Quilts distributed in Japan on July 13

We wish to share with you this email that we just received from our contact who supervised the distribution of the quilts in Japan:

The quilts (which were received in excellent shape and of outstanding quality) were taken to a town called Kesennuma, which is in Miyagi Prefecture about 200 miles or so north of Tokyo. The earthquake there did very little damage, compared to the resulting Tsunami which literally wiped out miles and miles of coastline. Kesennuma was in this zone and structures as far as 5 kilometers inland from the ocean were completely destroyed.

We initially went up there over a month after the tsunami and it was still in such a state as to be almost unbelievable. People were, and still are, living in shelters like school gymnasiums with a small space for each of about 6×9 feet, into which all of their personal belongings were stored.

Toward the end of May we went there again and provided a Bar-B-Que for about 4000 people, some of whom said that the hamburgers and hot dogs we cooked were the first taste of meat of any kind they had since the tsunami over 2 months ago. We have also distributed a little over 120,000 bottles of water since the majority of the wells in the area were contaminated with sea water.

On July 13th, we attended the dedication ceremony of the rebuilt temple which we provided. There were previously 8 Buddhist temples in the area and only one survived. We decided, after consultation with local personnel, to build a replacement temple for them in order that they might proceed with the over 15000 funeral services which were being conducted inside a tent.

This was a very emotional time for most of the people attending the dedication and I was extremely happy that I was able to make this happen. It appeared that the Government agencies had forgotten about them and we were the first of any group to make any attempt at rebuilding in the entire area. At this ceremony, we distributed your quilts to the local people.

They were, to a person, amazed that the people of your organization in the United States, would make such a donation. It was a little hot by that time for the quilts to be put into immediate use, but I am sure they will be put to good use when the temperatures start to slide next month.

I don't have, at this moment, any pictures, but am told that I will receive some very soon. When I finally get them, I'll be certain to forward them to you. I'm in the process of creating a DVD with video, pictures and text of our efforts in this area and will, naturally, provide a copy to both you and the commanding office through the Denton Program.

We are so grateful to Kathy Price at Mission of Love, and her contact at the Denton Program.