A letter from Bill Geppert in Japan
November 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
It has been almost eight months since the Great Eastern Earthquake and Tsunami.
The Japanese for tsunami is made up of these two characters: 津浪, the meaning being, the left side kanji, port or harbor, and the right side kanji, wave. It does not signify a large wave as out on the beach but the large wave that suddenly comes into the port or harbor and wreaks havoc there. No doubt the kanji originated back in Japan’s history, when an earthquake brought this large wave into their protected ports and destroyed the fishing villages. The worst tsunami were those that came without warning. The earthquake was across the Pacific, and the people had no idea it was coming. The opposite also remains true when a Japanese earthquake would send out a tsunami. This time, Hawaii was well prepared, but the wave was not very big and did very little damage. But the next time may be different. In this day and age science can prepare us for what is coming and give at least some warning and time to run. But just a century ago the science wasn’t there to alert people. People well understood that they would have to be alert or suffer the consequences. And if it was the latter, there was simply no government to complain to. It was a force of nature that destroyed their lives, or it was attributed to some deity that wiped them out for one reason or another. In any case, the people left alive would rebuild their lives and start over.
This tsunami came with just under 20 minutes warning for those on the coast nearest the epicenter of the 9.0 undersea earthquake. It has been determined that there was a huge uplifting of rock that created the tsunami. The seabed is some 6,000 feet beneath the surface. It was a big surprise even for the scientists. The depth and size of the earthquake and tsunami were not expected at all. I think the theme for this letter is the word preparedness. I would like to reflect on what being prepared means while we are living our earthly life and being watchful in our spiritual life.
For those who suffered the March disaster, it was a terrible loss of life and property. Did they not know it could happen? Many complain that the government disaster warning system was ill prepared for such a large disaster. “They should have known, and should have had a complete system in place before it happened.” “The nuclear power plant should have at least doubled their estimates of what was possible.” In point of fact, the nuclear power plant was prepared for double what they thought could ever strike the coast in an ET disaster (ET is my acronym for earthquake / tsunami). The ET was far larger than they could ever imagine. The scary part of all this is that Japan is the best-prepared country in the world for earthquakes and tsunami. If Japan can be caught off guard, what about other countries like the United States, Canada and Australia? It really isn’t the country or government that was caught off guard here, but the individual people. Any group comprising watchdog set-ups and the like still involve all the individuals who make up that group. As I asked above, did they not know it could happen?
Is there some vague aura of "we are in charge"–ness about a group or commission or even government that causes people to be much less prepared for the truly unexpected? “If it is really serious, they’ll tell us.” In this case the warnings for a 7-10-meter tsunami were being broadcast before the first one hit shore. Some people were already on the run, because a five-minute earthquake that caused a lot of damage was reason enough to get well away from the coast. Others simply could not get away for one reason or another, and some unfortunately ran to disaster centers that would have protected them in a 3-4-meter tsunami but were simply swept away in the 10-15-meter tsunami. The greatest loss of life seems to have happened to people who were indecisive about what to do, did the wrong thing, or concentrated too much on the earthquake damage and never thought about the possibility of tsunami.
One elementary school had its students waiting out in the recreation area while teachers and staff were trying to determine the best course of action. The hillside next to the school was somewhat covered with ice and snow and so was eliminated as a possible evacuation resource. There may have been wise teachers and staff or even students whose voices were drowned out by the “need to stay calm and not do anything rash,” as determined by the group leaders. Unfortunately, the whole school was inundated and almost all the students and staff perished.
One mother who lived near the coast immediately went to the preschool after the earthquake to check on her child. She then, for whatever reason, drove back to her house with the child. Their car was later found after several weeks. The sad part was that every preschool and all their children in all three prefectures were kept safe and sound from the earthquake and tsunami. They did not lose a single child. But several children disappeared after having been returned to their parents.
A number of people were caught by surprise when they were driving their vehicles either away from the coast or going along the coast, hoping to get somewhere safe. Some, like the unfortunate mother and child, were actually driving towards the disaster (I believe in many cases to try to get stranded loved ones or trying to get some belongings and important documents from their homes or offices).
The earthquake here where I live lasted one minute and was quite gentle, like a ship on the ocean. I came down to the first floor main office and with other staff watched the television stations that were already warning of the tsunami and were actually showing live coverage of the devastation as it was happening. Everyone who watched could see the waves and the surprised drivers being caught up in the last moments of their lives. One camera focused on a pair far away in the center of downtown who were on the roof of their four-story dwelling and still being washed by the top of the wave. As it turned out, it was a granddaughter saving her grandmother by getting her higher and higher, all the way to the roof and then holding on in a rushing torrent and fortunately surviving. They had no car to evacuate with and thought they’d be safe in downtown in a four-story building.
I have thought about this for the last eight months. What would I have done had I been up there on the coast? Would I have been better prepared for such an emergency? In hindsight, I probably would not have been as well prepared as I like to think I am. I do have a two-week supply of water and food, along with enough kerosene to heat the place and cook with here in Nagoya, but is that enough? I think it depends more on where you are, and when it happens, than on what most people expect. If I am at home, I’ll be prepared. If I am at school, I’ll be prepared. But if I am on the train when it happens, I may be in real trouble. Or if I am downtown when it happens, I may not be able to get back home.
In retrospect, I think it is what is really in your heart and mind that determines your preparedness for such disasters. For most of us, it is all the little disasters along the way that occupy our attention. As for me, I have survived them all. It has been a long roller-coaster ride, with some real heartaches, and there have been times when I simply didn’t know if I could keep going. But somehow I did. However, there will come the time when I will face a life-or-death challenge, and it may be that death will be the only choice. What then will I do? Death comes to us all, and not all of us can sort of sneak up on it. Disasters, sudden illnesses, accidents and the like happen all the time to people. We may survive, or we may be in the last minutes of life.
I think Jesus pointedly looked into the hearts of men and women and sought to draw out of them the response that would determine their fate. It is not a fate that we are helpless to do anything about. Rather, it is a determination to stand up and make a decision about life. For the Samaritan woman at the well, the Syrian-Phoenician woman who barged in on Jesus’ R and R time, and Zacchaeus, who hung down from a tree limb, it was a question of making a choice that would determine their preparedness for what was happening right then and for the future.
Perhaps there is little or nothing we can actually do when a disaster strikes, but there is so much we can do if we have prepared our hearts and minds. There were people who came out of the ET with nothing but the clothes on their backs and were thankful and grateful. Others are still in shock and unable to move forward. I would never want to be judgmental about such people and about what they went through. Some lost their entire families, their homes, their very lives even though they are still alive. I know some who probably wish they had died along with the rest of their world. Yet now they must make choices that will determine how they proceed.
It is important for me to think about it ahead of time, and especially about what means the most to me, and if and when I lose it, what would be my response. Completely trusting God with my very life, possessions, and soul has been just as difficult a journey as the one the apostles made. Jesus seems to berate them for lack of faith, even after nearly three years of ministry. That sounds like me standing in there alongside them when he does. It is difficult to be so trusting and faithful. But, I think it is the only way to approach life. Death and disaster will scare the wits out of me, but I will be prepared anyway. Truly taking Jesus at his word means that nothing that happens here on earth, even death, will disable me for eternity.
For me, there is great sadness thinking about the victims who would have joined in to follow Jesus but never made the choice for whatever reason. There is concern among the Japanese clergy to make a strong effort to care for and minister to the survivors. As a missionary here, it is my concern as well. And so I share a little of the story with you so that your concern will include the Japanese survivors along with so many others around the world who have survived disasters. May they be prepared for whatever comes by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The pictures are a comparison of the day of the ET and three months after, showing the progress of recovery.
Bill Geppert
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 148
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 200
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