Wanna C a Movie?

OMF has made a brief (4mins 11secs) movie/slide show about the Japan tragedy and our response.
      Hava look!    http://vimeo.com/22420842

Japanese "Calm"

In "Ten Things We Can Learn From the Japanese" number one is "The Calm". It seems to me that Japanese people are very calm. They learn from an early age not to show their emotions. The British might be known for their "stiff upper lip" but the Japanese extend that to their whole face! Poker faces abound in this country. Emotional displays are rare, reserved for the stage or for young school girls. Emotionalism is equated with immaturity. Adults have more sense and self control.
Buddhism teaches that "desire" (which is largely the same as "emotion") is the reason why we are caught in this endless succession of illusionary reincarnations and to escape this, one must escape all "desire". Consequently emotional expression is very muted in this society.   Most Japanese don't think about buddhism as clearly and directly as this but buddhism nevertheless has an enormous influence on the people especially in stifling emotional expression.
Japanese are amazed, shocked, amused, embarrassed to hear that God is passionate, gets angry, gets sad, rejoices etc. How can that be?! Impossible!
In "Ten Things" we read that there's been "not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. No, of course not. That would be inviting ridicule. Other people would look down on you if you did that and you yourself would lose face. If such a strong emotion has to be expressed at all, it is done strictly in private. Emotions are kept bottled up. So a foreigner sees "calm".
The conclusion that "Ten Things" draws is that: "Sorrow itself has been elevated."Hmmmmm.... is that the conclusion you draw?

Ten Things We Can Learn From the Japanese

I've been crowing about how great the Japanese culture is for many many years. Every time we're in Oz I inevitably get on that old soapbox and rave on about how much of Japan's culture is more biblical than Aussie or American culture. I would make a different list to this one, but I thought it was interesting to see someone else's observations.
Have you seen this?

1. THE  CALM
Not a single visual of  chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

  
2. THE  DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water  and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture. Their patience is  admirable and praiseworthy.


3. THE  ABILITY
The incredible architects, for  instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.


4. THE GRACE  (Selflessness) 
People  bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get  something.


5. THE  ORDER
No looting in shops. No  honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just  understanding.


6. THE  SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to  pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
  

7. THE  TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An  unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the  weak.


8. THE  TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone  knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.


9. THE  MEDIA
They showed magnificent  restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage. Most of  all – NO POLITICIANS TRYING TO GET CHEAP MILEAGE.


10. THE  CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a  store, people put things back on the shelves and left  quietly.
With their country in the midst of a  colossal disaster - The Japanese citizens can teach plenty of lessons to the  world.

   They say that you can see the real character of a person when they are under pressure, stressed, in a crisis. That is when they show the world their true colors. If so, then I think the Japanese people have shown a lot of praiseworthy attributes.
    Having lived here in Japan for over 20 years I want to re-interpret some of these "ten" and I take exception to at least one (which I think is just plainly untrue!).
    But I wonder what you think of this. Post a comment!
    If enough people respond, I'll re-write my own version of these "ten". Over to you!

Aftershocks

     Thank you for continuing to pay attention after the news cycle has moved on and largely left Japan for more exciting news. Thank you for continuing to care and to pray. God bless you!
     We're still here.
     Aftershocks seemed to be fewer there for a while.
     No more.
     We are still fine. We haven't suffered any damage. The panic buying and the petrol shortages and the blackouts haven't returned. But it is unsettling.
     Aftershocks have been so many we've lost count. Aftershocks have been so many we are learning finer and finer ways to distinguish them. Anybody can talk about mere size (magnitude) and location (epicenter) and some can discuss whether they had or didn't have accompanying tsunami warnings. But aftershocks are now so frequent we are discussing what makes an earthquake an earthquake in it's own right as opposed to an aftershock of the March 11th big one. Aftershocks are now so frequent we discuss all the different locations we've been when they've struck: in bed, in the kitchen, driving, outside, in a restaurant, in the supermarket, etc. etc. Aftershocks have refined our English vocabulary in the area of movement. We now not only "shake", we "sway", "swoon", "convulse", "rock", "swing", "vibrate", "rattle", "pitch", "wave", "jump", "jolt", "ricochet", "float", etc. (!)

Resilient? Yes! Repentant? ... well ....!

     President Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and many people are praising the Japanese people by calling them "resilient".
     I agree with them. I think it's true. These people, this nation are unusually "resilient". They are a remarkable culture and a special country.
     Look at their past: living on this chain of volcanic islands frequently hit by typhoons, earthquakes and tsunami, they have over the centuries learned to adapt. They are unlike any other group that I know. They regularly and repeatedly practice for disasters on all levels: family, company, neighborhood, city, prefecture and nation-wide. They take it as a matter of fact that they need to be prepared to evacuate. They drill and re-drill, train and re-train what to do "in case".
     Time after time Japan has been hit by natural disasters. Time after time it has recovered. And not only "natural" disasters either: after world war two Japan was decimated. Over 60 cities had been fire bombed and were burned to the ground and that was before the nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki! Yet they recovered. Economic disasters have struck Japan too and the result has been the same.
     Look at their architecture and infrastructure: If any of the earthquakes since our big one on March 11 had hit a Brisbane house I shudder to think what would have happened. (!) But our house and hundreds of thousands (millions?) of houses, apartments, offices, shops, skyscrapers, railway stations, roads, bridges, factories, towers etc suffered no damage at all! Not even a crack in the plaster! Amazing. I've got to take my hat off to the builders and designers. Amazing! Resilience is built in.
     People here value "endurance", "persistence", "patience", the ability to not quit, to not moan, to not give up. The most common expression of encouragement that you hear repeated many times everyday is "Ganbatte!" or "Ganbare!" which means precisely that: "Keep it up!" "Hang in there!"  "Do your best!" The grin and bear it attitude is taken as a given.
     Resilient? Yes I believe my Japanese friends certainly are and I admire them for it.
     I ask myself though: "What is God looking for?" "What is valuable in God's eyes?"
     Resilience is a great virtue for Christians. God undoubtedly wants His people to be resilient and to hang in there when times get tough and to be brave and not give up when we face trials and to spring back and respond with love in the face of persecution and to recover from whatever the world throws at us. After all that's the message of Easter: we follow a RESURRECTED Jesus.
     But in a land where over 99% are not yet Christians? What does resilience do for them? Does it mean that they will recover their hard un-believing hearts? Does it translate into an uncanny ability to spring back to their original self-willed, stubborn insistence to live without even acknowledging God? Will it express itself by lives rising up from the ashes to believe in themselves and pride themselves on their own achievements? What if "resilience" means "no change"?!
     I fear for this land where God has called me. I fear for these people who God has given me a love for.
     Jesus calls us first to repentance, not to resilience!
     Here and there every so often we think we are seeing some of this gift of repentance. Hallelujah! Help us by your prayers please.  

Your God is Called: ..... ?

A Christian friend of mine asked what I thought was a pretty crazy question:
Him:"What's your God called?"
I figured he was having a go at me, was going to dredge up the JW's YHWH question or he'd just gone off his rocker. I said,
Me: "Well, he's called many names like "Elohim", "Adonai", "Jehovah Jireh", "Father", "Creator", ....." hoping that would satisfy him but he persisted.
Him: "So your god isn't called "Fukushima"??"
Now I knew he was nuts. I just looked at him sideways not sure whether to run or console him. He might be dangerous.
Him: "Your god isn't called "Fukushima"?!"he repeated looking serious enough and earnest. I thought a short answer might suffice so I said:
Me: "no".
Him: "A lot of people seem to be saying "Fukushima". I hear people all over the place talking about this Fukushima. Everybody seems to be using this name. It's very popular. It seems very important."
Me: "Hmmmm"
Him: "When they say it, it's always with a level of fear or respect or awe like it's something pretty powerful."
(I had to agree with him, but...)
Him: "And lots of people seem to check on this Fukushima so regularly (religiously?) every day, first thing in the morning and/or through the day and/or last thing at night."
I was beginning to see his point !
Him: "They seem to believe this Fukushima controls their fate. That this Fukushima controls their future. That everything depends on this Fukushima."
It certainly is true. Lots of folks are behaving just like this. I'm tempted to live like this myself!
Me:"No. My God is Lord of heaven and earth. He is the Sovereign King in charge of everything. He rules even over Fukushima."

"Things" & "Sakura"

      Little by little things are improving. Milk, bread, rice, petrol, toilet paper which were all hard to get, are all available again. There is less milk and yoghurt and bread available than before the disaster. Sometimes there is a limit as to how many you are allowed to buy. Sometimes the specific type or brand you want is not there. But we are grateful we have what we have.
      Everyday is a lesson on how very very interdependent everything is. We are just beginning to realize for example that one industry relies on another which relies on another etc. When retailers' stocks and then wholesalers' stocks sell out and they appeal to manufacturers and primary producers they are finding that some of these have been completely or partially destroyed. Even if they can re-build it is going to take weeks if not months and everyone in the chain is stuck.
      Petrol of course is more expensive (about 147 yen/litre) but that might be due to Libya?
      Ruth and I have been walking more and I discovered that I can cycle to more places than I thought.
      Up until just this week we were having to check every day to see if there will be blackouts. Recently quite a few of our blackouts were cancelled. We were very happy about that.  Now they are saying that the blackouts scheduled for the next four days have been cancelled as well. Wow! That's great. Blackouts have their positive side too: our electricity bill is 4,000 yen less than last time!
       With all of the uncertainty, over five of my classes were cancelled. It's been an unsettled time when it has been difficult to plan anything since the earthquake. Not only were there material uncertainties and power uncertainties but the whole nation has been in shock and then various stages of grief. The population is stoic and resilient on many levels but is still struggling to come to terms with this mammoth tragedy. Even the national cherry blossom viewing frenzy that takes place every year, was cancelled in some Tokyo parks. Thirteen of our brave friends though stood up to the cold and had a picnic with us under the cherry trees on Sunday after church.

I think this is a good sign and indicates how some people are recovering psychologically. We are glad God has placed us here at this difficult time to be with these people we love so we can walk with them through this.
      
      

Map

Is It Safe???

Is It Safe?

A dear friend of ours wrote to us on Mar 25, 2011, at 9:54 AM,  :

is it safe ?????!!!!!!!

This is my reply:

Safe?  

Safe!!

Ha Ha! 

Humanly speaking, where is safe? There's no place on this planet that's "safe".

The media are raising alarms about radioactivity in water, milk, leafy veges, ....... then there's the continuing threat from the 6 damaged Fukushima reactors,  the aftershocks, the power blackouts,  the ever present possibility of Tokyo having it's (overdue) BIG earthquake, the cold weather,  the panic buying depleting stocks on store shelves,  influenza, rabid dogs, Tasmanian terrorists,  men from mars, and then (oh! you'll love this!) there're those creepy........  aggghhhh! I'm being eaten alive by...... (the sound of swallowing: GULP!)

         Now, let me see.

         Where was I?

         Ah yes:  "safe"

         Welllllllllll..........!  That all depends......!

I personally wouldn't want to sway you to move from any one geographical location to any other on the pretext that where you are is “dangerous”. Not at all. What do I know? God might want you there. Or here!

But (as you know I'm sure), I would want to underline, emphasize, highlight and point out: God is our refuge. He is a great protective Father.

Nothing gets to us but what He allows if we are trusting and obeying Him.

He was known as a "shield" and a "fortress", a

"shelter" and a "strong tower" to the Old Testament saints and He hasn't changed.

         He tells me that not even one sparrow falls to the ground apart from His care and that I am worth much more than sparrows! I believe Him.

         He tells me that no one can snatch me out of His hand. And I believe Him.

         He says He is the resurrection and the life and that if I believe in Him I will live even though I (physically) die. And I believe Him.

         Others who have done this before me have entered lions’ dens, been thrown into fiery furnaces, been imprisoned, been beaten with rods etc. Some have been miraculously rescued.

           So I believe the only “safe” place is not geographical or technological but relational: as long as I am trusting Jesus, He will keep me “safe” either here on this planet or with Him in heaven.

         I believe I should still be sensible and take precautionary measures. We are monitoring the situation as much as we can and OMF has a “Crisis Management Team” doing this as well and keeping us updated.

         There are fearful things, risky things happening around us and we are responding to them but my fear is for all those who don’t know Jesus. I ask myself: “Who is in the more dangerous place? Us or them??” and “What will happen to them?” Jesus says: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” and I know that they are in a far far more dangerous situation than I am. The worst thing that can happen to me is that I die. But then I go to heaven! I’m looking forward to that! Exiting this world is not a bad thing unless it means going to hell. Jesus says that is fearful. I fear for the 99% of my Japanese friends who are in this predicament. Are they safe? No! But they can be!

                  Gary

      No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, 

      Never so much as imagined anything quite like it— 

      What God has arranged for those who love him. 1Cor 2:9 (Bible)

March 22, 2011

Hi! (from Ruth)                                                               March 22, 2011

Thanks so much for continuing to pray for us here. The situation at the power plant is still a big concern but appears to be reasonably stable at present. Our hearts are encouraged that there are Christians working there who are seeking the Lord's help and mercy.

We still have evacuation bags ready and bottles of water lined up on our kitchen counter in the event of something more dire happening. So we are still a bit uptight but endeavouring to get on with life and ministry.

Rolling blackouts continue and as I write this I am wrapped up well against the cold until the power comes back on (we only have electric heaters). Unchanged too is our need to use the car very sparingly because of gasoline shortages but we hear that the supply should be back to normal in a few days.

It's still a bit of a challenge to get milk, yoghurt, bread and eggs but we have managed to get some and consider this a very small inconvenience indeed compared to the suffering of our friends in the north who have to line up in the snow for hours and then are only able to purchase a few items.

Aftershocks seem fewer and less strong. (Editor’s note: The latest unnerving one was last Saturday but we have had several since Ruth wrote this!). For this reason we are generally sleeping better. I say "generally" because this is the season for strong winds and one raged loudly all night on Sunday keeping us awake. We had a better sleep last night, so have caught up a bit.

Some expats have left the country but W.H.O. has issued a statement saying that the levels of radiation outside the 30km zone don't pose a health threat and so evacuation is not necessary for those further away from the plant. We are about 200km away.

                        **********************************

“Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5

Hi! (from Gary)

I am often praying asking God to help us communicate His amazing peace. I think many people need His peace right now. There is a lot of realistic, understandable tension and anxiety in many peoples' hearts because of the triple tragedy: earthquake/tsunami/reactor. The death toll and the destruction and the suffering even now are too big for me to really understand. I am overwhelmed. And I think many people here are feeling the same as me and worse under their calm exteriors. I know God understands and He is active. He is working. But 99% of the Japanese people have no clue about God. Please pray that God will minister His supernatural peace to the people of this terribly bruised and bewildered land.

It is encouraging to know He is using many, many people, who are buying as much as they can, packing trucks as full as they can and then driving to Tohoku (the region of the earthquake) to give away to the needy people there to help meet their desperate needs. Missionaries. Christians. My friends. Please pray for them. Pray they will be kept safe. Pray they will have God’s love and wisdom.

The Sendai Earthquake Relief Fund, an OMF Japan project, has been created to channel funds for this effort. Anyone wishing to contribute to this project may do so through the OMF office in their country. (Working through your local OMF office is faster, less expensive and less complicated than arranging international bank transfers to Japan). Please quote project number L60500.

         The Australian OMF office advises us that the relevant bank details in Australia are: 

“O.M.F. International Federal”

062 263

0090 3892

Specify L60500 on the internet entry.

Use your client number if you are already a donor to OMF. New donors, please confirm your gift by e-mail to accrcvble@gmail.com

         The nuclear power plant is very dangerous. Pray for the brave Fukushima power plant workers. Will the radioactivity come as far as Chiba? There are still a lot of unanswered questions. This is another source of strain and anxiety in everybody around here. They don’t know the Father’s protective care.

We don't have a lot of petrol but we are offering to drive anyone who is stuck. Ruth and I have been walking more. It is good exercise. 

We have stopped heating two rooms. Now we try to do everything: get dressed, eat, study, etc in just one room whenever we can. In this way we save electricity.

         So that we don't boil water too often, we save the hot water we don't use in a thermos bottle. We can drink that later and it is still hot without re-boiling fresh water.

Of course our minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the misery of the Tohoku people. I can’t complain. We don't know if anyone will come, but we have contacted a Christian relief organization “CRASH” and offered our guest room to any one who needs a place to stay. It must be better than the cold gymnasiums some people are living in now!

Due to petrol shortages and the uncertain rolling power outages, many of my students are canceling their English classes and Bible studies. Each day has to be taken as it comes. We had a fairly fluid schedule before. Now it is even more so!

I am still hoping to have a cherry blossom viewing picnic on Sunday the 3^rd of April. Who knows what our situation will be then? I hope it will help our friends to relax, get their minds off the difficulties and begin returning their lives to “normal”. If there are enough church people then this will be another opportunity for the not-yet-believers to meet Christians and have a good time. Please pray for 1. Good weather 2. The cherry blossoms to bloom just in time 3. Many people to come and 4. Good friendships to form.

Thank you for praying for us.

March 20, 2011 Or Am I Just an Optimist?

Or Am I Just an Optimist?

                                                                                                                By Gary

            They are only little things but I think/hope they are significant things.

For example: Last night (Sat 19^th) we had yet another earthquake. It was a fair shake but generally speaking I feel like we are having fewer aftershocks.

            We aren’t getting woken up through the night by so many aftershocks. We aren’t getting woken up through the night by so many local gov’t announcements warning us of earthquakes &/or tsunami or anything else. Of course I suppose it could be that we are just sleeping through them…? Nah! I don’t think so!

            Have you ever been roller skating for a long time or on a boat for a long time and then even when you stop you feel as if you are still on skates or on the boat? Well most of us have been feeling something similar with these earthquakes. We feel “phantom” earthquakes sometimes even when nothing is happening. I can’t explain it any better than that. It’s weird. But the good news is: I am feeling fewer and fewer of these fictitious tremors.

            The rolling blackouts are now either a.) actually happening when they were scheduled to happen or better yet b.) being cancelled! So life isn’t quite so disrupted and chaotic as before. We are finding there are upsides to having no electricity. For example: during these times when nothing else works, we can pray!

            Although public buildings are still closed to conserve energy so my English classes have been cancelled, we are going to try holding one of them here in our house and see how that goes. (That will be Tues 22^nd. Please pray. There is a conditional blackout scheduled for that time. This means that if necessary they will cut our area’s power. Mid-day temperatures are quite pleasant: 13 ~ 17 degrees C. but my English class runs from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. and it will be cold and dark if we have to rely on candles.)

            There have been long lines of cars backed up waiting for petrol at the petrol stations as soon as they get petrol supplies. Now those lines are shorter: this morning only 5 or 6 cars long. I’ve heard that two of my local friends were able to find petrol and fill their tanks up. (Some petrol stations were limiting sales just to “members” and/or limiting sales just to a certain amount of yen.)

            Ruth and I have been walking more.

            It’s been warmer weather.

            Did we tell you that we have had more contact from some of our dear friends from Sendai? We have and they are roughing it but they are alive and well. Hallelujah! One family says they have water and electricity and gas and a certain amount of phone and food shortages but no sewerage and of course no gasoline. Another is melting snow for water or going long distances for water but has a certain amount of petrol, no electricity or phone but plenty of firewood.

            Have you heard of the miraculous rescues? There have been a few. One turned out to be mistaken (the media said it sounded too good to be true and in fact it was!) but others seem to be genuine bright glimmers in this otherwise bleak situation. You can probably find these for yourself on the internet so I won’t elaborate here but it has been helpful to hear. We just heard of another two just tonight! Ten days after the earthquake!

            The crew of power plant operators, technicians, engineers etc who are risking their health and possibly their lives trying to fix the Fukushima nuclear reactors are being dubbed: “the Fukushima Fifty” even though they probably number well over double that. Hopefully you saw my post from yesterday saying that among these are a number of Christians and others have Christian wives. Can you imagine if these heroes did save the day and it became public knowledge and a media event to link their deed to Jesus?! In this country with less than 1% Christian, what an impact! Please pray.

            Our fellow OMF’ers are an inspiration to us. There are some shining saints who are doing great work here even in these difficult circumstances.

            Of course we are thanking God we are even alive. We have been spared. We have an even greater sense of being here for a purpose. The words from the book of Esther about being specifically placed in a position “for just such a time as this” continue to resonate in my mind.

            In all these little (?) ways I THINK I can see progress towards recovery.

            …….. Or am I just an optimist?           

           

           

             

March 20, 2011

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,                March 20, 2011

It's ten days now since the earthquake and we continue to be upheld by the Lord through the prayers of many of you. Thank you so much!

We have never faced anything like this but God strengthens us through His word and continues to encourage us to press on with the task He has given us to proclaim the hope of salvation. He has given us fresh boldness in the present crisis and we pray He will give folk ears to hear and faith to respond in repentance. Please pray with us to this end.

I'd like to share with you some of the verses I have recorded in my diary since March 1st in the hope that you too will have your faith fortified to complete the task Jesus has given you. As you read them you will understand how they have strengthened our resolve to stay here.

'Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.' 1Cor.10:24

'I will stay on.. because a great door for effective work has opened to me.' 1Cor.16:8

'we do not lose heart' 2Cor 4:1,16

'those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them' 2Cor.5:15

'as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses..in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger..patience and kindness.. and in sincere love..dying, and yet we live on' 2 Cor.6:3-9

'you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you' 2 Cor7:3

'an honour to Christ' 2 Cor.5:23

'they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death' Rev.12:11

I know many of you are also in very tough, demanding situations. Know that we pray for you too. Jesus will enable you to be faithful.

Love in Him who is more than worthy of our all,

Ruth (and Gary)

March 19, 2011

Some of the men now working in the Fukushima nuclear plant are Christians.

Ayumi Yamashita sent an urgent prayer from Izumo Minami Chapel:

There are at least 2 Christian workers right now working on the cooling system of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Please pray for them. We have been asked to NOT mention their names.

On Mar 21, 2011, at 1:56 AM, Robert Lopez wrote:

My apologies to all who have received the email I sent out yesterday.  The mention of the name of the Japanese brother may put him in a predicament.  The missionary who sent out the original email has apologized for putting the brother at risk by mentioning his name and title.

We still do want to uphold our brother in prayer so if you are asking others to pray, please edit out the Japanese brother's name and title in the email you send out.  Also, if anyone has posted this online in any webpage, please edit out his name and title asap.

Please forward this email to the other people you may have forwarded my previous email to. 

Begin forwarded message:

Subject: FW: The Fukushima nuclear plant!

Here is a security alert regarding this project.  Pls refrain from further dissemination of his name.  It may do him disservice. I know that you understand such matters.

Russ Simons, International Coordinator

Russ,

FYI on this.  Thanks.

My understanding is this guy is for real. Problem is the missionary who knew him well mentioned his name and title when he should NOT have. 

In church today, this missionary apologized and explained to us that he overstepped his bounds and may have actually put this Christian in a bad predicament by outing him. 

He requested 2 things:

1. Although this person is real, please do not mention his name or title. 

2. If there is anything already out there, Try to pull down or edit out his name and title if at all possible. If not, do not go further with the specifics.

 Marty

The original Fukushima First Bible Baptist prayer request:

Sister S's husband, is in the Fukushima Nuclear Plant One. 

Sister N's husband, is in the Fukushima Nuclear Plant One.

Sister K's husband, has departed to the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Two yesterday.

Brother N is leaving to Fukushima Nuclear Plant Two on Monday. 

PRAY with us!!!

For the Lord's protection, and success in the work!!!

March 16, 2011

Dear                                                                         March 16, 2011

Thanks for your concern. Gary and I had quite a shaking up the other day and continue to be a bit unnerved by aftershocks. No damage yet and by looking at the BBC news online, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12732015) we feel that there's not a big risk to our health from the levels of radiation.

OMF has given us the option of leaving the country if we want to but at this stage we are staying. If we had small kids, our decision might be different.

Around here looks fairly normal except that people are queueing for petrol and there's a bit of panic buying at the shops. Be  assured we have plenty of food and have stocked up on nonperishable items. We've only had power cut off once and that was only for two

hours.

We've lost some sleep by being woken by aftershocks and warning announcements over loud speakers but other than that we are okay. Emotionally we are also a bit tired.

Today I decided not to look at the TV. It gets too much after a while.

And since the power stoppage didn't happen this afternoon, I made some orange and poppy seed muffins and invited a Japanese neighbour and her little girl over for afternoon tea. It was nice to be together and just do something normal.

So far people we know in Sendai have survived but some we haven't been able to contact.

One missionary family had their car washed away but they were safe in their beach cabin up on a hill. They are still isolated there but have enough food and there are some others there with them for support.

Nobody can properly relax with the aftershocks happening but we are just glad to be alive and have the basics that so many don't have, like water and sufficient food. We are very grateful to God to be spared the horrors up north.

Please pray with us that we will have continuing strength. We may be having someone to stay here. Very glad to be able to do something for someone in the present crisis.

Do take care of yourselves too. I'm sure your ever busy schedule is not letting up any.

Love to you ,

Ruth (and Gary)

March 15, 2011

Dear                                                                March 15, 2011

So nice to hear from you. Yes, it's been and continues to be a very sad and stressful time across the whole country.

Although we thankfully sustained no injuries and no damage to our home, the initial quake and the continuing aftershocks have been/are very unsettling. We tend to wake in the night when these smallish but alarming quakes happen and also when warning alerts are broadcast from loud speakers in the area. So we are tired and finding it hard to fall asleep when we do get to bed.

We have an evacuation bag packed and ready and in there are important papers, passports etc.

Have also filled the car up with petrol and using it only when absolutely necessary. Likewise we are trying to use electricity sparingly. As you've probably heard, there are rolling blackouts. 

Making sure too that we have some stocks of nonperishable

foods on hand as we don't know what shortages will result in coming days. I think we could survive for quite some time on the supply of dried fruit, granola and long life soy milk we have(!) but we have other foods too. May stock up on some more though.

It's all so uncertain, one doesn't know how best to react. No precedents to go on.

The BBC news site http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12732015 on the net is helpful and calming. There's an excellent Q&A section about the nuclear power plant crisis which is most informative and allays fears generated by our local TV reports.

OMF leadership is constantly monitoring the situation and giving practical advice. We need to pray for them with this heavy responsibility, that they will make wise decisions on our behalf.

Please pray too that individual families will know best how to take care of themselves as needs differ from area to area. At this stage there is no plan to send missionaries home.

Sapporo has no damage, thanks be to God.

The Lord is our strength and support and we know that our lives are in His merciful hands.

Please tell us how you are too! It will be a happy distraction from what's happening here.

Lots of love to you and thanks for your continuing prayers for Japan,

Ruth (and Gary)

March 13, 2011

Hi!                                                                        March 13, 2011

         Thank you so much for asking how we are and especially for praying.

         I have been furiously emailing as many as I can and Ruth has been doing the same. I just can't keep up with the skypes, emails and phone calls. It is heartening /encouraging to know that so many are concerned and praying for us.

         We are safe.         I don't know what's to come (obviously) but as of right now, I can report that Ruth and I are safe and there's been no damage to our house or possessions.

         That earthquake was BIG! the largest in Japan's history and that is saying something in this land that has earthquakes all the time. It was so big we felt it very strongly even hundreds of kilometers away from the epicentre, down here where we live. Everything really rocked and swayed. Ruth did the right thing and evacuated the house. I was out and felt the ground heaving and saw the car swaying back and forth. But like I said, we are safe.

         Perhaps you know more than we do from the news reports you can see but, trains were stopped, highways were shut down, there have been 4, 5, and 6 meter tsunami in places and some cities are flooded in parts, whole towns and villages have been wiped off the map. In other places gas pipes have ruptured or other chemical pipes (there are lots of chemical factories near here) and there were huge fires burning completely out of control.

         Phone services are still not reliable/not working/are only getting through to some areas.

         There have been countless after shocks that have rocked us and even more aftershocks have rocked the folk up north closer to the epicentre since. Kind of scary but we are ok.

         It's been cold. I thought it could have snowed but its fine here today (top of 12 degrees C.) the poor folk up north are in freezing temps with snow on the ground in many places, many without electricity; some without water, most without phone.

         There are nuclear power plants in Fukushima that they can not stop (yet) from heating up. They have declared a national emergency. They have evacuated residents in a radius as far as 10 kilometers away and have vented radioactive steam into the atmosphere as the lesser of two evils. There has been a couple of explosions at the reactors.

         The T.V. is continuing to broadcast warnings for tsunami all along the coast. Possibly 4 meters high. We aren't close enough to the water to be effected, I'm pretty sure.

         We are safe.

         Thank you SO MUCH for praying. We worked in Sendai for a year and know and love people there. So far we've heard from some that they are safe, but nothing from others.

         It was hard to sleep the first night with tension high and numerous aftershocks. We still are getting earthquakes but they seem to be subsiding. I think we and everyone are feeling the pressure/strain/tension. And it also feels slightly unreal. All of that devastation and tragic loss of life is just "up the road" (about 332 kms to the epicentre, of course a lot less to damaged buildings), and yet everything in our immediate neighborhood looks "normal".

         Over 1,000 people are missing or dead. They report over 700 bodies found.

         Suddenly we really really really appreciate having a warm house, electricity, water, communications!

         How should? how can? we respond?

         Can this possibly help some folk to seek and find God? Or will they harden their hearts and turn even more fervently to their ancestors and idols?

         Thank you for praying.

         With lots of Jesus' amazing love,

                  Gary (& Ruth)

March 12, 2011

Dear                                                                        March 12, 2011

Thank you so much for your love and concern. It was quite scarey yesterday. Even here we felt prolonged

severe shaking and it was reported to be about a 5 or 6 in the Chiba and Tokyo areas. Praise God we had

no damage and live on a hill so should be safe from the danger of tsunami which they keep predicting.

The Thomas and Grace families in Sendai are okay, thank the Lord. We don't know about church people yet.

Gary is going to email one of the deacons this morning to get news of them.

Many across the country are dead or missing. Here in Chiba 10 have died and a few have died even as far

away as Gunma. Hard to believe.

We need to focus our prayers on the north. A scene on TV this morning showed people on the roof of a hospital

in Miyagi signaling for help as it has been completely cut off by flood waters. Ditto Sendai airport where 1,600

were stranded according to a report last night.

It was hard to get to sleep and during the night we felt 5 aftershocks. We have an evacuation bag packed just

in case but hopefully we won't need it. Can't be too careful in a situation like this.

So encouraging and strengthening to know that many like yourself are praying for us all. Thanks again.

Trust all is well with you.

Lots of love,

Ruth (and Gary)

P is for Panic

OMF’er John Elliot posted this report March 18, 2011

P IS FOR PANIC - DON’T. 

TURN OFF THE NEWS AND GET BUSY.

I have just come back from Miyako, in Iwate prefecture. You have probably seen the video clip of the fishing boat that washed over the seawall and got pushed against a bridge. Then the clip ends.

What happened to the boat? Did it get swept under the bridge, or did it stick there? Answer: it stuck there. I saw it.

I was with Martin Ghent, trying to get some solid answers as to what is going on at the north end of the disaster area, as we could approach from the north. We started at the port of Hachinohe, in Aomori. There, damage was restricted to the immediate waterfront. It is bad news for those who lost their fishing equipment, but there was little damage 

to housing at the south end of town. I can’t say what it was like further north, as we 

didn’t go there.

We proceeded down the coast road, and started seeing inlets where the water came over the road, then hamlets where the houses across the road were flooded in the lower story.  A common result was that water broke the windows on the front, flooded in, then burst out the side and back walls. In some cases, the first story collapsed sideways, leaving the second story almost intact.

 

We were unsure what we would find at Kuji, the first fairly large harbor in Iwate prefecture. The wave had gone over the levees along the river, and many houses were flooded, but the locals seemed to be getting things in order, and the only person we asked about helping out just said we should ask at the town office. We decided to move on.

Our first big shock came at Noda, south of Kuji. The bay seems to have been lined up with the tsunami’s direction. The railroad rails had been thrown clean across the road,

which had just  recently been cleared to one lane. As we passed through, we could see Japan Self Defense Force (hereafter, JSDF) personnel at work. Roads near the shore were cleared, but both sides were a mass of rubble. It extended far into the valley on a wide front. We were being waved on by emergency personnel, so kept going. 

The next towns, Fudai and Tanohata, were on higher ground. Despite the strength and length of the tremors, there was little structural damage to buildings that were above the high water mark. 

The road dipped down near sea level at Omoto, a small fishing town. As this coast has a sad history of serious tsunami, a gated seawall 30 feet high had been constructed here and at the next village, Taro. The wave topped both. Since as a result of the last serious tsunami in 1966 (it wiped out nearly every house in town), the government had built this very impressive structure, it is likely no one heeded the warning to leave. The lower town was smashed again. The wave extended up the valley for at least ½ mile, destroying houses that were out of sight of the beach, around an outcrop of mountain. 

The part of the village on the other side of the valley was undisturbed. The roads had been cleared, and the JSDF had moved on. We saw one man out walking his dogs, 3 others trying to recover gasoline from a wrecked mini truck, and a member of the local fishing co-op, sitting on the bridge in his truck, staring at the carnage with teary eyes. He said he and his home were all right, but how many of his friends and relatives had lived in the jumble below? I suspect very few of the missing were recovered in the first sweep. Many will be buried deep in the wreckage; others swept out to sea. How does one process a disaster of this proportion? There is no church in this town. Who will

these people turn to for comfort? Most were probably nominal Buddhists, practically agnostic or atheistic, and indifferent to religion. There is no church in this town.

Martin asked the man about conditions in town. He said there was no food in the stores, but when we offered him some of the things we had brought, he hastened to say he

was fine, they didn’t need  anything. There seems to be a feeling that others are worse off; that it would be selfish, or an imposition to accept anything. Martin kept him talking while I put 4 boxes of apples and juice in the back of his truck. We asked him please to take them to the shelter, on behalf of the people of Aomori, who wanted to help. He then accepted them. We told him there were people praying for them, and left. He thanked us, but I felt it was to him just one more strange event in a welter of events he was unable to process as yet.

If you want to help, if you go to the site, be prepared for a reaction which may seem near

indifference. I am not an expert, but it seems the victims do not yet know what to do about anything, including offers of help.

We went over the pass to the next town, Taro. It was hard hit; the JSDF had only recently gotten to it, and they were not allowing people to pass through in the daytime (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.). It was 4:30, we were low on gas; although we had the name of a church in the next town, Miyako, we didn’t know the pastor, and they weren’t 

expecting us. It was hard to turn back, but we decided to return to our friend’s house 

in Misawa, Aomori, where we could possibly get more fuel, and stay overnight. In answer to prayer, we passed a gas station which had just received some fuel. The word wasn’t out, there was no line-up, and he was willing to sell us some gas. Otherwise, we would have had to ask our friend to come and get us.

It is easy to become a burden rather than a help, if you do not plan and prepare adequately.

 The next day we borrowed our friend’s diesel van, as it had fuel and Martin’s truck didn’t.We went to Morioka Bible Baptist Church in Iwate Prefecture (Conservative Baptist). The pastor, Mr. Kondo, is a friend, so it was easier to get co-operation than just going in cold.  He wanted to visit a church he knew of in Miyako. It is just south of the furthest point we had reached the day before, but this time, rather than go down the coast, we went in from the inland plain.

The main trunk lines of both railway and highway run from Sendai through Morioka and on to Hachinohe and Aomori city, which connects to Hokkaido by ferry. The devastation in Sendai, and the problems at the Fukushima nuclear plant (just south of Sendai) cut this vital supply line. Most of our goods come to the north through Sendai; either on the rail lines and highway, or through the port. That is why there is such a shortage of fuel; it cannot be moved north. Plans are afoot to re-route supplies along the west coast rail and highway links, which are lower capacity, but undamaged.

Similarly, since goods cannot be moved along the coast easily, they are reportedly piling up along this inland corridor. They have to be moved out to the coast along a series of roads that link the inland corridor to the coast. The one into Miyako from Morioka is rather narrow, winding, and the crossing takes nearly two hours. This, coupled with the fuel shortage, makes it a real bottleneck.

Hopefully this will be sorted out soon. I suspect that reusable things like bedding and clothes will be in sufficient supply, but there will be an ongoing need for food, toiletries (cleanup is dirty work), and paper hygienic products (toilet paper, tissues, paper diapers, etc.)

The independent Miyako Community Church is a small congregation, originally started by

Norwegian missionaries. The daughter of members there attends Pastor Kondo’s church

in Morioka,  so we had her contact her father (DoCoMo texting was about the only communication system operating at the time), so they would know to expect us. When we arrived, the pastor, Pastor Iwatsuki, was out visiting emergency shelters, as he had been every day. We talked to his wife for a time, then set out to see how the town was.

 Mrs. Iwatsuki told us the church had electricity and water by the second day after the tsunami. The building was undamaged, and, except for being cold, as they had no kerosene, everything seemed fairly normal. Apparently there was at least some food in the stores. Imagine our shock to see that the wave had come to within 100 yards (meters) of their building! It is right on the river, but the wave didn’t come over at that 

point, nor did it come as far as their house on the street. 

As we moved along, damage quickly increased from wet floors to flooded first stories to buildings wracked and battered by debris. The roads had been cleared. The flotsam, mixed with slimy mud, was piled like snowdrifts a yard deep on both sides of the road. We had wondered why so many cattle feed trucks were on the road; it turns out they were carrying lime powder to disinfect the streets and floors. The white powder was dusted over everything. Locals had moved in right behind the JSDF, and were piling flotsam from their buildings on the drifts of trash cleared from the street.

Everything imaginable is mixed into the smelly piles. Where will these tons of garbage be put? How many of these buildings will need to be pulled down? Will they be replaced, or will people give up on this part of town?

The pastor’s wife told us there were 3 kinds of refugees. Some stay at their ruined 

homes, probably in the hope that missing family members will return. Some have no house left, and go to the shelters. Others have their houses intact, but are afraid to stay overnight in the lower part of town. The elderly lady in the house across from the church was one of these. 

I would venture to say that no one is without some food and water, and that shelter is available if needed. How people react varies a lot. There are tremendous needs, but it is not easy to just walk in and find something to do. No one knows you, or your motives; no one is sure what to do next; no one wants the responsibility of telling you what you can do.

We had taken a variety of supplies we were told were needed. It was evening before we found anyone who would take them. As it turned out, the best place was the temporary distribution center housed in the water department. There, they were more than happy to get what we had, as the replenishment of supplies in the shelters was coordinated from there. That is the key: you have to know how the local system has been set up, or you waste a lot of time. Having a local contact is vital.

The big issue as of today, and probably for days to come, is the availability of fuel. At the disaster site, priority is given to emergency vehicles- obviously. Outside, there is an attempt being made to insure everyone gets enough to heat their home, and get to work. If you cannot get enough fuel to get in and out of the disaster site, don’t go.  It is strictly  BYOG- bring your own gas. This applies all the way from Morioka to Aomori.

All of this will change- probably fairly quickly. Martin and I are working with Pastor Kondo and others to try to guide those wishing to help, so they will not be frustrated, and be a frustration to others.

Please pray for us, for the victims, and for the JSDF, police, and firemen who are on the cutting edge, hours a day, in the snow these last two days. Local police and firemen apparently lost a lot of their colleagues, who were near the beach before the tsunami struck, trying to get people out. They are brave, overworked people who deserve our respect.

In a nutshell, it has been a jarring experience.  This sort of disaster is not unusual in human history, but it is difficult seeing it firsthand. The boat you saw being driven under the bridge was a passing image; the actual boat is still there. Who is going to move it? We have a long road ahead of us.

John Elliot, Ajigasawa, Aomori, Japan, March 18, 2011.