Others whose homes were flooded are left to themselves to haul out all the debris and clean it up. Very little help, besides church volunteer groups, is being offered. And culturally they may even find it difficult to accept that help because it creates what they call “obligation”.

From much of what we saw in Japan, there really is an amazing amount of progress being made with regards to the clean-up effort. The Japanese are very industrious people! In many areas, the rubble has been consolidated and they are even taking time to seperating out the recyclables. We understand that some 25 years of trash was created in that one day! There are no longer any apparent shortages of food or fuel. As you move just a few blocks from the disaster zone, you actually see very little evidence of the disaster of only 3 months ago. By now, many of the evacuation centers are closed. The government has already built thousands of temporary homes. These fenced-in communities are plumbed, wired and arranged in a very orderly fashion.

Where the trouble still remains is that most people did not have tsunami insurance. As such, all that they personally owned is completely lost with little hope of recovery. If they are provided a temporary residence, it is simply a shell without any furnishings. Others whose homes were flooded are left to themselves to haul out all the debris and clean it up. Very little help, besides church volunteer groups, is being offered. And culturally they may even find it difficult to accept that help because it creates what they call “obligation”. Understanding this shows how desperate are those are who are willing to accept aid.

How might we as a church be able to help?

1.) We found that one RCJ minister, Pastor Tateishi, with the support of the presbytery, has been very active in coordinating volunteers to help folks clean out their flooded homes. His presence is having quite an impact in that town (Higashi Matsushima) as they have essentially helped from house to house. They do this work “in the name of Christ” and look for opportunities to address the homeowner’s spiritual hopelessness, even as they assist them physically. They allow the Lord to lead them to whom He would have them serve. Could we help support this effort financially and/or with volunteers?

2.) We also sensed that since Christians are such a small minority in Japan, it is very easy for the pastors to get discouraged and feel insufficient in addressing the many ministrerial responsibilities around them, let alone having the added burden of needing to repair their severely damaged church buildings. Might we have some skilled builders in our congregations whom we could send to help alleviate this burden?

3.) We learned of additional response efforts being considered by the churches there. At an ecumenical gathering, there seemed to be a concerted interest in developing some sort of “disaster rehabilitation center” which could be staffed with a chaplain, counselor, pastor or missionary. This could act as a coordination point for volunteers, a counseling center for those struggling with their emotional and spiritual response to the disaster, and a place to hold evangelistic and/or worship servces, amongst other things. While there are certainly details to be worked out, might this be a place to help with some funding?

Upon returning to the States, the OPC assessment team shared with the CDM what it had learned and worked to formulate recommendations which are now in the hands of the OPC Japan Mission. The Mission concurs with those recommendations and is currently suggesting these to the Japan reformed churches (RCJ).

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

Our recommendations to the OPC Japan Mission are as follows:

1. That they inform the RCJ-DAC and affected congregations that the OPC is willing to help with repairs on the Kita Nakayama Church, the Sendai Church, and Elder T’s home, as specified in the recommendations of the John Voss’s Inspection Reports, in providing the skilled workers and shipping of materials, the purchase of which insurance proceeds and gifts from the RCJ would cover, or help defray, the costs of the materials, and would also consider the possibility of addressing other needs as time and resources permit.

2. That they communicate the CDM’s willingness to encourage and coordinate the sending of volunteers who might be able to work with Pastor Tateishi via CRASH or the MTW teams as individuals in the OPC express their desire and willingness to go.

3. That they encourage the continuation of the work of coordinating volunteers in doing relief work, such as Pastor Tateishi is doing in Matsushima, by offering to financially support such efforts in the amount of $1,000 per week through the end of the year, with the possibility of extending that support upon a specific plan approved by them, the Japan Mission.

4. That they, on behalf of the assessment team, seek to reimburse Mr. I. ￥80,000 ($1,000) from the disaster relief funds for the 2 days that he gave of his time and expertise to help us in considering the needs in the Watari/Yamamoto area and in inspecting and advising us on the damage to the Kita Nakayama Church building.

5. That they consider an initial contribution of $50,000 to help build a Disaster Rehabilitation Center, once they approve of its plans.

As you can see, #1 would involve sending construction teams to perform this work. The CDM is committed to cover most of the travel expense of these skilled workers. Our budgetting for these teams was with the assumption that they were made up of experienced skilled workers. We would anticipate sending those teams towards the end of the summer. If you are a skilled worker and would like to be considered to be a part of one of these teams, please let me know.

If there are others in the OPC who don’t have particular construction skills but “just want to help”, they would fall under recommendation #2. I am available and willing to help coordinate teams to go and help by volunteering in various ways. I could see teams going at various times even this summer. If that interests you or your church, please get in touch with me and I will work with you to make it happen. By the way, the more Japanese speakers we can include on these teams, the better. Ultimately, the ability to speak Japanese is essential in sharing the gospel with unbeleievers with whom teams come in contact.

JAPAN DISASTER RELIEF FUND

Thank you for your contributions towards this fund. The total receipts on this fund are pushing $400,000. We have expended just under $100,000, which leaves us with a good amount to use towards the recommendations listed above. We are thankful for those in the OPC and many from outside the OPC who are partnering with us in this disaster response effort. May God be glorified in our efforts to bear a faithful witness in the midst of trying times.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1.) For wisdom in working with sister mission agencies towards the planning of a “Disaster Rehabilitation Center” – location, objectives, staffing, etc.
2.) For continued strength and endurance for our missionaries and the RCJ churches as they strive to “let their light shine before men” in these difficult circumstances.
3.) That God might raise up those who will be best suited to go help.
4.) That many Japanese might be reached with the gospel in these trying times.

David Nakhla is the Disaster Response Coordiniator for the Committee on Diaconal Ministries of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church