Praying for Japan

Today, I am focusing on Japan.

In high school, I took two years of Japanese language. Yes, I went to a very small high school, and while many of my counterparts were taking the ever popular French language, I was privileged to be a part of a grant program that allowed me to take Japanese with an instructor that came to be with us from Japan. His name was Takeshi Sakai, and he was an amazing instructor. He had a young wife and a small child, and they loved being in West Virginia. They were from Gifu Prefecture, an area of Japan that is very similar to West Virginia with rolling hills and lots of green space. He inspired me to want to see the world, and that not only was there so much more outside of West Virginia, but there was so much more beyond the US. I kept in touch with them for a couple of years after they went back to Japan, but I have not heard from them in quite some time. I pray that they are safe today.

After taking that class, I dreamed of visiting Japan. Last year, on July 4, 2010, I was fortunate enough to make a stop in Japan! While traveling back from Taiwan, we switched flights at Narita Airport and spent about an hour on Japanese soil. Although I didn't get to "visit" Japan, I loved being able to understand some of the conversations and the posted signs. It was an experience I will never forget.

Jumping back to before I was ever even high school though, I had a Japanese pen pal. I was in elementary school, and my cousin (who went to another school) told me that they had developed Japanese pen pals as part of a class assignment. I asked her to send back my address, so that I could have a Japanese pen pal too! (Oh, the days of snail mail and having a real pen pal... there was no such thing as texting or Facebooking back then. Shocking, I know!)

A couple of weeks after sending my address to my cousin's pen pal, I got a letter from Reiko Miyoshi. She became one of my very best friends and over the course of about a year, we sent letters to each other very regularly. She often talked about wanting to come visit West Virginia, and that she would like for me to visit Japan as well. She was much older than I was though (probably late high school/early college age) and it was more realistic for her to come to the US because she also knew people in other states.

I went to 4-H camp that summer, and when I came home from camp, my mom rushed me to the airport. I had no idea what was going on, but while I was at camp she had opened my most recent letter from Reiko. She was arriving in West Virginia that day! (One of the only times I'm thankful that my mother has a habit of opening other people's mail...) Long story short, Reiko came and spent several days with me and my family, and I will absolutely never forget it! She showed me so much spirit and adventure (who just jumps onto a plane to West Virginia?!), and I am thankful that I got to know her.

Reiko and I exchanged letters for several more months after she returned to Japan, but then I stopped hearing from her. I'm sure that she got busy with life, as many of us do. She lived in Chiba Prefecture (one of the hardest hit with the most recent earthquakes). I do not know if she's still in Chiba, but I pray that she is safe today.

A friend posted on Facebook that he is praying through Psalm 46 for the people of Japan. I think it is most appropriate, and I ask you to do the same.

日本を祈ること