In a few hours our first Converge Worldwide disaster response team will head up north for the first assignment. The team of 7 people, all from different States, will be working in the Shintate neighborhood of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
Ishinomaki is one of the hardest hit areas where nearly one-half of the city was swamped by the tsunami. Over 5,000 people were killed or are still missing, making this city about 1/5 of the total dead or missing from this triple disaster. This is larger than the entire Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe in 1995.
This city of over 160,000 people only has about 130 Christians meeting in 7 churches, 3 of which were damaged by the disaster. Clearly this church, like the rest of the region, is very unchurched and unreached.
The team will be working in over 15 homes which are being cleaned and repaired due to damage from the tsunami. Also work will continue in clearing streets, gutters, and storm sewers. It is hoped that this will be the basis for future connection with the neighborhood and long-term Christian witness and church planting.
The team will be cooperating with Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief agency which is led by Franklin Graham. The team will be staying at the high-tech tent city in Tome only 30 minutes from the work site. The team will be working in the area until June 7th when they return to Tokyo. Pray for Aaron, Gayle, David, Ian, Cathy, Monica, and John as they work together to bring hope to these people in the Name of Christ.