Japan Earthquake and Tsunami News
JEMS Japan Support Update:
As of April 25, 2011: Through your great generosity, we have received $128,295.75 in online donations (Razoo) and checks sent to JEMS. One-hundred percent of the funds are wired to CRASH every two weeks. Both Razoo and Union Bank (wiring) have waved their usual fees associated with this type of transaction. JEMS has also waived their administrative fee
Background:
JEMS has been sending short and long
term Christian missionaries to Japan since 1953. You may know JEMS here
in the United States through ministries like Mount Hermon or Asian
American Christian Fellowship on campuses across the united states. We
are reaching out to the JEMS community and beyond to let you know that
we want help our fellow brothers and sisters in Japan. We also want to
show God’s love tangibly, as we send donations to a ministry that
is on the ground being the hands and feet of Christ in this calamity.
Recently we joined JEMA (the
Japanese Evangelical Missionary Association). JEMA is a networking
association of over 40 foreign missionary organizations in Japan. JEMA
has forged many partnerships through their 42 years of being in that
country. We trust their leadership and ministry, and as such, JEMS has
decided to support a JEMA endorsed member organization called CRASH.
CRASH stands for Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope. CRASH equips and prepares churches and missions in Japan, so that they may be able to help their communities when a disaster strikes. They also coordinate Christian volunteers to work with local ministries in the event of a disaster. They provide leadership and coordination for volunteers responding to typhoons, landslides, blizzards and earthquakes in Japan and internationally in cooperation with the JEMA and the JEA (Japan Evangelical Association).
They have already set up a
command
post in Tokyo preparing to address the needs of the churches that are
becoming more evident as the hours go by.
Donations received by JEMS for the
earthquake relief will go to CRASH Tohoku relief in Japan. JEMS will
not receive any administrative fees from the donations. Razoo has
generously agreed to donate any credit card processing fee as well so
100% of the money donated will go to Japan Disaster Relief!
Missionary Updates
Here is an excerpt from one of our missionaries in Japan. She is located about 1 hour south of Sendai (by Shinkansen or bullet train).
March
15, 2011
Anne in Omochanomachi,Tochigi
We have been
advised by the Japanese government not to panic, and to avoid buying up
supplies so that there can be provision for those in
the north.
People are doing their best to preserve electricity so that our
comrades who
are without can be provided for. Here in Tochigi
Prefecture,
grocery stores are bare, and gasoline is just about unavailable
except for government vehicles and relief workers.
Sometimes, when
there isn't an aftershock for several hours, it is possible to push
from our minds the very real, life-threatening danger
we are in.
Several people have already asked me, "Why don't you just go home?" But
I
tell them, "No way." We who are here know that we are
here for such a
time as this. I believe God knew this was going to happen when He
called me here, and that He has a specific role in mind
for me and for
my fellow workers in this time of dire crisis. "Though He slay me, yet
will I trust Him." Job 13:15
Continue to pray
for us, and pray for God's love, glory, and most of all, hope, to be
spread to the people of Japan in the midst of this disaster. ~ Anne
Saturday, 19 March 2011
I went to bed last night thinking what an impossible task lay before us
to transport 90 tons of relief from the airport in Sendai to our new
base. With fuel being rationed none of the companies that we
could normally hire are driving, and the number of small 2-ton trucks
needed would make it a logistical nightmare! But by mid-morning
my nightmare turned into a dream, with three 20-ton trucks at our
disposal with multiple backups as well. Samaritan's Purse will
first fly the 747 into Yokota and then transfer it to smaller planes
for the flight to Sendai. Once it reaches there our teams are
poised to begin distribution through around 30 local churches to the
surrounding communities.
Our command center team has been going non-stop from last Sunday from
morning to night and tomorrow we will pause in the morning to worship
our Lord before resuming our work from 2:00pm. Pray for this
incredible group of missionaries, pastors, students and Christians who
are serving their hearts out for the victims of this terrible
disaster. Please pray for us
Jonathan Wilson, CRASH
Sunday, March 20, 2011 9:37 PM
Subject: Pray for Japan
Dear Friends and Supporting Churches,
It has now been 10 days since Japan was rocked by the massive
earthquake and ensuing tsunamis. During that time, we have
received dozens of e-mails inquiring of our safety. Many people
have also been asking how they could pray for us and for the nation of
Japan. If you have a few minutes, we would like to give you a
quick update of our situation.
The Osaka area in which we serve is about 400 miles from where the
earthquake struck. This means that, except for the initial
earthquake (which Chris felt but Michael did not), we have been
unaffected by ALL of what you are seeing on the news (aftershocks,
tsunamis, radiation, rolling blackouts, gas shortages, etc…). For this,
we are thankful.
However, we have still been impacted by these tragic events. As
we watch the news, our hearts break for those who are suffering up
north. Currently we are responding by trying to gather relief
supplies down here (which aren't available up in Tokyo) and sending
them up north. We have a friend who is loading up his truck and
making the 15+ hour drive (one way!) to deliver the goods. He is
doing this twice a week. Michael is also considering trying to
head up to the region to help out and lend a hand wherever he is
needed. There is a Christian relief organization in Japan called
CRASH (www.crashjapan.com). They are coordinating much of the
relief work, including the placement of volunteer workers.
Michael hopes to hook up with them. The big question now is WHEN
Michael might actually be able to do this. Please keep this in
your prayers. Also, we have made our home available to house
anyone who might be vacating the area. Please pray that the Lord
would lead and guide us in this area as well.
Here are some ways that you can pray for Japan:
- Pray for the people who are suffering. Hundreds of thousands of
people are living in shelters. If that is not stressful enough,
many people are also experiencing the grief of having lost family,
friends and homes. On top of that, the shortage of food, heat,
electricity, and water makes their situation unimaginable. Please
pray that God would show mercy and that he would reveal himself as the
"Father of compassion and the God of all comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:3).
- Pray for those who are offering assistance. Lot's of
volunteers, money, food and relief supplies are going into the affected
area. However, gas shortages, poor roads, and lack of
communication networks makes the management of all of these things a
logistical nightmare. Pray that all of those needing help would
receive assistance in a smooth and timely manner.
- Pray for opportunities to minister to people who are outside of the
effected areas. In general, the Japanese people tend to hold
their true feelings and thoughts inside. Although I am sure that
people are deeply impacted, they do not seem to be showing it.
May the Lord give us opportunities to get beyond the façade and comfort
those who are overcome with worry and fear. Especially with the
unfolding of the nuclear reactor situation, even people down here in
Osaka might begin to panic.
- Pray for the Japanese Christians. May God give them strength and
compassion during this time of crisis. May they also have the
faith and boldness to respond to the situation in such a way that they
become salt and light to the world around them. Personally, I
think that the history of the church in Japan has taught the Japanese
Christians that they are the receivers of aid from overseas. As a
result, they rarely see themselves as givers. This might be
partially due to an inferiority complex. When you only make up 0.1% of
the population, it is easy to feel invisible and insignificant.
Already we have heard stories of churches that are unwilling to respond
and get involved. Please pray that the current crisis would light
a fire within the Japanese church so that they would become a people of
action. Pray that the Christians would have courage to shine the
light of Christ and make their presence (and God's presence) known
during this current crisis. May thousands (millions!) of
un-believers encounter the love of God through the words and deeds of
His people in the coming months.
- Pray for the salvation of Japan. Many people have wondered why
neighboring countries like Korea and China seem to be experiencing a
mighty move of God and yet Japan remains largely unaffected. The
theories are many, but whatever the reason, there is clearly a
stronghold over this nation that is preventing people from coming to
Jesus. Could this three-fold disaster (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear
reactor troubles) be God's way of shaking that stronghold? There
is no way to know for sure. However, one thing is for certain,
all of Japan is now considering the bigger questions of life. Please
pray that God would use this tragedy to create an openness to spiritual
things. Pray that many, many people would hear the Gospel
message, turn to God with humble hearts, and find new life in Jesus.
- Pray for revival. Without making light of the
massive devastation caused by last week's tsunami, I am reminded of a
Japanese-American speaker we heard at Mount Hermon last summer. The
title of His book was "God's Tsunami." Might this have been
prophetic? May a huge spiritual tsunami hit the entire nation of
Japan, flooding the country with the love, peace, justice, compassion,
righteousness and grace of our Heavenly Father.
Well, I am sorry that this is so long, but we really would appreciate
your prayers at this strategic time. Thank you for all that you
do for us.
May the Lord's presence be with you all.
In Him,
Michael & Chris Mason
--
** KEEP CURRENT WITH THE MASONS **
Check out our "Updates" page at:
http://www.masonsinjapan.com/currentupdates.html
From: SanLo JCC
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 8:06 PM
Subject: Urgent prayer for delivery trucks to Sendai
We just talked to our daughter, Jessica, who is working with the relief
organization, C.R.A.S.H., in Japan. There is a dire need for trucks to
deliver tons of food and supplies to Sendai. Samaritans Purse has
donated a second shipment of food and supplies but if it cannot be
delivered it will soon go to waste. Please pray for God to provide
trucks, gasoline, and drivers. Previously 45 trucks delivered the first
donation by Samaritan's Purse but those trucks are no longer available
and there are still so many people in need.
Together in prayer,
Pastor Brian
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
"But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep
silence before Him."
Habakkuk 2:20
When I spent the night at home on Saturday I was so impressed with
Rie's parents - they had turned off every light except for one small
room and were doing everything they could to conserve energy to help
the effort in Tohoku. It almost reminds me of a wartime footing
with the entire nation enduring rationing of fuel and staple foods for
the cause. And yet there is also an ugly specter of fear.
When the news announced that water supplies in Tokyo might be unsafe
for babies to drink, store shelves instantly emptied of bottled water -
not just in Tokyo but throughout the country. Certain hotels have
announced that would not accept evacuees from Fukushima without
scanning them for radiation first. With this kind of fear, you
can only imagine how scared and uncertain of their future are the
people who live in Fukushima and how much they need the hope of Jesus
Christ.
We are taking precautions so that volunteers who go into the area to
serve the church and their communities are both safe and
effective. When the US embassy announced its
recommendation that US citizens stay more than 80km from the reactor we
decided to pull back our proposed base sites to 100 km. The
Japanese government is suggesting evacuation for its citizens from a
much smaller radius of 30km.
In addition we have established a system of monitoring devices for our
three regional bases affected. Each base and every team sent from
a base to serve the surrounding churches and communities are monitored
daily for the amount of radiation they have been exposed to.
During their time of service no team is allowed to receive more than a
very conservative exposure to radiation.
Every day I hear of courageous Japanese pastors who are staying in
their communities well within 80km to minister to the people in their
hour of need. Pray for these servants of God and for the CRASH
teams that are helping deliver food, supplies and hope to those in need.
God Bless You,
Jonathan Wilson (DIRECTOR-CRASH JAPAN)
Japan Christans Praying for Japan
March 12, 2011
Anne Winters 9:59 PM
I'm supposed to be strong, right? I'm
not supposed to let being physically shaken equal being spiritually shaken.
I know I'm supposed to trust God and maintain my faith in him and know that
everything's going to be all right.
But when I prayed for it stop, it didn't. It still hasn't. Intellectually, I
can deal with it. Over and over again, I've read all the reasons why God lets
bad things happen. But emotionally, I feel abandoned and heartbroken.
I'm supposed to be the strong super-missionary who goes and does what needs to
be done and never says a word of blame to God. At least, that's what I feel
like I need to be. Again, intellectually I know this isn't true, that the way I
feel is natural and normal, and that God loves me in spite of my weakness.
But what I know and what I feel are two different things. I'm sick of the
ground shaking beneath my feet, and every time the ground shakes, my faith
shakes with it. But all I can do is keep praying, because I've come this far; I
can't give up on God now.
Something weird just happened between the time I finished that paragraph and
the time I started this one. An aftershock hit. A bit one, strong enough to
make me stand and think about grabbing my panic bag to go downstairs. I prayed,
"God, make it stop, please just make it stop." I made myself say,
"I trust you" but the words were sour in my mouth. I felt like there
were still residual tremors. And then I had this moment of realization: the
ground had stopped; I was the one still shaking.
Pictured: Anne Winter and Volunteers traveling to Shibuya meeting with church leaders.
When I was sitting in a dark kitchen asking, "Where are
you?" God was sitting in a high school gym with hundreds of thousands of
bereaved, homeless Japanese, holding a now-childless mother, whispering,
"I am here."
Author Note: When the earthquake hit, I and my coworkers rushed down the stairs and out of the building. That was the most dangerous thing we could have done. If you are inside and a large earthquake strikes, get under a table or hit the floor near an inside wall and cover your head. Doorframes are not actually safer. Do not try to go downstairs to escape a building in an earthquake. Visit FEMA.org for more information on earthquake safety.
April, 2011
Christian volunteers from all over the country had come to
the rescue of the church and its city. They had brought all sorts of supplies
to provide the needy. There was a wood burning stove outside the church (brought
by a pastor from
May the Lord Jesus bless you,
Nozomi West
Paul Ariga Mission Prayer Letter
April 2011
On March 11, 2011 The Unprecedented 4th World Worst and
Japan’s Worst Earthquake & Tsunami hit the Eastern Japan.
“ I saw Hell”, “ My daily life was completely
destroyed”, “Children returning from school suddenly
disappeared”, “All family members were scattered in all
directions”.
By March 22, Dead Persons: 9,080. Missing Persons: 12,920. Refugees: 237,085 in 46 prefectures....
To download the full Paul Ariga pdf missions letter, please click here
For more info please visit :
www.crashjapan.com.