Another Church To Clean, March 25

Mud, mud and more mud.

Off with the drywall.

We packed up (still a lot of goods for distribution), said goodbye to Pastor Yanagiya, and headed for the next town south, Ohfunato. The church is in the "furniture floater' zone (most noticeable along rivers, where the tsunami overflowed levees and had less of the smashing, head –on power seen at the waterfront). It is characterized by flooded first floors and a crazy mix of cars, trucks, and every conceivable type of flotsam. A short drive downhill to the center of town, and its more of the same seen further north; the "scoured clean" zone near the water, and the 'garbage pile' zone above that. Unlike Ohtsuchi, Ofunato's City hall is on high ground, and is a beehive of activity.

Back at the church, we set to work. Almost nothing had been done. There was 8 centimeters of mud on everything. The first order of business was to clear the street, so we could get to our vehicles with out wading. Next came the parking lot, and clearing the inside of the church. This was accomplished by noon. Then we started pulling off the drywall and insulation so the building could dry. This was largely finished by mid-afternoon. We tarped the 3 big windows that were broken, and found the door, burst open by the water which had poured in the windows, would actually close and lock.

We also helped several neighbors with heavy objects. A number of Junior High students were in the neighborhood helping, too. On of them helped us get water to fill the polycans we had brought with us. There water is on nearby, but not at the church, yet.

Ofunato church member Ms. Kumagai came to help in the afternoon. It is much easier to do effective work when you have a local contact.

We knocked off a bit early as we had to drive a good hour to the house in Tono. A couple from Osaka had just arrived, and with our team, we officially spent CRASH's first night there. The couple, Dan and Karen Ellrick, took over liaison from Martin. Check the CRASH site for more information.

A good day's work, but a long way to go.