Life Goes On and the Gospel Goes Forward

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:27:00 EST

Life goes on in Japan. The nuclear crisis in Fukushima continues though it may not figure prominently in the news. Today many were surprised to learn from the government that the removal of melted fuel rods will start in 2021 if the technology required for the process has been developed by then. After that the clearing away of the reactor buildings will take decades.

As of last month, about 98,000 evacuees are still living in shelters. Elsewhere, people try to live like in pre-Fukushima times. People in Greater Tokyo are doing their best to return to normal lives, or a new normal.

There are those who monitor radiation levels and food contamination. Some people try to be careful with the source of their food; others don’t seem to care. Some have their own Geiger counters. There is concern with the nuclear fallout that has accumulated in the ground. The area where I live is one of the hotspots. I was going to say that there seem to be less of strong aftershocks now but we just had a 7.3 intensity quake.

Suicides went up in disaster areas, as well as in Tokyo as people find it difficult to deal with the stress, hopelessness, even guilt. Deep emotional healing is much needed. Streets, stations, trains, stores are a little darker now to conserve power. Now Japan is not just spiritually darker but literally too. How Japan needs the light of Jesus!

As for the spiritual situation, I don't sense any change or openness among my Japanese contacts in Greater Tokyo. We have been spared here. And I thank God for that. But we're not out of the woods yet. There might still be a big earthquake in the Tokyo region. But I heard that those in the affected Tohoku region up north are more open. Some have believed. Many came to Easter services. I pray for a revival but I realize it should start with me.

Please pray for our team of missionaries from SEND going up north from July 12-16. We will be helping clean mud from houses, building connections for the church and other things we might be asked to do. Pray that we can be a witness through our actions and words. Pray for opportunities to share God's Word and that it may bring lasting fruit. May God give us strength, guidance and protection (that neither the nuclear reactors nor the tectonic plates will act up).

Why don't you just go home to the Philippines?

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

"I could go home to the Philippines, but I am going to stay here in Japan." Joy Dela Cruz is a SEND missionary in Japan from the Philippines with a burden for her adopted people. She tells her story of last Friday, and the weekend.

"I really praise God I am alive and well in the aftermath of the great earthquake in Japan. And I am so grateful to be home early that afternoon from Japanese class. If it had been a different day, I would have been in Tokyo that time and stranded like so many. I live in Matsudo City in Chiba, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) from Sendai City near the epicenter of the earthquake.

"I am used to the earthquakes here but this time, after the very strong and sustained shaking didn’t stop, I realized this one was different. I stood up, looked outside and later kneeled in prayer begging to the Lord to make it stop. I was waiting for the walls and ceiling of my top-floor apartment (6th floor) to fall. I was thinking, “This is it; I can die here.” Praise God the shaking finally stopped. Praise God too for buildings that withstood the shock, including mine. So grateful for Japanese preparedness and efficiency.

"When I saw the initial images on the TV, I couldn’t help crying for the many people who were swept with the tsunami.

"Two days after, on Sunday, I ventured to go to Tokyo to worship with the house church and pray for Japan. I left my house not sure if I would be able to return. Having in mind the difficulty of those stranded in Tokyo on the day of the great earthquake, I brought emergency supplies in my backpack and some valuables. The train management was advising people to stay in their homes because the power could be cut anytime as the government worked to prevent a meltdown in at least two nuclear plants. Still, I had to be with the church. I was here to bring light in this dark place which had become darker, figuratively and literally now.

"Two seeker ladies who joined us were very worried with the state of things in Japan, as can be expected. Still, believing and trusting in Jesus was very difficult for them as they considered the message of the Bible. Pray for C and M. I gave them the Book of Hope magazine containing selected Bible passages, the Good News and help regarding particular problems. M, especially was very pleased with the articles that she found easy to read.

Another friend said she “felt death for the first time in my life” and that there was nothing but fear in her mind. I prayed for her and also for her concern about her new digital TV that it would be okay back in her house. God answered my prayer. Pray that she would open her heart to Jesus finally.

"I also gave the Book of Hope to two other Japanese as we talked about the big earthquake and the risks of the nuclear plant situation. One asked me why I stay when I can fly home to the Philippines until things settled down here in Japan. Never thought of that. Please pray for others I gave the material to: my Japanese teachers, classmates, residents of nearby apartments, people in Pachinko (slot machine) parlors who had their bicycles parked outside where I put the Book of Hope.

"Yesterday, apart from being in the worship service, I spent most of the day until nighttime going from store to store looking for a good-sized flashlight or lamp. Bottled water and batteries were hard to find as well. The shelf containing cup noodles was empty. Throughout all these, the Japanese are orderly and polite as ever keeping a calm exterior in the face of the calamity and threat of future ones. But if one goes deeper into their hearts, one will find terror. May it cause them to seek the Lord Jesus for eternal salvation. And may the church in Japan have the wisdom, love, strength, opportunity to share Christ with them in words and in action.

"I pray that we can get around the power and train service interruptions as we reach out. Perhaps the Lord is answering our prayer for a harvest and revival in Japan. Days before the big earthquake, just after having experienced an intensity 7 earthquake, my colaborers in Japan and I were discussing how God is being gracious to Japan, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9) We were finding strength in these verses below. May the Lord sustain our faith as we face the situation in Japan."

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2