On Friday morning, after waking up and hearing the devastating news out of Japan, I headed off to work. Natural disasters are a horrible, horrible thing, but unless they directly affect you, it can be easy to not totally connect with the story. I went through my morning routine at work....clocked in, unlocked my office door, posted the daily schedule and went to grab my cup of coffee. Then I bumped into the wife of one of my residents. Her eyes were bloodshot and I could tell tears had recently stained her cheeks. Her husband is fairly new to my unit and I knew she was having a hard time adjusting to him being away from their home. (They're young by a retirement community's standards). Imagine my surprise when, after asking if everything was okay, she blurted out..."My granddaughter is missing. She was teaching English in Northern Japan and they can't get in touch with her". My heart stopped. Had this natural disaster worlds away really impacted someone I know on a personal level? I said "I'm sure the phone lines are downed and I'm positive all communication systems are jammed with everyone trying to get information." I still haven't figured out who I was reassuring more, her or myself.
I thought about them all weekend long. I said prayers and told people to keep them in their thoughts.
I didn't see her all day on Monday. I knew it wasn't a good sign. The 11:00 pm news only confirmed my suspicions. My resident's son and his wife's picture was all over my TV screen. Begging, pleading for any information. They had turned their kitchen into the command post. Spending their days since the quake on the computer, on the phone....scouring the internet...tweeting all the days long. They were in touch with the U.S. Embassy and were hopeful. She taught so close to the hardest hit area....and her apartment was even closer. Her parents believed she was teaching at a school where a tsunami evacuation plan was surely in place.
I prayed harder.
On Tuesday morning, I arrived to work early. We had our bi-monthly Family Forum breakfast. The wife of my resident walked in. Tears again streaming down her face....barely getting the words "They found her...she's alive!" out of her mouth before she was embraced by a sea of arms.
Thank God.
I've had a busy, busy day and when I finally logged onto facebook around 5:00 pm, I noticed someone posted a link about a missing Chesterfield county teacher. Turns out the Embassy official got it wrong. She wasn't at that school....she was at a different one. One in a harder it area....one harder to reach. I cannot imagine what those parents have been through..what the family has been through. 4 full days of not knowing anything....then pure elation.....and now back in their own Hell. The desperation, the emptiness, the fear, the anguish, the helplessness. I have no idea how they are coping.
But if you're a pray-er......send one up for Taylor Anderson.
You can read about it here.
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