Normally we would be wishing you a very happy new year at this moment, and in fact we do wish you a happy new year, but for many here in Japan New Year’s Day was anything but happy. A huge earthquake struck near the Western coast of Japan (several hours away from us here in the Tokyo area). While I am thankful that we are all fine and nothing in our house or area suffered damage (that I know of), we are just beginning to see how bad the damage is in the affected area. If you or your family were affected by this earthquake, our hearts go out to you. We are praying for your recovery.
But prayer is just a part of our response to tragedy. Our Paz International team sent several relief and aid teams to help after the infamous Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011. Years later, when the Kumamoto earthquake struck, we sent a number of relief teams into that area and I was blessed to be a part of it. If need be, our Paz team would once again mobilize our members towards another relief effort to do whatever we can to help those affected by this disaster.
Living in Japan you become very conscious of the fact that you can’t take anything for granted. We are so thankful for all of the prayers and concern of everyone who has messaged us, asking about our safety. We ask that you continue to pray for those affected by the earthquake.