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Huge Earthquake in Japan
- Thread starter John of Japan
- Start date
Thanks to abcgrad94 and Mexdeaf for your prayers.
Thanks for asking. We missionaries have been emailing back and forth about that very thing. Very soon our mission board (www.baptistworldmission.org) will have a fund set up where people can contribute.
One possible project is helping rebuild Camp Adatara, a Baptist Mid Missions ministry that has suffered much damage, from what we hear. This would be a worthy effort. I've preached there a number of times myself, and they are doing a good work. The caretaker, Pastor Takahashi, is a friend of mine. Keep an eye on their website for further information. : http://www.bmm.org/bmm/
BMM already has an update about some of their missionaries here: http://www.bmm.org/BMM/WhereWeServe/Asia/News/japan+earthquake+2011.htm
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The Baptist Bible Fellowship has also set up a special account to receive finds that will be routed to missionaries and churches in Japan that are involved in relief efforts.
http://www.bbfimissions.com/
http://www.bbfimissions.com/
Yesterday Patty and I were walking downtown, where she taught and English class and I paid our Japanese income tax, every yen of which will be needed in this crisis. We passed a young man with a homemade box and sign who was hollering, "Contribute to earthquake relief efforts." Riiiiiight! We both figured that this young man was probably out to make a little money for himself.
Folks, I believe that if you want to help the Christians in Japan, contributing through one of these mission boards or the one your church supports is the best way. Here are the reasons.
1. There will be very little overhead if any, since these mission boards handle international transfers all the time.
2. These are well established misson boards with spotless reputations. There will be no embezzlement or fake pleas. Most mission boards require a minimal office fee from the missionaries, but that won't be the case for an earthquake relief fund.
3. The money will go directly to Japanese Baptists in Japan, not the missionaries or anyone else.
Folks, I believe that if you want to help the Christians in Japan, contributing through one of these mission boards or the one your church supports is the best way. Here are the reasons.
1. There will be very little overhead if any, since these mission boards handle international transfers all the time.
2. These are well established misson boards with spotless reputations. There will be no embezzlement or fake pleas. Most mission boards require a minimal office fee from the missionaries, but that won't be the case for an earthquake relief fund.
3. The money will go directly to Japanese Baptists in Japan, not the missionaries or anyone else.
Thank you much.
Things are not back to normal in Japan by any means, but recovery has begun. The government channels still have full time coverage of the disaster, but the commercial channels are getting back to their normal schedule of samurai dramas, Korean dramas and the like. But the news shows are still all about what is officially the "Great Kanto Tohoku Earthquake."
Trains are starting to roll again with a limited schedule. Rolling power blackouts are proceeding as planned. Supplies are starting to be delivered to the stores again as traffic once more moves in Tokyo. Cell phone access to the areas stricken the worst is still almost non-existent, but land lines have been set up at the shelters for people to get in contact with their loved ones.
The death toll may top 30,000, especially since there are two towns with over 10,000 missing each. But there are still people being rescued as search and rescue teams comb the disaster area. One 70 year old woman was rescued 94 hours after being swept away by the tsunami and landed far from home. You may have read about the man who was rescued on the roof of his house miles out into the ocean.
In our search for Mrs. Sato I have tried calling her daughter here in Asahikawa, but all I get is the message that all lines are full. Since I can call others in our town, that may mean that she was down with her mother when the earthquake struck. God knows everything, so He knows where they all are. She trusts in Him, she is faithful to Christ, so we can trust her in His hands.
116 countries have sent search and rescue teams or support of some kind. That's amazing! I think to that same extent God's love has penetrated this old wicked world. Nothing good comes into the world without Jesus Christ and the influence of His disciples having brought it.
History bears out the fact that Buddhists, Shintoists, Hindus and Muslims only have charity as they are influenced by Christians doing it first. To give just one example, here in Japan the first modern clinic was founded by Missionary James Hepburn. James Kennedy gives many more examples in his excellent What if Jesus had Never Been Born? So Japan must give thanks first of all to Christ for the current support they are getting from all around the world.
Trains are starting to roll again with a limited schedule. Rolling power blackouts are proceeding as planned. Supplies are starting to be delivered to the stores again as traffic once more moves in Tokyo. Cell phone access to the areas stricken the worst is still almost non-existent, but land lines have been set up at the shelters for people to get in contact with their loved ones.
The death toll may top 30,000, especially since there are two towns with over 10,000 missing each. But there are still people being rescued as search and rescue teams comb the disaster area. One 70 year old woman was rescued 94 hours after being swept away by the tsunami and landed far from home. You may have read about the man who was rescued on the roof of his house miles out into the ocean.
In our search for Mrs. Sato I have tried calling her daughter here in Asahikawa, but all I get is the message that all lines are full. Since I can call others in our town, that may mean that she was down with her mother when the earthquake struck. God knows everything, so He knows where they all are. She trusts in Him, she is faithful to Christ, so we can trust her in His hands.
116 countries have sent search and rescue teams or support of some kind. That's amazing! I think to that same extent God's love has penetrated this old wicked world. Nothing good comes into the world without Jesus Christ and the influence of His disciples having brought it.
History bears out the fact that Buddhists, Shintoists, Hindus and Muslims only have charity as they are influenced by Christians doing it first. To give just one example, here in Japan the first modern clinic was founded by Missionary James Hepburn. James Kennedy gives many more examples in his excellent What if Jesus had Never Been Born? So Japan must give thanks first of all to Christ for the current support they are getting from all around the world.
Out of curiosity John, how much of japan claims to be Christian?
After 150 years or so of Protestant and Baptist (depending on your view) missions, less than one per cent claim to be Christians. However, that includes Catholics, Mormons, JWs, the Unification Church and the like. Evangelical Christians are about 0.5%.
One thing we are seeing right now is an example of natural love (the Greek word storge, appearing in compound form in Romans 12:10). This is the love of parents for children, brothers and sisters for each other, children for parents.
The Japanese people are very undemonstrative. They don't like to touch. They bow instead of shaking hands or hugging or kissing on both cheeks. I sometimes kid them that Japanese hug each other only when their team wins. Then it is spontaneous. But touching and hugging is a natural, human thing, and we are seeing a lot of it on TV as Japanese find family members they thought were dead, fellow workers who were missing, neighbors who have lost loved ones. They are awkward and inexperienced at it, but they do it. Folks, hug your loved ones today. They may be gone tomorrow.
The major worry right now in Japan is the nuclear power plant in Fukushima that is in dire trouble. Radiation is starting to drift over the entire Kanto plain. The main topic of news on every news show is, what will happen with the nuclear plant? The word "Chernobyl" is occasionally heard in subdued tones.
We are supported by a church serving the US military in Yokosuka, a port city just south of Yokohama. The pastor writes in a special newsletter that they are experiencing rolling blackouts, food and gas shortages with lines stretching a kilometer for gas and out onto the sidewalk for a grocery store. Even on the base, people were waiting for an hour at the commissary to buy food. But again, the biggest worry is the radiation.
Yokosuka Baptist Church has military men in it who have access to radiation tests. They say the current level there is ten times normal. That's not yet dangerous, somewhere between an x-ray and a CT scan if you're outside for a period of time. But this takes an emotional toll. People naturally worry!
Yesterday in my devotions I read this prophecy against Tyre in Isaiah 23:11--"He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof." It seemed to fit the Japan of today, a merchant country that ignores God, and I was sad. But then I read 26:3, one of my favorites--"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
We can trust God to know what is right for Japan and the whole world and for each one of us. We can have perfect peace--complete and total rest of the soul--by trusting the God and Creator of the universe.
The Japanese people are very undemonstrative. They don't like to touch. They bow instead of shaking hands or hugging or kissing on both cheeks. I sometimes kid them that Japanese hug each other only when their team wins. Then it is spontaneous. But touching and hugging is a natural, human thing, and we are seeing a lot of it on TV as Japanese find family members they thought were dead, fellow workers who were missing, neighbors who have lost loved ones. They are awkward and inexperienced at it, but they do it. Folks, hug your loved ones today. They may be gone tomorrow.
The major worry right now in Japan is the nuclear power plant in Fukushima that is in dire trouble. Radiation is starting to drift over the entire Kanto plain. The main topic of news on every news show is, what will happen with the nuclear plant? The word "Chernobyl" is occasionally heard in subdued tones.
We are supported by a church serving the US military in Yokosuka, a port city just south of Yokohama. The pastor writes in a special newsletter that they are experiencing rolling blackouts, food and gas shortages with lines stretching a kilometer for gas and out onto the sidewalk for a grocery store. Even on the base, people were waiting for an hour at the commissary to buy food. But again, the biggest worry is the radiation.
Yokosuka Baptist Church has military men in it who have access to radiation tests. They say the current level there is ten times normal. That's not yet dangerous, somewhere between an x-ray and a CT scan if you're outside for a period of time. But this takes an emotional toll. People naturally worry!
Yesterday in my devotions I read this prophecy against Tyre in Isaiah 23:11--"He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof." It seemed to fit the Japan of today, a merchant country that ignores God, and I was sad. But then I read 26:3, one of my favorites--"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
We can trust God to know what is right for Japan and the whole world and for each one of us. We can have perfect peace--complete and total rest of the soul--by trusting the God and Creator of the universe.
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John said:
We can trust God to know what is right for Japan and the whole world and for each one of us. We can have perfect peace--complete and total rest of the soul--by trusting the God and Creator of the universe.
Indeed, brother....God is in charge. When I was being rolled into the operating room for my mastectomy, I had a total sense of perfect peace, knowing that no matter what happened, God is in control and all works according to HIS plans!
We are praying for you and yours.....
Debbie Mc
We can trust God to know what is right for Japan and the whole world and for each one of us. We can have perfect peace--complete and total rest of the soul--by trusting the God and Creator of the universe.
Indeed, brother....God is in charge. When I was being rolled into the operating room for my mastectomy, I had a total sense of perfect peace, knowing that no matter what happened, God is in control and all works according to HIS plans!
We are praying for you and yours.....
Debbie Mc
Perfect peace from God is not only eminently possible, it is an absolute necessity in these times.
Praise the Lord!
I just got a cell phone call from Mr. Ueno, one of our members. It is extremely difficult to get through by cell phone right now, but Mrs. Sato had called him and gotten through. She and little Hitoha are just fine.
I've been trying to call her ever since the earthquake, and she's been trying to call me and others up here but has been unable to get through. Thank you everyone for praying.
I just got a cell phone call from Mr. Ueno, one of our members. It is extremely difficult to get through by cell phone right now, but Mrs. Sato had called him and gotten through. She and little Hitoha are just fine.
I've been trying to call her ever since the earthquake, and she's been trying to call me and others up here but has been unable to get through. Thank you everyone for praying.
I've also been trying to contact Mrs. Watabe (pr. wah-tah-beh), who wasn't in church Sunday, to find out if her son Toshiaki (pr. toe-she-ah-key) was down south with his Japan Self Defense unit. Even here in our far north town it is difficult to get through on cell phone, so I've not been able to reach her. Finally today she herself was able to get through to me and say that Toshiaki was down with his unit doing search and rescue in one of the hardest hit areas.
Pray for this young man. His mother is worried obviously. He was our son's close friend for two years here in Hokkaido after we moved up from Yokohama in 1996. He made a profession of faith in Christ in those days, and I baptized him, but he drifted away from the Lord in high school, getting involved in all the activities as do many Japanese kids.
Pray for this young man. His mother is worried obviously. He was our son's close friend for two years here in Hokkaido after we moved up from Yokohama in 1996. He made a profession of faith in Christ in those days, and I baptized him, but he drifted away from the Lord in high school, getting involved in all the activities as do many Japanese kids.
menageriekeeper
Active Member
Praising the Lord for those who have been found, specifially Ms. Sato and her daughter.
Still praying for Japan in general; that its people will discover Christ in their midst specifically.
Still praying for Japan in general; that its people will discover Christ in their midst specifically.
Thank you for the prayers, all.
Yesterday evening I called Sato San and actually reached her for the first time. However, reception was so bad we could only make out a few words so we finally had to say goodbye and keep praying for her. We were deeply disappointed when they moved but committed them to God. I wish I could get a hug from little Hitoha again. But God is taking care of them.
One of our missionaries is working on getting together a truck load of supplies, tracts and Bibles to take into the worst hit areas, but at this point it's impossible. Only official personnel are able to get in: firemen, policemen, rescue teams from various countries, the Self Defense Forces.
Having said that, we're trying to get ready for the possibility of getting in to help sometime in the future. There are likely to be people living in shelters for many months. As it happens we here in Asahikawa (two churches) happen to have several hundred Japanese-English NTs we can give.
We are also talking about the possibility of getting 1000s of copies of the Gospel of John printed. I have a source that may be able to fund this. And as I noted on the other thread, our mission board is starting a relief fund. So we missionaries chose a man for the "front man" for the effort, Frank Musk who has been in Japan for 41 years and is now working as a "furlough replacement" missionary for our board, currently mninistering in Nagoya.
Yesterday I downloaded our mission policy PDF file on relief efforts and took it to the church to read. All I can do now is write emails and look for ways to help. I feel very inadequate. May God use us to reach Japanese for Christ through this huge tragedy.
Yesterday evening I called Sato San and actually reached her for the first time. However, reception was so bad we could only make out a few words so we finally had to say goodbye and keep praying for her. We were deeply disappointed when they moved but committed them to God. I wish I could get a hug from little Hitoha again. But God is taking care of them.
One of our missionaries is working on getting together a truck load of supplies, tracts and Bibles to take into the worst hit areas, but at this point it's impossible. Only official personnel are able to get in: firemen, policemen, rescue teams from various countries, the Self Defense Forces.
Having said that, we're trying to get ready for the possibility of getting in to help sometime in the future. There are likely to be people living in shelters for many months. As it happens we here in Asahikawa (two churches) happen to have several hundred Japanese-English NTs we can give.
We are also talking about the possibility of getting 1000s of copies of the Gospel of John printed. I have a source that may be able to fund this. And as I noted on the other thread, our mission board is starting a relief fund. So we missionaries chose a man for the "front man" for the effort, Frank Musk who has been in Japan for 41 years and is now working as a "furlough replacement" missionary for our board, currently mninistering in Nagoya.
Yesterday I downloaded our mission policy PDF file on relief efforts and took it to the church to read. All I can do now is write emails and look for ways to help. I feel very inadequate. May God use us to reach Japanese for Christ through this huge tragedy.