The SCOPE OF THESE DISASTERS is staggering. – The earthquake was the largest in Japan and one of the world’s largest earthquakes on record. The quake was 1,000 times larger than the quake that hit Haiti in 2010. The effect of the quake was felt nearly all over Japan. In Tokyo, 120 miles away, we had a 5.0 magnitude quake, it was that powerful! – The tsunami was one that Japanese say only hits Japan…
On Monday I attended the monthly Pastors’ meeting of the Tokyo district of the Rengo. This was the first pastors’ meeting since the quake since the last one was canceled due to transportation disorders. I was very interested in hearing each of the pastors’ personal experiences, reports from their churches, prayer requests, and hearing their response to this disaster. We were given reports before that no Rengo church had suffered any major damage. Several pastors…
1. Thank God for the incredible unity of the Christian church in their response to this triple tragedy. Organizations like JEMA and JEA are working closely with umbrella organizations like CRASH to coordinate response to these disasters (see previous posts). PRAY that God would energize this unity into great opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ in this large unreached people group. 2. The Converge Worldwide Japan Field Council met last week and…
Cherry blossoms came early to Tokyo this year. Traditionally Japanese would have a cherry blossom viewing party (hanami) to celebrate the coming of Spring and to inaugurate the new year. But this Spring is no time for celebrating. The governor of Tokyo has made public announcements to encourage people from refraining from holding these hanami parties in Tokyo parks due to the mood of the nation after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and power blackouts.…
An historic church in Fukushima city was reported demolished today due to extensive damage. The Fukushima Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan, as the first commissioned work by American missionary/architect William Merrell Vories was a cultural asset registered with the Japanese government. This church, founded in 1886, was far too damaged to repair. PRAY for this church and the other 27 churches in Fukushima city that they may have a renewed sense…
Japan is recovering from a great disaster but is even more spiritually needy, which is the assessment from the World Compassion Network (WCN) staff after their visit to Japan. “Japan has suffered a triple punch in the stomach. The 9.0 earthquake was the worst earthquake in 100 years. They actually survived it quite well due to their building codes. The Tsunami however was devastating. Their tsunami protection walls were taken down in a split second…