Japan Quake Blog

Introduction

This proposal #1 was developed immediately after Dale and Ann’s tsunami ministry setup trip in July 2011. It is a starting point for shaping the focus of the EFCCM tsunami recovery ministry that will take place from Nov/2011 through Oct/2012.

Any recovery ministry in the post 3/11 era of rebuilding in Japan must be flexible. So the shape of this recovery ministry might change once Dale and Ann arrive in Japan in Nov/2011 to actually begin the ministry. The situation on the ground is in constant flux.

EFCCM tsunami ministry focus

If there is any one single observation that informs the direction of this proposal it is that the emotional needs of tsunami victims are outstanding. Physical needs are being met as best as can be expected.

Therefore the EFCCM will focus upon meeting the emotional needs of tsunami victims by providing opportunities for them to talk and build new personal relationships through such activities as…

• sewing/quilting projects (warm blankets and clothing for winter)
• serving coffee, tea, and baked goodies
• distributing helpful literature, including gospel centered literature
• teaching outreach English conversation classes for children, if there are children in temporary housing and if their parents desire their children to take such classes
• cleaning, scrap booking, and scanning family photos victims have found in the tsunami debris

Temporary housing in Sendai city for tsunami victims

This emotional care will require a mobile ministry, rotating between temporary housing locations. It will require such resources as…

• vehicle (large 4WD van or perhaps a small motorhome)
• fuel and highway tolls for the recovery ministry vehicle
• sewing machines for Japanese ladies to use and sewing/quilting materials
• oven for baking
• coffee and tea making equipment
• Japanese literature for distribution
• photo scanner
• photo cleaning and scrap booking supplies
• household items required by victims for the approaching winter (heaters, curtains, carpets, etc.)

Once we are known within the temporary housing centers, this kind of ministry has the potential of expanding. At that point we will call for volunteers to join us. This is a ministry that will likely start on a small scale and grow larger over time.

Building construction will not be a focus of the EFCCM ministry. But there is a large Christian recovery organization that is interested in cooperating if we can propose some viable construction projects. Such projects could involve sending volunteer teams directly to or through that organization.

Geographic base: Sendai city

Sendai city includes areas hit by the tsunami waves and is relatively close to other affected towns. Many victims are moving to Sendai because it is the largest city in northeastern Japan (population: one million) thus offering opportunities for employment. Dale and Ann plan to rent a house close to both Sendai and the tsunami hit coastal areas, perhaps in a town like Rifu-cho, Miyagi-ken.

Cooperating churches and organizations

Larry and Bella, who are ReachGlobal (EFC of America and EFC of China (Hong Kong)) church planters at Sendai Izumi EFC, make excellent partners. So it is our intention to work closely with them for mutual encouragement and long term ministry continuity.

Although working with local churches in the affected areas is a priority, the reality is that there are relatively few churches in those areas. (For example, there are no churches in Higashi Matsushima, one of the destroyed towns about one hour from Sendai city.) So cooperation with local churches should include cooperating with churches located outside the affected areas who have a deep concern for those areas. For example, many Tokyo area EFCJ churches have a concern and would make excellent partners for EFCCM recovery ministry. Musashino Chapel Center, particularly the English Department, is one such church.

One credible and unique relief network is CRASH Japan because it has the endorsement of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA), along with the enthusiastic volunteer help of JEMA linked expatriate missionaries (over 1000). CRASH also has the endorsement of JEA (Japan Evangelical Association). JEA is the network of evangelical churches in Japan parallel to NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) in America and EFC (Evangelical Fellowship of Canada) in Canada. (Dale serves as the President of JEMA.) Our intention is to work in cooperation with CRASH Japan.

Weeks two through four flew by in Japan. The most memorable part was our 8 days in northeastern Japan, July 9-16. We saw first hand the devastation caused by the massive tsunami waves of 3/11. Four months after the disaster, the northeast coast of Japan is still reeling from the tsunami. As Ann expressed it in a July 14 email to family and friends:

It is hard to describe in words what we saw. Kristy has been looking at her pictures and says that even those don’t say it all. Matthew has taken many movies, so we hope to share some of them. In most places there is a great deal of activity with trucks and front loaders. Other villages are untouched rubble left everywhere with only a few standing buildings. There was one large cement building that had been turned on it side. [See the pic at the top of this blog.] Everywhere, the ocean and sky was a beautiful blue, and the forest so green. Nature seemed to be at peace after so much destruction. But in every town and village, other than the clean up crews, there were no people. They were ghost towns.

And then again on July 18, Ann wrote:

We will be processing all that we have seen for a long time. I find I was numb while I was there [up north], but now when I review everything or think about what I saw, the tears come. I am hardly able to talk about it. Please pray for open doors to get to know and minister to the disaster victims.

That bus doesn't belong up there! (Ishinomaki-shi, Ogatsu-cho)

We not only drove up the Pacific coastline of northeastern Japan and saw first hand the devastation. We also spoke with leaders of Christian relief organizations in the area, as well as with local city and town office staff, including the staff of one temporary housing complex built by the city of Sendai. We made or confirmed the following observations about the situation on the ground, factors that will shape the kind of recovery ministry we forumulate:

• Just after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, over 300 miles of the Pacific Ocean coastline from north of Tokyo to the northern tip of Honshu island was devastated by tsunami waves up to 15 kilometers (9-10 miles) inland. These wave heights reached 40 meters (130 feet) in some places. Whole cities, towns, and communities have been destroyed. The Pacific Ocean coast of northeastern Japan is still like a war zone four months after the quake.
• Before 3/11 over 1.3 million people lived in this area. The tsunami waves claimed over 20,000 lives.
• The vast majority of victims speak only Japanese.
• Over 65% of the victims are over the age of 60.
• The fear of nuclear radiation from the disabled Fukushima nuclear power facility is understandable, but more people are currently affected by the tsunami destruction than the radiation problems.
• The prefectural and local governments are still discussing not only how to rebuild destroyed communities, but also whether to rebuild. Reconstruction needs to take into account the risk of future tsunami.
• Many of the over 100,000 victims have no desire to return to live in the area that used to be called home. Temporary housing solutions for victims include barrack style housing units set up by local governments and rental subsides for victims who opt to rent apartments. “Temporary” means two years.
• Rebuilding will take years.
• Physical needs of victims are being met as well as can be expected by the Japanese government at the local, prefectural, and national levels. In addition, many international NGO/NPO organizations have a focus on meeting the physical needs of victims.
• By contrast, the emotional needs of victims remain outstanding. Government workers and agencies typically do not have the mandate to listen to victims or develop relationships with them. And NGO/NPO workers do not speak Japanese.
• The stretch of coastline destroyed by the tsunami waves is one of the most unchurched areas of Japan.

Our recovery ministry setup trip to Japan has shown us the significance of a ministry that gives priority to trying to meet the emotional needs of the several hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims. The key question we have been asking is: “What does a gospel-centered ministry in the aftermath of trauma look like?”

Future posts will further describe this focus of our one year tsunami recovery ministry.

Go to Dale’s japanquake.ca site to see pics of the coastline of Japan taken four months after the quake.

Week one (Jun 23 – 30) of our ministry setup trip to Japan has flown by. Our activities have included more than tsunami recovery ministry setup. Updates on those additional activities can be found here on Dale’s tokyolittles.net blog. This japanquake.ca blog tracks our tsunami ministry.

CRASH Japan Tokyo office

As part of the initial process of setting up the tsunami recovery ministry of the EFC of Canada Mission, Dale spent several hours with the President of CRASH Japan, the endorsed relief and recovery network of Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, a network of most evangelical missionaries in Japan from all over the world. JEMA membership currently stands about 1100 missionaries. Dale is President of JEMA.

During the dialogue between Dale and the President of CRASH Japan at an outdoor coffee shop near the temporary Tokyo office of CRASH Japan, Dale was invited to request funding for leadership logistics of our EFC of Canada Mission tsunami recovery ministry from CRASH Japan. Seeing as the EFCCM Relief Fund does not cover costs of our leadership logistics (with the exception of our tsunami ministry setup trip), this was good news indeed! Perhaps we will make such a request to the CRASH Japan leadership team once we set up one or more specific recovery projects that have long term goals and show continuity in ongoing leadership.

From Jul 9-16 we will be in the Sendai city area of northeastern Japan setting up the EFCCM tsunami recovery ministry.