ISHINOMAKI, Japan — Japan’s Baptist leader has expressed
heartfelt gratitude for the assistance Baptists worldwide have provided in the
aftermath of his country’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami — and has made
specific requests for continued prayer.
Southern Baptists working in the disaster response say they are pleased that
weekly caravans can now make their way into the disaster zone and that training
efforts are helping Japanese Baptists mount effective relief initiatives.
“Please accept my deepest gratitude for your kind expressions of comfort,
encouragement, prayer support, and love offerings, following the earthquake
that has wrought devastation to Japan,” Makoto Kato, executive secretary of the
Japan Baptist Convention, said in an April 1 letter. “The warm response from
Christian brothers and sisters around the world has sustained our broken
hearts. Japan Baptist churches appreciate the marvelous support system of
Baptists around the world united in prayer for Japan.”
The increased availability of gasoline has made it possible for “the most
critical necessities for human existence, such as water, food, clothing,
gasoline, and kerosene,” to be delivered into the disaster zone, Kato said. The
Japan Baptist Convention has placed temporary crisis management staff in the
area to support the work of local churches in helping ease the emotional trauma
disaster survivors are experiencing.
Baptist Global Response (BGR), an international relief and development
organization, and its partners are moving to establish bases of operation in
the primary impact areas of Sendai and Ishinomaki, said Jeff Palmer, BGR’s
executive director.
“We have partners committed to establishing and staffing bases of operations in
Ishinomaki and Sendai, and plan to build housing in Sendai for Japanese Baptist
volunteers coming out from Tokyo,” Palmer said. “The operation now has the
capacity of feeding hot meals to up to 3,000 people at a time, and our
stateside disaster relief specialists have trained Japanese Baptists in areas
of disaster response administration, grief counseling and logistics.”
The increased availability of gasoline has made it possible for “the most critical necessities for human existence, such as water, food, clothing, gasoline, and kerosene,” to be delivered into the disaster zone, said Makoto Kato, executive secretary of the Japan Baptist Convention. |
Palmer said he has been deeply moved by the generosity of Southern Baptists in
responding to the Japan crisis.
“We are now somewhere over $500,000 in donations through IMB (International
Mission Board) and BGR and have appropriated almost $200,000,” Palmer said. “Funds
are still coming in at a fairly steady pace, thanks to churches that have not
forgotten Japan’s suffering people, and to partners like LifeWay Christian
Resources, which has designated the ‘change buckets’ in their stores nationwide
for Japan relief. Southern Baptists continue to demonstrate they are people who
care about people in need.”
The disaster response in Japan is about connecting with people in need and
caring about them as individuals, said Pam Wolf, who with her husband Ben helps
lead BGR work in the Asia Rim.
Wolf joined a team headed into Ishinomaki on April 5 that helped a woman named
Sato who wanted to return to the city in search of family members. Sato wound
up helping with a distribution of relief supplies on the parking lot of a
convenience store. While they were handing out supplies, Sato recognized one
woman as an old friend, who also was searching for her family. The two women
were deeply moved to find each other.
Sometimes just listening to someone’s story is even more important than what
you give them, Wolf reflected. She told about a boy they met in Ishinomaki who
had been swept away with his dog by the tsunami. The boy struggled to cling to
his dog in the raging water and finally was able to catch hold of a ladder —
but found himself forced to let go of the dog so he could climb out.
“He told us his story with tears in his eyes,” Wolf said. “You might think
there are far worse tragedies than losing a dog that happened during the
disaster, but for this boy, his loss is as traumatic as anyone else’s. Because
Southern Baptists cared enough to send us in to do disaster response, we were
able to be the love of God for this boy.”
Kato asked believers around the world to pray for the thousands of disaster
survivors who need to experience the love of God for themselves: “Pray for the
people struggling to survive under difficult conditions. Pray for the refugees
living in relief centers, the sick, the grieving. Pray for the people who have
been evacuated from the radioactive danger, and the many more that live in fear
of contamination. Pray for the Lord Jesus to fill them with His comfort and
strength.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Kelly is assistant editor and senior writer for Baptist
Press. The International Mission Board has established a relief fund for the
Japan disaster. Donations may be sent to Office of Finance, International
Mission Board, 3806 Monument Ave., Richmond, VA 23230. In the memo line write “Japan
Response Fund.” Or you can give online by going to imb.org and clicking on
the “Japan response” button. For further information, call the IMB toll-free at
1-800-999-3113. Baptist Global Response is on the Internet at gobgr.org.)
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