Day 12, and the count goes on

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

-2 Corinthians 12:8-9

We’ve had several requests about an update on how we’re doing at the school and what’s happening with the rescue efforts in Japan. Jon’s decided to take the next 25 minutes that he managed to squeeze away to try and do that for everyone.

In regards to ARI, things are slowly moving along. We got really good news yesterday. The structural damage that we thought would make us have to tear down the Koinonia House is not as bad as the inspector first thought. We still have to tear down most of the inside of the building and fix some floor and walls, but the building is standing intact. Amen! Work has already begun on the upper floor, which will allow us to have a dining room again, which can also act as a multipurpose room allowing us to continue with the program this year. The first floor though is a little more damaged and will need more extensive work, so until we can raise support and find time, help and professionals we will keep it closed.

We have continued to work in the main building where our offices, library and classroom is located. One worry from the inspector is that the weight of the library was too much for the second floor, so we are in the middle of cleaning it up, at least creating path ways to walk around in:), and will bring the books downstairs until we can get things situated. But this will allow us to return to our offices, hopefully by next month getting us back into a little since of normal.

The rest of our time has been spent between getting vegetables, rice and potatoes ready for planting and getting our own houses and lives in order. Although our house didn’t suffer much damage, some of the staff members still are not able to live in their houses but continue to make repairs .

Finally, we have been able to connect with a local refugee center. It’s being held at the local park’s hall and gymnasium. Although the original plan was to house 50 people for a week’s time, that has turned into an expected 500 people this week and people will be able to stay longer. What got us involved was a call from a former staff member. We were planning on sending food up to Sendai and other Tsunami afflicted areas, something we have done a little, when the former staff member called and shared that the local government was opening a shelter up but would not be providing food. Between her work, a couple of visits by us, and God’s hand, the government decided to open the kitchen to volunteers and allow us and others to donate food for the refugees. God has blessed us with the opportunity to serve so many people through these efforts. We also have enlisted help from others in Japan. If you are in Japan you may send us food, diapers, clothing, etc… and we will pass it on to the local shelter. We still continue to house several refugees ourselves and do all we can do to support people caught in the middle of this disaster. Many of the people coming here are not only escaping the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami, but also the powerplant. And that continues to press in on us.

The situation with the powerplant has not seemed to changed much. There has been seeming improvements and other setbacks. The radiation in our area has dropped to a third of what it was last week, but still above normal. But it’s effects have continued. Now leafy vegetables and milk in the neighboring prefectures are prohibited from being sold to other places in Japan and many stores will also not buy these things from our own prefecture because of our proximity. This is a double whammy for the farmers in Japan. Not only have they been hurt by the timing of the disaster and it’s destruction the fields, but now the radiation is beginning to affect the food and water which means their livelihoods are all but shot, not too mention the danger to their health. As far as we know, our food is still ok, but we are in the process of getting it checked and are cautious in what we are eating and drinking. Please be in prayer for this situation, for us, the farmers, and the health of people throughout Japan.

As far as the situation regarding the relief efforts in the north, there is good and bad news. For the most part people continue to remain calm, although 1 mile lines at the gas station are not so rare, long lines to get in grocery stores are normal and in parts of Japan not directly affected by the earthquake, toilet paper, tissue, bottled water, noodles, and rice are almost impossible to buy. But most people continue to wait. We have heard that some of the areas around the powerplant are not getting food, medicine, and other necessities shipped in, leading several staff members to spend Sunday delivering this to them. They said that people are not starving, but the fear of the radiation is keeping many people away, including delivery trucks. Other parts up north, people are waiting for food, having maybe 1 meal a day, and dealing with the ongoing cold with what blankets and clothes that have been donated. The highway north from Tokyo through our area continues to be limited to emergency vehicles and rescue operations, making it hard for people to leave the affected areas. We’ve heard that there has been some stealing, looting and things that you normally associate with these disasters, but they seem to be the occasional and not the normal reaction. Maybe that’s something to thank God for. But while many are struggling and foreigners are heading home, there is so much help coming to Japan from those overseas and the Japanese people themselves. My colleague, whose wife and children headed south to stay with her family for a while, said that the grocery stores were also empty down there. But the reason is because people are buying and sending what they can to those in the disaster areas. God is working where we might not expect it.

As we come to a close, and 2 more scary aftershocks shake us around (the 4^th or 5^th of substance today) and it’s already 20 minutes over what was allotted to write, we want to share how we are doing and what you can be doing to help before giving you prayer requests.

Satomi has been helping in the kitchen and keeping and eye on the news regarding the powerplant. She’s tired, but hanging in there. We both shared how at this time you realize that the only thing that is important is life, every other thing is really meaningless. We had our car packed to evacuate that 2^nd night, but nothing that most people might ordinarily value was in their, a few changes of clothes, food, passports, wallets and a computer. Jonathan is also busy with cleanup, getting the farm ready and packing eggs each day for churches, the evacuation center and a local farmers market. He’s also tired, but the last few nights have been restful nights, allowing his stress to be reduced a little. Both of us are finding strength in the words of scripture, the testimony of others around us, prayer and the supportive words from our friends and family. At the school prayer meeting last night, one staff member shared that this was the first time she’s been through a communal disaster. She also shared how God has been her strength. The scripture shared above has given us all great strength. Although we all feel weak and powerless to change anything that an earthquake can bring, we know that when we let go of our strength, the Holy Spirit gives us more strength than is humanly possible. We have experienced in our lives that when we our weak, He is strong, For the Power of Christ works best when we are weak and say have thy way.

What can you do to help? You can contact groups like UMCOR, Salvation Army, and Samaritan Purse, all of which are doing great work of relief in the middle of the disaster in the name of Christ. They are taking donations and money, participate as you can. You can also support our recovery work, the help we are giving to refugees, and our yearly program through sending money to AFARI. Finally, you can start planning a mission trip to come and help in Japan this coming summer, fall, even next year. There will be lots of work all around Japan as we seek to recover and I am sure it could use hands, and your witness of the gospel, bringing hope to so many people that are now on the verge of despair.

Finally, you can pray, pray, pray! Believe it or not, we have been able to feel your prayers. We should all be dead tired (or even dead) and sick now but we are continuing because of the power of God working through your prayers.

Please pray for:

1. The ongoing recovery efforts in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Pray that the rescuers will be open to the leading of God and that they will be led to the people who need the help most and reach them

2. Pray for the powerplant situation. The winds have also blown inland this week leading to more worries about radiation. Pray that God will control the winds, sending them away from people and pray that the workers get the plant stable, without further leaks of radiation.

3. Pray for the effects of the powerplant. Please remember the farmers in Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures. Pray that they will be healthy, that their food will be healthy and they will be able to sell their food. Also pray for the future that they won’t face discrimination because of where they are from.

4. Pray for ARI and Tochigi prefecture. Our food is still deemed safe but it could change at anytime. Pray that the farmers will be able to continue their work and pray for our health and our future. Pray that God will give us wisdom as we continue to plan for the coming year. Pray that God will bring the powerplant and radiation situation under control giving us confidence about continuing our program. If God’s will is different, pray that we can know God’s will and act accordingly.

5. Pray for Satomi and Jonathan. As we seek to comfort and minister to others and do recovery work, we have seen in ourselves and other missionaries tiredness. Pray that God will give us strength to continue to serve and witness to people. Pray people’s hearts will be open and the gospel communicated clearly. Finally pray that we will know our limits and rest when we need to, continually relying on God to fill us up with his strength in our weaknesses.