email from SIL, it is never ending....my rebuttal's in ()
Received this Reports and personal experiences from our dear brothers in
Japan are starting to come in thick and fast now. (so much for grammer)Here is a dramatic one from Brother Karl:
"All the congregations in our immediate area have reported
that all the brothers and sisters are accounted for. It is
believed that many of the brothers and sister who lived near
the coastline immediately headed for the high ground (flee
to the mountains) and were saved.
WHEN THEY FELT the earthquake and HEARD the sirens they acted
wisely. (Wow...)
Please keep your brothers and sisters here in Japan in your
prayers. Many have lost everything and ONLY have their brothers
and sisters now and maybe a few items that they have carried
with them. The brothers here are very organized as you might
have guessed and all will be cared for as soon as possible. (why would we have guessed that?!)
The news report says that from the time the 8.8 earthquake
hit and the first waves came it was less than 15 minutes in
some places. For 6 minutes the sea ONLY pushed and gained
momentum moving forward and pushing everything out of the way.
Then it started dragging everything back toward the sea.
Then it decided to come forward again so in effect it was a
giant washing machine . What a mess it made. (Really?!)
Japan is one of the most developed island nations in the world.
There is a tremendous amount of live footage from this disaster
and it is amazing to see huge oil tankers getting thrown around
like a toy boat. We will all no doubt be seeing this for many
weeks. It or a similar disaster could happen there close to you
so please be as prepared as you can. Think Ahead! Japan is
very used to tsunami's but nothing like this tsunami ever happened
before. Japan is used to earthquakes but nothing like this
has ever happened before. (Why is it amazing!? wouldn't a more appropriate word be terrifying?!)
Water mains are broken and electric power plants non-op are
all over the place.Not to mention reactors that they are
unable to shut down/turn off/cool down etc..etc
Inland and on the coast water and food and propane for cooking
and heaters and gas (in case you can drive to a relative or
friend in a safer area) are already in short supply.
Grocery stores are EMPTY! People are rushing to buy up anything
they think will better their chances for their daily survival.
Many people who did have a survival food supplies still lost
everything because their entire house floated away. It seems
the people in the hills are the ones who have more supplies
so it is good to think WHERE or with whom some emergency
supplies can be stored safely.
I tell you honestly that it is a very strange kind of scary
feeling when during the meeting we get a aftershock that shakes
the ground under the kingdom hall . Some sisters let out a
little scream and the brothers may have done the same. Our
Kingdom Halls are always build strong and nothing broke in
ours this time but it sure makes one think about where we
might be on the last hour of the last day of the system of
things. ???
One last amazing thing that I thought was awesome. The town
Sukagawa where our Kingdom Hall is has very little water right
now because the main water main is broken.
People are lined up a hundred deep or more to get water from
the water trucks that have been brought into the town. Our
Kingdom Hall was built on top of a spring and by the front
door there are two faucet's. The witnesses who live in the
town brought their water jugs with them to meeting to get water.
I was one of the water fillers. It was a great honor ( and a
good way to meet the brothers) and they are all happy because
they know where they can come and get fresh water. Their Kingdom
Hall has everything we really need. (I guess the Kinkgom hall and not their faith is what will eventually "save" them)