Listen to the voices – warning against 'self-satisfying' relief work
by Yoshitomo Takahashi
JAPAN (Christian Shinbun) It has been one month since the disaster hit East Japan. The reconstruction work continues. There are many churches and Christian organizations involved in the relief and reconstruction. However in some cases, outside relief work has become a burden to local churches in the disaster-affected area. The following is gathered from the visitation of churches in Iwate Prefecture that are involved in relief work and is a report on their actual conditions.
It takes about two hours driving through the mountainside from Morioka City to the costal city of Miyako via the winding national...
by Kent Muhling
It's good to be up here in Touhoku again! Much has changed; much has not. Gasoline is no longer a problem -- stations are open, no long lines. The highways are open tot all now, not just emergency vehicles. Electricity has been restored in many places, most stores have reopened, and Sendai city no longer looks like a ghost town. Slowly life is returning to normal -- for some.
For others, though, little has changed. There are still some places without electricity or running water, there are still people living in houses where the first floor was destroyed, and there are still many living in evacuation centers, with nowhere to go...
by Erik Boehme
Fellow A3 missionary Kent Muhling and I traveled to Rikuzentakata with a team from JIBC church from Oregon. Thankfully gasoline and food is available now in the outlying areas. Some roads and bridges are still destroyed but access is apparently becoming easier. When we arrived we set up a roadside bazzar to give away supplies. The word quickly spread and many people flocked to see what we had. The first things to go were the kerosene containers we brought. I wish we had brought more. But diapers, socks, t shirts, vegetables were all needed. It was a blessing to see how thankful everryone was to receive these things. I could tell that God had prepared the way for ...
by Sue Takamoto
My husband Eric has returned to Sendai, working with Be One/Hope for Tohoku, which is organized by a group of house churches and missionary friends in the Osaka area. Since the earthquake first occurred, they have worked tirelessly to coordinate relief efforts in our area. Twice a week, they send up a truck and van load of supplies and have a great network up in the worst-hit areas for distributing these things and helping where the needs are still so great. A local resident who was touched by the group's help offered his...
by Kent Muhling
On the road again! missionary colleague Erik Boehme and I left a couple hours ago, heading back up to the Tohoku region of Japan for another week of disaster volunteer service. Erik bought a roof rack for his car so we could carry a bit more supplies (though still not as much as that minivan I hope to buy!). We asked friends for donations, bought more ourselves - clothes, diapers, and food, mostly - loaded up this morning and, after praying together with our families, headed out. This trip is just two of us, Erik Boehme and myself. We'll be joining ...
by Kent Muhling
Now that I've had some time to reflect on my first trip to Touhoku, the north part of Japan that got devastated by the tsunami in March, I wanted to share some of my thoughts:
Reflection
1) First, I felt like God was confirming to me the way He made me and the kind of ministry He has suited me for. I really felt in my own element up there. What I mean is, I am not naturally a good organizer, I can grow bored with routine, etc. but I do respond well in crisis situations, when unexpected problems arise or situations suddenly change. As a volunteer relief worker, every day was different. Each day found us going to different places, meeting with different people, facing different challenges, etc. Didn't know...
A pastor with vision for a church in each of the 86 communities wiped away by the tsunami
Pastor Masamoto Higa of International Family Church in Takasaki, Japan began a fast on March 1st. He was seeking to hear from God. At 2:46pm on the eleventh day of his fast, the 9.0 earthquake hit and minutes later, the tsunami swept in then out, ravaging lives and families, cities and villages. As images flashed across our screens, the nation and the rest of the world watched in utter horror. The devastation was immediate, immense, and incalculable—maybe even hopeless.
by Kent Muhling
As I write this I am sitting in an evacuation center in Shizugawa. There are a little over 120 people staying in the karate dojo of this high school. There is no running water, no electricity. A generator outside provides electricity for heat, and trucks bring in water - but there is not enough to shower or bathe. Instead people are using wet wipes of any kind to keep themselves clean each day. Everyone gets to go to a separate location every 15 days for a bath.
Each family has their own little space, about the size of a king bed, ...
Churches from all over Japan are delivering physical and spiritual aid through local churches in the affected areas.
by Jeff Johnston
SHIOGAMA, JAPAN (A3) - What are Japanese churches doing in response to the devastation brought by the earthquake and tsunami? In Part 1, we learned from Pastor Yukimasa Otomo that they are trying to show people the love of Christ.
In this clip, Pastor Hajime Gohira of Sekiyado Chapel (Keisen Christ Church) shares that his group of churches has sent financial donations, as well as supplies to local churches in the disaster zone...
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