Pray for Japan

I am writing an article about Springfield's relief efforts with the recent Japan disaster.

Can I be honest with you all for a moment?

With Spring Break and school and work,

I kind of avoided the whole suffering in Japan thing.

I know, it is a terrible disaster,

but I didn't let myself come to grip with the incredible reality that so many people were suffering.

Then I talked to Jeff Nene, the PR Directer at Convoy of Hope.

I watched their video

and 

listened to horrific stories

and

was confronted with the faces of despair.

Here is what Jeff had to say:

“We’ve have never faced anything like that before in our disaster response history,” Nene said. “Japan didn’t suffer a disaster. They suffered three disasters one right on top of the other. You have the earthquake then you have the tsunami, which has caused much greater loss of life and loss of buildings and property than the earthquake did, and then you have the nuclear problem on top of that, which just hampers the response. We have people in those zones that can’t come out of their houses. We are afraid to send a team to those areas for fear of radiation exposure, so we have had to step out of our comfort zone and do things differently than we are accustomed to.”

 Japan's disasters are so great relief has been done from afar.

Jeff said that 350,000 people are still left homeless.

It is incredible to think about those in Japan,

but there is hope.

There are people everywhere pulling together for Japan's sake--

including Japan.

They are fighters.

Springfield is doing their share of relief as well.

Next Monday, Springfield's Nakato is donating all their sales they make that night to Japan.

Since Isesaki, Japan, has been Springfield's sister city for 25 years, the city is sending funds to them to help them through this tough time just like they did for us in Ice Storm 2007.

Don't ignore it like I did at first

avoiding the hurt.

Empathize with our brothers and sisters across the globe.

Pray for Japan.

Pray For Japan from Convoy of Hope on Vimeo.

If you want more information on how you can be a part of relief work in Japan, check out my Ozarks News Journal feature.

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Elsie & Emma of Red Velvet

Exciting news!

This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing Elsie & Emma of Red Velvet about how they use their blogs to promote their business.

If you have never checked these girls out online, 

you SHOULD!

They are so adorable.

And if you live in Springfield, you should check out their shop on Commercial Street.

 Red Velvet is a vintage & hand-made things boutique that also sells cupcakes! 

 I had so much fun doing my first "Broadcast Journalism" project.

If you want to check out my team's story on Social Media in the Springfield community, click here.

Also, here is the video we made:

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