John writes:Dear Friends,
It is getting late on Sunday night. It has been a long day. As people arrived at the Nishi Okamoto Church this morning they came with batteries, and "hand warmers" (a little pack that when shaken mixes some powders that cause a reaction and gets warm... don't know if they have them in the US) and other items to be sent to the areas hit by the earthquake and tsunamis. It was a moving time of worship for the Nishi Okamoto Church as they remembered the earthquake that destroyed so much of the city of Kobe 16 years ago. Lots of prayers for the people in what we call the Tohoku area, where this tragedy struck.
Tomorrow, at the request of Rev. Tanno the General Secretary of the Japan Baptist Union, Pastor Takahashi and I will try to find a way up to this area. Perhaps fly into to Aomori. The plans is still in the drawing stages, but hopefully we will find a way to work our way to most of the churches, connect with the pastors and discover more of what the exact needs are. Also to begin some coordinating for volunteers that will begin to head that way in the near future. We will take a bunch of batteries and some battery powered cell phone chargers. Part of the problem is that even if people have their cell phones, since there is little electricity, there is no way to charge them.
I ask you to join me in prayer that as we travel to this area we might be a light of hope and life to those that we meet along the way.
Pray that we will be able to connect with the pastors and be a help and encouragement to them.
Pray that the Lord will lead, guide and use us on this journey.
Good news today was that contact was made with the pastor of the Hachinohe Church.
To read additional journals, prayer requests, news updates and how to give to Japan relief, click here.
It is getting late on Sunday night. It has been a long day. As people arrived at the Nishi Okamoto Church this morning they came with batteries, and "hand warmers" (a little pack that when shaken mixes some powders that cause a reaction and gets warm... don't know if they have them in the US) and other items to be sent to the areas hit by the earthquake and tsunamis. It was a moving time of worship for the Nishi Okamoto Church as they remembered the earthquake that destroyed so much of the city of Kobe 16 years ago. Lots of prayers for the people in what we call the Tohoku area, where this tragedy struck.
Tomorrow, at the request of Rev. Tanno the General Secretary of the Japan Baptist Union, Pastor Takahashi and I will try to find a way up to this area. Perhaps fly into to Aomori. The plans is still in the drawing stages, but hopefully we will find a way to work our way to most of the churches, connect with the pastors and discover more of what the exact needs are. Also to begin some coordinating for volunteers that will begin to head that way in the near future. We will take a bunch of batteries and some battery powered cell phone chargers. Part of the problem is that even if people have their cell phones, since there is little electricity, there is no way to charge them.
I ask you to join me in prayer that as we travel to this area we might be a light of hope and life to those that we meet along the way.
Pray that we will be able to connect with the pastors and be a help and encouragement to them.
Pray that the Lord will lead, guide and use us on this journey.
Good news today was that contact was made with the pastor of the Hachinohe Church.
To read additional journals, prayer requests, news updates and how to give to Japan relief, click here.