Miyajima and Hiroshima

The "Atomic Bomb Dome"

Dear Friends - It is Friday, August 7th, 11PM.  I'm finally settled down at the computer feeling clean and refreshed after a nice hot shower.  The hotel has its own onsen, but the convenience of having the shower in my hotel room is hard to beat.  The heat and humidity has been brutal since we left Chino, but the activities have been outstanding.  The weather today was the same as the other days since Monday - but the day was the most memorable by far.  We began the day by going to Miyajima Island and visiting Itsukushima Shinto Shrine.  The shrine sits above the ocean's waters at high tide and sits above dry ground at low tide - like when we were there.  At low tide, people are able to walk out to the Ohtorii Gate, but clearly unable to do so at high tide.  We visited other shrines also before having lunch there.  We then returned to the mainland of Japan and Shizuka took Koby and me to Hiroshima, where we visited the "Atomic Bomb Dome" and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.  I have seen many photos of the dome and it was very moving to actually stand right before it in person.  We then walked through the Peace Memorial Park to reach the museum.  In 2013 and 2014 I watched observances of the anniversary of the bomb being dropped on August 6, 1945 while sitting in hotel rooms in Tokyo and Yokohama.  At those observances sat many of the top leaders, or their representatives, from around the world.  Today, workers were removing canopies from the grass, most likely sheltering the guests from the heat.  But it was the exhibits at the museum which were the most dramatic and emotional.  Shizuka, Koby and I used listening devices that explained all the photos, charts, and recovered remnants from the atomic blast.  Some of the photos were too terrible for me to look at, and many of the personal stories were simply gut-wrenching.  Visiting the museum was clearly the most important part of the sightseeing for me.

     Tomorrow we will do a little sightseeing in the morning before going to the Narita airport to return to L.A. after 2-½ weeks in Japan.  There is so much that has happened during our time here - it will take a long time to process all of it.  Thank you to everyone for your support financially and especially your prayer support.  It has been a great, great blessing to be in Chino - to experience the warmth, generosity, and thoughtfulness of the Chino Christ Church members and of Kawano-sensei and Chihoyo-sensei.  It was wonderful to get together with people in the Osaka area - friends and former members of the South Bay Japanese Christian Fellowship, and friends of Kagiwada-sensei.  I intend to write a little bit more once I get back home - to share more of our wonderful experiences during the mission.  It's after midnight and I need to get my rest for tomorrow.  The mission has been fantastic, but it will be great to be home with all of our loved ones.  God bless us all.  Love, Don

The O-torii Gate in Miyajima- visitors
walking up to it at low tide.