Forward

I sat and spoke with a man named Susumu, which means something like “Forward” or “Keep moving ahead.” He and his wife are in their sixties. They have been married for 40 years. He likes John Wayne movies, but has never been to the US. He is a licensed ham radio operator, who once made a trip to Guam to visit someone he was communicating with there. His house is up above where the tsunami came. When the earthquake happened, though, his house was ruined. He got a phone call from his daughter who was stuck in town, so he drove down to pick their family up. The roads were clogged with cars trying to escape, but he was able to get to them and get them out of the city on back roads. He said that from where he was up on the hillside, he could see a wave coming in from one side, then another wave coming in from the middle, then a third wave coming from the other side, and they all met in the middle. His daughter’s house was washed away by the tsunami. It was a week before they had their first bath, and that bath was in one of the temporary tent-baths that were set up for them.



Susumu kept telling me that he had never studied English, but, as we were talking, he was surprised by the English that kept popping out. At the end, as they were leaving, he looked at the pastor who was there and said, “This is my friend, Zach.” I said, “This is my friend, Susumu-san.” He smiled, happy that I remembered his name.


I felt a lonely feeling as I watched my friend walk away, knowing that I will probably not ever meet him again. Oh God, please send others into Susumu-san’s life. Please watch over him and fill his life with light and hope.