don't forget about sendai.

(hirosaki castle in northern japan)

with all the craziness going on in the middle east, it seems like the news media has forgotten about sendai. well sorta.

for those of you that don't know, i served my mission in sendai almost 10 years ago. the tragedy there in those cities is indescribable.

i could go on and on about how beautiful the country side is there in sendai. it seriously feels like you've taken a step back in time to an incorruptible land and time when you travel through northern japan. the juxtaposition of the rice farms as far as you can see as the bullet train rips you along the country side is astounding.

(me, yukari, and shinbori when i went back in 2005)

it's been a brutal week or so watching the news of cities that i once knew report this disaster or that. most of my friends have been safe and without major disruption. many are without gas, sporadic electricity and food shortages. my mom's cousin is the mission president in sendai right now we get intermittent updates on the state of affairs in the area regarding to church. what's even more amazing is that for the most part many if not all members of the church are doing ok. plus, my old mission president is currently serving a public affairs mission in tokyo right now too, so we get updates on that front as well. you can read the official stuff here.

MSNBC covered did a piece on this for their world blog. it's a nice piece. you should read it.

they also did an interesting profile/interview of one of the missionaries who witnessed his bike get washed away in the flooding. that's an incredible story too.

for now, the best way to help is to donate money. supplies and the like are hard to get to the places needed, the most flexible help is money. either via the red cross or lds.org.

(this lady (unknown to us) just wanted to share the love for our camera)

for those that don't know. there are tons of old people in northern japan. this the second major life altering national tragedy that have had to endure. i feel so bad for them and wonder how in the world are they going to put their lives back together after this nightmare. i just wish the air force needed japanese speaking dentist to send to sendai to help out.

i wish there was more that we could do. it's tough sitting here sitting on my hands not being able to mobilize the willing to go and help over there. in the mean time, don't forget about sendai and the whole country of japan...