Update

To our friends and family, thanks for all your thoughts and concern these past few days. Be assured we are doing fine in Okinawa. Below is a map so you can see just how far away Okinawa is located from Sendai, Japan, so we weren't directly affected by the earthquake or tsunamis, nor have we felt any aftershocks.

At most we received tsunami warnings. Our friends and their dog who live right at the coast spent some time at our place while we waited for the tsunami warnings to pass. Occasionally we hear sirens and Japanese announcements blaring in the distance. But all is clear and silent now...

Photo: Cpl. Justin Wheeler / Marine Corps

Just yesterday Dan was deployed to mainland Japan to help with the relief efforts. Minutes after returning home from Men's Bible Study in the morning, he received a call from work and was putting on his uniform. Within a few hours, we were driving to Futenma Air Base, he was aboard a plane and lifting off. Where exactly he will be, what he will be doing, and how long he'll be there is all uncertain. Fortunately he was able to make phone contact with me since he arrived there. For any deployment, as much as I want to hear from him and have some idea of how he is doing along the way, it's not something I should expect either. It wasn't easy to watch his plane take off, but I know the mission out there is far greater and more important than the need for him to be home with me and Leyna right now.

So we wait...and we continue to pray for the healing and restoration for the mainland...