Now that things have settled down a little, I wanted to write each
of you and provide an update on the earthquake, our mission and your
missionary. As you know, the 9.0 earthquake hit Japan at 2:46 p.m.
last Friday. At the time, we had 60 missionaries in the church next
to the mission home for training. Fortunately, the missionaries from
the areas of our mission that were were at most risk because of the
Tsunami (Urayasu and the Chiba Zone) were all here for that training.
It became obvious very quickly that this was a major quake. We had
just finished the training and were saying good bye to each other when
it hit. There is a field of grass next to the church without any
overhead wires and so I had all missionaries go outside and stand in
that field. The major quake lasted a long time--probably a couple of
minutes. It was followed by numerous aftershocks, which are still
happening today and may continue for some time, but the aftershocks
are smaller and becoming more infrequent and probably won't cause any
serious damage.
Because of the size of the quake, the trains all stopped running.
Fortunately, we have a lot of extra beds, futons, and blankets in the
mission home and so we prepared for a big camp out that night.
Immediately after the quake, our attention turned to making sure that
all the missionaries in our mission were safe. We couldn't reach them
by telephone because the phone lines, while working, were jammed. A
few months ago, all our missionaries received new telephones with
email capability. The email provided a lifeline to allow us to reach
all our missionaries. By 7 p.m. that night, we had contacted all our
missionaries and knew they were safe. We told them to stay close to
their apartments and away from the ocean and bays. For the two
companionships we couldn't reach directly, we had the bishops check on
and report that they were safe. Immediately after the earthquake, the
Presiding Bishopric's Office started contacting us every hour to see
how our missionaries were. As soon as we knew everyone was safe, we
notified the Presiding Bishopric's Office and then started putting an
email list of parents together so we could let you all know your
missionary was safe. You should all have received an email from us
the evening of the earthquake.
The next morning, I sent an early email to every missionary in our
mission (which they received on their telephones) telling them to (1)
buy a week's worth of groceries and water for their apartments, (2)
stay away from the ocean and bays, (3) email their parents that day
and let you all know they were okay--I'm sure it is comforting to hear
from your missionary directly, (4) stay away from any downed wires (if
there were any) or broken glass, etc. and (5) let us know of any
damage to their apartments or the church.
As you all know from watching the news, almost all of the damage is
north of Tokyo in the Sendai Mission. Our mission goes north of Tokyo
but not into the major disaster zone. There are 4 sets of
missionaries who were relatively close (approximately 81 miles/130
kilometers) to the failed reactors in Fukushima and, just to be safe,
I have moved all four sets into apartments with other missionaries
further away. The destruction from the earthquake and tsunami in
Tokyo was quite minor. There was an oil refinery that caught on fire,
there was significant liquefaction from the tsunami in one area of our
mission and a few cracks in the walls of some buildings. But,
miraculously, there wasn't any significant damage to any of our
missionary apartments (two microwaves fell off the counters and
broke). Our missionaries are back to doing missionary work and
providing service wherever they can. The biggest service project is
helping people clean up their yards and get their cars out in the
Urayasu Area where the liquefaction occurred.
While I am sure the news you are seeing on television is scary,
especially about the nuclear reactors, Tokyo is quite safe. With
regard to the reactors, on Sunday I was in a church meeting with two
people who are very knowledgeable about the nuclear situation in
Japan. One is a lawyer who defends the nuclear industry in Japan and
the other is a person associated with the U.S. Air Force security and
safety in the Far East. Both of them told me that, while the risk of
radiation problems in Tokyo is not absolutely zero, it is as close to
zero as you can get. They both said that because of the directions of
the prevailing winds, there is probably more radiation risk to Seattle
(although probably not much) than there is to Tokyo. Tokyo is south
of the reactors and the prevailing winds blow east and north, out to
sea.
Last night I personally called every missionary companionship in
the mission (right now we have 74 companionships) and made sure they
were all doing well and were safe. I told them for the next month or
so to always keep a week's worth of water and food in their
apartments. They are all happy, content and working hard. They are
even getting used to the aftershocks. The biggest problem we have is
that most of the grocery stores in Japan only carry enough food
supplies for a half a day and are restocked twice a day. Our
missionaries have all been able to get plenty of food but at certain
times of the day there might not be any bread or milk on the shelves.
This problem will correct itself soon. Gasoline is also a little
harder to get but that isn't a problem for the missionaries because
they all ride bikes. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was
supposed to be starting rolling blackout yesterday for 3 hours a day
in each area of Tokyo but that didn't happen yesterday and we are not
sure when, if at all, the blackouts will begin. With several of the
reactors knocked out, there will probably be some power shortages.
But, we are prepared for that and it shouldn't be a problem.
Overall, the Japan Tokyo missionaries are all happy, safe,
working hard and having a great experience. We are constantly praying
for the missionaries, members and people north of us. There is much
disaster and sadness up there but it all occurred 150 to 300 miles
north of us. I'm sure the news makes it look like all of Japan is
affected (and maybe of you probably think of Japan as a relatively
small island) but we are actually quite far from the destruction and
are safe and doing well.
We continue to monitor the situation very carefully. You can rest
assured that the church would not do anything to jeopardize the safety
of its missionaries. As your son or daughter's mission president, I
will do all I can to make sure the Tokyo missionaries are safe,
comfortable and continue to have a great experience. The missionaries
in the Tokyo Mission are absolutely wonderful and it's an honor to
serve with them. Thank you for preparing and sending them to our
mission. This is a time to pray for those in the Sendai Mission area
of Japan, especially those who have lost loved ones. I'm sure we will
see continuous miracles both in the safety and the hearts of the
people as the events unfold.
