April 11, 2026

What is it that brings a community together and why do residents remain in a community? The answer to both questions is often the same: adversity.

In 2023, Chongae and I spent time in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan two cities where on August 6, 1945, atomic bombs were dropped killing tens of thousands of men women and children instantly and thousand more died through radiation and bodily burns. Yet, survivors (hibakusha) stayed or came back as soon as they could.

On January 30th of this year, we were in Lahaina on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. In 2023 a massive fire destroyed this historic whaling town. The fire killed 102 people destroyed more than 2000 buildings and left 5000 people homeless, giving Lahaina the distinction of having the largest homeless population, in proportion to the general population, in the United States. We were there to help support the faith community who are funding new housing projects and building modular schools. People are not leaving but returning to Lahaina.

Kagoshima, Japan has one, if you would call it that, notable attraction, Sakurajima, Japan’s iconic active volcano. Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Yet, it’s located right next to a major city where people live and work just kilometers away. Residents carry umbrellas for ash, not just rain. Schools have ash cleaning routines and cars and streets are often dusted in gray volcanic ash. And today, Chongae and I choose to visit Sakurajima.

We took a ferry from Kagoshima to the Yunohira Observatory to see huge lava flows that filled the sea, connecting Sakurajima to the mainland. Before that, Sakurajima was truly an island. To be honest, it was an unsettling sensation to be so close to a volcano that was actively erupting.

On the ferry ride back to Kagoshima, I pondered the question I opened this blog with: “why do people stay?” I didn’t have the answer yet. I do know that Chongae was born a short time after the Korean War and her hometown, Seoul, was destroyed or heavily damaged and large areas were reduced to rubble and burned-out buildings. Hundreds of thousands escaped south on foot or carts crossed the Han River in chaos carrying only what they could hold. Yet, her family returned finding their neighborhood gone and their home destroyed they begin to rebuild with scrap materials and living in temporary shelters. I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that experience made my wife the resilient, appreciative and generous women she is.

Riding back on the ferry, with our backs to Sakurajima, we did not realize that there was a more major eruption after we left. Here is a photo from the ferry pier.

As we were getting on a bus from the bus terminal back to the cruise ship port, Chongae spotted this poster in the terminal and took a photo of it.

I guess I had my answer.

It is not circumstances that cause adversity, but how you perceive those circumstances.

Thanks for traveling with us.