Shop Owner

I write a lot of snail mail. But you can’t post mail from your home here. The mail carriers (posties) only deliver mail, so I’ve gotten to know my neighborhood post shop well! Sometimes it’s once a week that I pop down to the corner store to buy stamps or send off a package. It’s a haberdashery (new word for me… but they sell knitting and sewing materials, do alterations and run a little post shop.) So they have gotten to know me as the American girl who always sends out mail.

With the earthquake, many buildings/homes/businesses were destroyed. This shop is still standing at the moment… but all of it’s contents were thrown on the ground. Mud came into part of the store and the two front walls are leaning dangerously…

The other day I walked by and saw the owners were finally there attempting to clean. I hadn’t seen them inside since before the quake in February. I talked to the owner, Jane, and offered help. She said they hadn’t come in yet because of their own home damages and because she had lost three friends in the earthquake—the recovery and grief had been too much to worry about the store. (She lost those friends from her old work place, in one of the collapsed buildings… tragic. The woman who replaced her there, died.) It’s been hard for her knowing this… dealing with the grief of that in addition to the loss of much at home and at the store…

Today Jane called me, saying they did need help today, packing up merchandise. They have not been “red stickered” yet, which means a building/home is “Unsafe. No one can enter premises”, but they are due for inspection this upcoming week… and they think they will be “Red stickered” due to the leaning walls. So I went up to help pack up what wasn’t destroyed by mud and broken glass.

Please pray for Jane and her husband. They have been hit badly… pray for the Lord to speak through me at this time. It was great to be able to help folks on the block… Since the earthquake, we’ve been able to reach out to them, the guys at the Indian take-away shop (next to the post shop), some of the school staff, and some neighbors. We are hoping to make a difference with the immediate neighbors…. and continue to love them and help them in any way we can. I think I can get overwhelmed by the enormous need in the city but if we all do our little part in our corner of the city, it makes a big difference collectively.

Thanks for praying about this.