i was looking back at photos which seems like years ago. mission 1 happened less then a month after the earthquake/tsunami, which was only a few months ago. gosh how time flies.
i still remember driving up from wakayama to tohoku. i was jet lagged, scared, and felt like i was going to war or something. but seeing mt. fuji took all that anxiety away.
Mission 1, 2, and 3 was freezing cold. coming from hawaii, i felt like i got locked up in a giant freezer. i’ll never forget sleeping in the car thinking i was going to turn into a popsicle.
we were overwhelmed by the support of the people from hawaii and japan. i asked for donations 3 days before we started our mission on my blog and the response was amazing. we barely fit everything in our 3 vans. want to thank each and everyone of you again.
people drove over from far away to donate everything they possibly could. when these guys emptied out their piggy bank, i almost lost it.
our last dinner before heading up to tohoku was weird. lots of uncertainty, and lots of anxiety. nobody knew what we were about to see, nobody knew about the radiation, and nobody knew anything. i remember telling everybody “hey, we’re going into where ever needs help. radiation or no radiation, we’re going. so if anybody wants to pull out, this is your last chance.” nobody pulled out. here are 7 brave mission 1 volunteers.
since mission 1, i learned a lot about radiation. one, you can’t see it. two, you can’t smell it. and three, even your detect it, your already in it. i don’t think any of us had a good sleep in that parking lot that night.
**we are still committed to continue these missions until everything returns to normal. if you want to help in any way, please contact me. aloha.
