Dale and Ann’s first Sunday at Sendai Izumi EFC, January 29/2012
Published January 29, 2012 | 
Larry Mori preaching at Sendai Izumi church (Jan 29)
Curry rice lunch at Sendai Izumi church (Jan 29)
We arrived in Sendai on Jan 27 and are searching for an apartment. We plan to link our tsunami recovery ministry with the church planting project of Larry and Bella Mori at Sendai Izumi Evangelical Free Church. It we will be our home church for fellowship, worship, and service over the next year. We hope that our apartment will be located within 20 minutes of the church (by car).
Japan Quake and Tsunami (5)
Published June 7, 2011 | June 7, 2011
The result was the greatest widespread damage and destruction in modern Japanese history. Franklin Graham states, “The devastation is as bad as anything I’ve seen in my 30 years of ministry.” (Samaritan’s Purse Update, April 2011)
The tsunami waves caused severe damage along some 400 miles of the coast and penetrated as far as 5 miles inland along Japan’s northeast. The population in these areas before the disaster was estimated to be about 15 million, of which 1.6 million lived within 3 miles of the coast. Some coastal towns were entirely obliterated. Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture, with a population of about 1 million people, was hit particularly hard.
According to the government of Japan, as of June 2 the death toll is 15,327 and 8,343 missing, coming to over 23,500 fatalities. Injured number 5,364. And 158,738 have been evacuated to shelters. The highest prefectural death toll is 8,530 in Miyagi, with another 6,000 still missing.
The earthquake and tsunami also caused the cooling systems in several nuclear power stations in Fukushima Prefecture to fail. This is a grave concern, but despite what the news networks in North America would have us think, the fatalities and damage from the series of tsunami remains the major crisis story.
Now that you have read the news, click on the <prayer items> tab at the top of this page and pray through the requests noted there. Your prayers are making a difference!
Japan Quake and Tsunami (4)
Published March 23, 2011 | News items have come from CRASH Japan News Headlines, the Center for Excellence (disaster management and humanitarian assistance), and our personal contacts in Japan.
March 23, 2011
GENERAL INFORMATION
The death toll from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and its following tsunamis in northern Japan on March 11, 2011, is expected to be above 20,000. More than 9000 are dead. Almost 13,000 are missing. Rescue efforts are underway, with many countries sending search and rescue teams. But there are few stories of survivors. The tsunamis were far more deadly than the earthquake and its aftershocks. The tsunamis swept in so quickly that for the most part they were inescapable. People had mere minutes to find safety.
Most earthquakes leave pockets of destruction. By contrast, this quake and its tsunamis have left a trail of destruction that looks like a war zone. The part of Japan devastated the most by the quake and tsunamis stretches north over 350 miles along the Pacific Ocean coast (east side of Japan), starting about 100 miles north of Tokyo. The worst affected areas are the prefectures (states/provinces) of Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, Yamagata, Ibaraki, Chiba, Akita, and Aomori. The tsunamis infiltrated inland as far as 8 km (5 mi). The population in these areas before the disaster was almost 15 million, of which 1.6 million lived within 5 km (3 mi) of the coast. Particularly hit hard are areas east of Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture.
This devastated area includes Shichigahama town, where the EFCCM hopes to set up relief work starting in June. The tsunami there was measured to be 10 m (33 ft). It hit Sendai port, adjacent to Shichigahama. Click here for Facebook pics of some former beaches at Shichigahama.
Japan Quake and Tsunami (3) – a remarkable prayer meeting
Published March 17, 2011 | March 17, 2011
The major news networks have given extensive coverage of the earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear power plant meltdowns in Japan. But there are many things happening in Japan that are unseen by the media. God is working behind the scenes in and through his church in Japan.
You see, Ann and I had the privilege of attending a prayer meeting in Tokyo early this morning–all from our rental cottage in Maine, USA. With the rotating blackouts in the Tokyo area, Musashino Chapel Center (English Department), decided to hold its weekly Thursday evening prayer meeting by skype. An invitation was sent to all MCC folks, so we joined in at our 6:30 AM. As we prayed together, and as I heard the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Tokyo, I was reminded of these words from Acts: And now, O Lord…give your servants great boldness…(Acts 4:29 NLT).
As you read below some of the prayers offered to God by the believers at MCC on Thursday evening, Mar 17 (their time), see if you too sense that God the Holy Spirit is giving his church boldness, even as he did in the early days of the New Testament church.
Japan Quake and Tsunami (2)
Published March 15, 2011 | March 15, 2011
The death toll from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and its following tsunamis in northern Japan on March 11, 2011, is expected to be above 17,000. The Miyagi prefectural police (Sendai city area) have announced an expected death toll of above 10,000 in that prefecture alone. The actual body count in Japan currently stands about 2500. Rescue efforts are underway, with many countries sending search and rescue teams. But there are few stories of survivors. The tsunamis were far more deadly than the earthquake and its aftershocks. The tsunamis swept in so quickly that for the most part they were inescapable. People had mere minutes to find safety.
The part of Japan devastated the most by the quake and tsunamis stretches about 300 miles along the Pacific Ocean coast (east side of Japan), starting about 100 miles north of Tokyo. Most earthquakes leave pockets of destruction. By contrast, this quake and its tsunamis have left a 300 mile trail of destruction that looks like a war zone.
Nuclear power plants just north of Tokyo are now malfunctioning. The possibility of radiation leakage has added to the fears of the people of Japan. Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures have been placed on rotating blackouts to conserve electrical usage.
Many tragic facts about the quake and its tsunamis have become common knowledge on the major news networks around the world. What is less known is the behind the scenes work of one significant relief network in Japan known as CRASH: Crisis, Relief, Assistance, Supplies, Hope. This network is led by evangelical missionaries already present in Japan, and many of its volunteers are also missionaries. CRASH is an endorsed ministry of JEMA: Japan Evangelical Missionary Association. (Dale is the President of JEMA.) JEMA provides CRASH with a pool of over 1000 missionaries who, if available and physically fit, are eager to assist. So CRASH personnel know the language and the culture of Japan. CRASH is not a professional rescue organization. It is a voluntary network of missionaries and believers who focus on relief and rebuilding, the two steps that follow professional rescue efforts.
Many of the large (and excellent) Christian relief organizations state that they are in the process of assessing the situation on the ground in Japan. It is CRASH from which they are getting much of their information. CRASH is providing guidance to many Christian relief organizations about to begin work in Japan.
Japan Quake and Tsunami (1)
Published March 12, 2011 | March 12, 2011
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! … Be silent and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. (Psalm 46:1-3, 10 NLT)
A massive earthquake of 8.9 magnitude hit northern Japan on Friday, March 11. This was the largest quake in Japanese history and the fifth largest in the world since records have been kept. The monster quake was followed by a devastating series of tsunamis that have left tens of thousands dead. (Miyagi Prefecture police have announced a death toll above 10,000 in their prefecture alone.) A nuclear power plant just north of Tokyo has malfunctioned with an explosion.
The news is heartbreaking and seemingly getting worse by the hour. Ann and I are in the USA on a one year home assignment, but our hearts are in Japan. We just travelled by JR East Pass throughout the Tohoku region of Japan (northern Japan) a few weeks ago on a short ministry setup trip to Japan. It is hard to imagine what the countryside there looks like now.
I sense that it is no longer business as usual in Japan. Modern Japanese history might from here on out be measured in terms of before/after the 3/11/11 earthquake. There was a 9/11. Now there is a 3/11.
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