Prop us up

You can blame the weather for one of our best debris workers being glassy-eyed on the couch tonight. It's hot and drippingly humid today. One lady has been bringing him cold cloths, I went to buy some spring water ice, and another lady is cooking some soft rice gruel to help revive him a bit. 

You can blame impatience for my tears today, when I got a bit over-worried about having more opportunities with kids. The gentle one sat me down in the hallway couch and heard me out. 

Then there's one of our treasures, who slept over twelve hours last night. Who was a soggy puddle tonight without quite knowing why. It's not the heat. She has spent three solid months caring about and caring for everyone in her path, with hardly a break to speak of. She needs rest, and plenty of it. 

If only she were the only one. It's like the layer of humidity brings the fatigue to the surface. All the long-termers look somewhat frayed around the edges. 

I wish I could say things are winding down. Not yet. 

The ripple effect keeps growing. Take the life insurance salesman who came to the assistance center a couple days ago. Yep. Out of work. He says more commission-based salesmen will be out of work soon. 

Nobody is buying local fish. Too iffy with the radiation. So much so that deep-sea fishing vessels that fish hundreds of miles away in safe waters couldn't sell their fish at their usual local port, and had to dock elsewhere to sell their catch. 

Then there's the freak-out effect. Foreign businesses are dropping out of Japan far more than necessary. They call it a safety measure. Remember when that happened in the USA just after 9-11? Not fun. 

Life things?

The gruff giant finally growled a "you're funny" in my direction tonight. Maybe he won't eat me after all. 

One of my current roommates just went downstairs to pray, and met a man who comes to pray when he's tired. She got to listen to his story. 

A couple more volunteers will arrive later tonight. The artist guy is praying and sketching pictures for whoever needs one. 

And this place is absolutely overflowing with Korean volunteers this week. Joyful ones, willing to come here to radiation-ville. If you don't recognize that as a miracle of grace, check your Asian history. Life had to win to bring them here. 

Please prop us up from where you are. Remind me how life is winning near you. Pray for our exhausted staff. 

And if any of you want to come, I sure won't object.