chance they can stay here indefinitely. They can’t go home — they state that the evacuation area is now 60 km (just under 40 miles) from the nuclear plant. Again, what do you say to them?
Not every thought on my mind is as depressing. I’m packing away a pair of shorts, but as I seem to remember when Donna and I went to Japan before the kids (it’s hard to remember such a time, by the way…very hard), I was the only male wearing shorts. I’m also packing my “got sushi?” t-shirt which will likely cause a few puzzled looks. I’ve got my supply of omiyage, which is loosely translated as “gifts” but it’s far more complex than that. I’ve got a few boxes of chocolate-covered macademia nuts as well as a supply of pens and pencils with my school’s logo. I’m not Japanese enough to fully explain what omiyage is all about, I just know that bringing gifts wherever you go in Japan is a good thing to do. My innate American says this is a wonderfully twisted tradition that defies neat Western definitions, my inner Japanese accepts it for what it is.
We hope that our biggest gift is to bring hope — if all goes well, this will be the first year of an ongoing commitment to help rebuild the cities and — although this sounds a bit weird — rebuild the people of Japan. My Bible reminds me that earthquakes, like other disasters, will take place in this life. My Bible doesn’t offer clear explanations (at least to me) as to why these disasters happen. My Bible tells me that God is there in the midst of disasters. What I hope I learn on this trip is somehow tying together, even loosely, all of these different truths.
My sense of humor, warped as it is, has generally gotten me through many of life’s difficult moments. I apologize now for the likely onslaught of irrelevant and perhaps sometimes inappropriate comments that will appear in future postings. Yet I wonder if that sense of humor will be tested on this trip.
Gotta finish up packing. Thanks for reading. Please keep praying, we need it.
Did I buy enough chocolate-covered macademia nuts?
