Earthquakes, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdowns

This has been a week that I figure has been one of the most difficult I can remember.  Tragedies have been something that has become almost routine in the world here lately but the mess in Japan transcends even the terrible trouble in the Middle East…at least for us it’s more personal.  Many of you may know that my wife’s mother is in a suburb of Tokyo and we have been to Japan twice and have many people we love there.  My wife lived in Japan with her mother for some time before we were married carrying for her mother when she had a major surgical procedure. The current situation is that we are attempting to transfer money to my MIL’s account so she can return to the Philippines.  She has been preparing to retire and return to the Philippines for some time…fact is she planned to be back there by the end of next month.  Her finances were tied up in this process and who could have predicted this happening in the middle of all her plans?  The trouble now is most getting her to the airport.  We saw just how difficult it was to get back and forth from the airport on our trips there…many hours by train and bus and now with the rolling black outs and damaged roads this is much more complex not to mention the long lines of people trying to get out of Japan.  Please remember this in prayer and do not forget the people of Japan…the situation with the nuclear plants is a problem that we cannot ignore.  I intend to put up pictures of our trips to Japan as soon as I finish the ones I have for Chicago…I still am struggling to comprehend this disaster.

 

One of the best things I think I have experienced from our travels is meeting new friends.  One of my favorite on this last trip was Kwami.  This guy has about as much charisma as you could ever have!  He graciously drove us to see the sights in Chicago…one of them being the pier…if you think it looks cold you’re quite right!  Fortunately there was plenty to see inside so we occupied ourselves with the things they had where it was warm!  There was a large old bell that I thought was amazing to see.  With a final glance at the cold sight outside we pressed on.  The stained glass inside was so beautiful!  It actually reminded me of some of the sites we saw in Irelandbut this had a flavor all its own..the details was remarkable and the colors shown so beautifully as the sun shined through them.  I have to admit I didn’t know what to think of the modern stained glass artbut some things that were new had spectacular meaning and I liked it a lot.  Once again an opportunity arose to take some pictures outside so I stepped out and took a few more shotsThe buildings were shrouded in a frosty fog…it was time to head back inside!  The stained glass windows in this section of the building spoke of a spring that’s now much closer to us!  These are flowers even my black thumb couldn’t kill!  I had to smile at some of the old pictures they had on the wall!  At this point we were hungry so Pastor Leeford brought us to “Bubba Gumps”.  The food was really good but I thought it was overpriced.  The Africans all had coconut shrimp…it figures!  My Canadian friend Rick had a shrimp smorgasbord !  On the way home I only got one lousy picture of the famous Chicago Bean though the window of the car in the middle of heavy traffic.  We were headed home at that point and I’m bringing this blog home for now!  I continue to thank those of you that are praying for us.  Good thoughts sound good but don’t do much…these are times when we must remember God who delivers.  Blessings to you all!