Happenings

What a crazy week. It has been a roller coaster of emotions and new experiences this week.

It really was an ordinary week for the most part until Friday. Let me preface this story by saying we are fine. Saipan is fine. And I don't want this to make light of the situation in Japan in any way. We were blessed that our tiny island was not effected. Thank you for your prayers and concerns.

Josh called tell tell me there had been an earthquake in Japan and that we were under a tsunami warning. I flipped.

It kind of took me back to first grade when we were still living in Michigan. Tornado warning. It was the end of the school year, and the end of the school day. We knew what to do, we filed into the hallway, sat "indian style" with our hands over our necks. We weren't really told anything, I mean what do first graders need to know anyway. But it scared the crap out of me. There were so many unknowns. How far was the tornado? When was it gonna hit? Where were my parents? Would my mom know that they weren't letting me leave the school? Would she know that she had to come in and get me so I could go to the basement with them? Were they gonna leave me at the school thinking I was most safe there? Would they even have time to get to me?

It all came rushing back. There were so many unknowns at that point. When? How big? Where should we go? Do we need to stock up on water? Gas up our car? Did I even have enough gas to make it to the gas station from my school? I just wanted to get home where I was pretty sure we'd be safe. We did all the necessary things. Called our friends to make sure they knew and called our families so they'd be aware of the situation. If you do the math, it was well past midnight in Texas at this point, but I knew if I didn't call I'd be in more trouble than I would be for waking them.

After we got all the information, it was a much more calm situation. We had a couple of hours from the time Josh first called me until the waves were projected to hit the island. We made it home and planned to stay "on the hill" for the rest of the night.

We did get some large waves on our beaches. The brunt of the force was seen on the north end of Saipan. The north end of the island is wall of cliffs dropping to the sea. So even though there was a 3 foot tsunami, the beaches and low-lying villages did not take the hit, the cliffs absorbed the impact.

We spent a lot of time at the beach Saturday, not swimming, but watching people swim. Saturday was the Xterra Triathlon. We had several friends competing both in the full race and the half. Watching the water that morning it was still evident that something was not right with the sea.

The western coast of Saipan is surrounded by a large reef that usually blocks the beaches from waves. We rarely see more than a ripple of water at the beach. It started out pretty calm but within 10 min of the race beginning, the water changed. As spectators we could seen this surge water coming in to the shore. Big waves, in the lagoon. Like Texas beaches, waves big enough to boogie board. After the race our friend told us that they could feel the change in the water. The current was crazy, at one point it'd be behind them pushing them toward the shore (west), and in a split second it would be pushing them in the opposite direction.

Despite the challenges posed by the crazy waters, our friends did great in the race. Bryan came in 10th overall and 1st in his age group! He even beat several of the Professionals that were competing. Josh has the action shots from the day, we'll get some of those up soon.

We are happy for our friends and the accomplishments they made this weekend. We are thankful for the protection of our little island. We are praying for the people of Japan. That they will be able to find God in the mist of all the devastation.

Please continue to pray for the island of Saipan. Our biggest industry is tourism and within that industry the largest numbers of tourists come from Japan. In fact, most of the marketing strategies that the department of tourism uses are developed for and directed solely at the Japanese. There is no doubt in our minds that we have people on island, tourists and possibly students, whose lives have been changed by these events even though they did not experience it first hand. The effects of the earthquake and tsunami on our tourism industry will be felt on this island for many months to come.