Disaster in Japan

On March 11th our eyes were glued to the news channels trying to comprehend the disaster that Japan had just faced when they experienced a magnitude 9.0 earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami that destroyed the city of Sendai.  It's terrible to see a disaster like this happen anywhere in the world but with it being in a place that you've been to it hits a little closer to home. I've always been very interested in Japan and the Japanese culture from a very young age.  I had the opportunity to visit there several years ago and loved everything about it.  I feel so bad for those affected by this.  I'm glad to hear that our church is helping, that the missionaries are all safe and that the members are watching out for each other. It's easy for us to move on since it's not our everyday reality. My thoughts and prayers are with them as they try to pick up the pieces and live through what I believe would feel like an unimaginable nightmare.  

It's now been almost two weeks since that day but I still wanted to make sure that I capture my thoughts and feelings and the pictures of the devastation that has occurred. Today is one of those days I just really count my blessings.
I had to borrow these pictures from the Internet.