"You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people I've ever dealt with. They never assume the worst. They appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They're slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments or act in anything less than a spirit of total love . . . No, wait--I'm thinking of Labrador retrievers!" David Learn, 1998

Monday, May 9, 2011

HIROSHIMA: We accept the invitation

(For invitation, see previous post)

Dear Michiko, Riji-kai, and everyone who has helped with this monument,
     This is so wonderful it takes my breath away! It is the culmination of so much work and so many dreams! You have all been so patient with our family in our making so many demands for changes in the wording and picture on the monument. I deeply apologize for the continual inconvenience we--I--caused you. But I believe the end product is beautiful and will be a witness and inspiration to other foreigners who visit the Peace Park and see what God can do through any individual listening to Him. 
     We feel so privileged to be invited to the ceremony. I see this ceremony as closure, a perhaps final opportunity to honor the generation actually exposed to the atomic bomb for their dedicated, tireless, unfailing commitment to peace and the abolishment of nuclear weapons. Among these hibakusha we can now count all those irradiated by the disasters at the Fukushima power plants. Radiation, whether from bombs of war or power plants for peace, still kills. I want to be a part of declaring the use of nuclear energy--because of the short- and long-term risks--to be inhuman and "politically incorrect." 
     It is also closure for my mother's involvement with Hiroshima and the hibakusha, symbolically laying her spirit to rest in the city she came to love and feel a part of.
     Jerry and I accept with pleasure the invitation to the unveiling ceremony. It seems appropriate that it be held during the week of my mother's birthday, June 12.
Blessings,
Jessica

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