Everyone is at home now--it's late Monday night. The news coverage of the earthquake is shocking and we are having a hard time absorbing it all. 

Gordon gave the message at Soshin Baptist Church yesterday morning. He had prepared his message around his story of climbing Mt. Fuji last summer and the power of prayer. He was concerned that is was not appropriate given the tragedy we all are experiencing. However, many gave thanks for the encouraging message. God knew and used Gordon and his translator, Mari.

Today, Gordon reported the stores were jammed with shoppers stocking up on groceries and necessities. He discovered this on his usual shopping trip. The lines were extremely long, but most people seemed to be coping OK. At the biggest supermarket nearby, items like rice and instant noodles were low or sold out. Some gas stations have run out of fuel. Rolling blackouts were announced Sunday night, but have not occurred yet in our area. They are planning to have rolling blackouts through the end of April.

Our neighborhood and the areas we have seen are fine. The biggest inconvenience we had was the stoppage of the trains. This let Gordon have an 9 hour adventure getting home on Friday from a prayer seminar. He waited 2 hours for a bus then sat on that bus for 6.5 hours. He walked another half an hour to make it home by 1 am.

We live on the top of the highest hill in Yokohama. We are away from the bay although you can see the bay from the school. The school is an emergency evacuation site.

Approximately 400 students were detained at school on Friday due to the trains not running after the earthquake. They were all finally picked up by their parents by noon on Saturday. Their adventure was a sleep-over (?) at the school and they got to eat "can pan"--hard biscuits (pan) and rock sugar stored in a can for emergencies--and water.

All Soshin School activities and trips have been canceled until the end of the month, the exception being the senior high graduation ceremony. At this time, they will hold a ceremony for the students and parents only.

We are still concerned about our friends and relatives in Fukushima, Sendai and Miyako. Please continue to pray for survivors and rescue workers. Pray that Christians will testify to the power of God and that God would give faith to people in Japan. May God be glorified! 

Thank you for your prayers.

Lee Ann and Gordon

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