Close to 16,000 people dead and 3,500 people still missing. Wreckage equivalent to 30 years’ worth of garbage gathered and stacked in ‘mountains’ awaiting disposal. It has been a year since Japan’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami which hit 500 kilometers (311 miles) of Japan’s north-east coast line. The world may have moved on but TEAM missionaries wonder if life will ever be the same in Japan.

“In most areas, the physical rebuilding of many of the towns is still a long way off. The road to emotional recovery from the trauma of such an event will take years, if not a lifetime for most of the survivors,” Jim Nielsen, TEAM missionary, explains.

TEAM is still working in the devastated areas. While many of the survivors have their current physical needs met, the deeper emotional and spiritual needs are still unmet. So we are now concentrating on recovery and providing emotional care with those living in temporary housing. This kind of care requires relationships and trust to be built between the missionaries and the residents and that takes time.

Has the rebuilding started or are people still in survival mode?
“You can see some towns and neighborhoods being rebuilt, roads mended, traffic lights installed, and even new convenience stores operating,” Amy Nielsen observes. “But there are many other areas that were completely devastated by the tsunami leaving nothing but the foundations of homes and shops. The rest was completely washed away. Even now those foundations remain and so does the devastation. In a lot of ways those areas haven’t changed.”

According to many of the residents, now in temporary housing, rebuilding isn’t an option, so they now face the question, “What is the next step after the temporary housing? Where do we go?” While the immediate need is to survive, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

What is the mood of the country?

We sense that the general Japanese public are still feeling stunned and afraid to even think about the future. Most would probably say they are trying to go about their daily lives, and simply hope that somehow things will improve, with little hope at all.

“The entire eastern sea coast of Japan, where 80% of the Japanese population lives, sits vulnerable to the effects of future possible earthquakes and tsunami,” explains Jim Nielsen. “As such, though life in those areas not struck by the March 11 disasters has returned to ‘normal’, it would be fair to say that the new normal in the minds of most Japanese includes an elevated sense of fear and anxiety in regards to the future.”

In addition to this fear of nature, there is a further sense of uncertainty due to the instability of the Fukushima nuclear reactors and the high radiation levels in parts of Japan. Japan was already battered by the economic downturn, but there is increasing anxiety over how to fund the rebuilding process and whether the nation can ever recover economically.

How are the survivors doing?

It’s barely possible for anyone who does not live in the affected areas to begin to comprehend what it would be like to not be able to go home and have everything you were familiar with literally washed away.

Jim Nielsen explains, “It’s ever present in the tsunami survivors’ minds that a significant event has occurred in their lives which is far from over. The devastation still surrounds them, with evidence of destroyed neighborhoods and towns being seen everywhere.”

“When listening to the men and women talk with each other at the temporary housing communities, you could think just for a moment that their lives have returned to normal,” Amy Nielsen reflects. “They talk about their neighbors, the city officials and local government, what they made for dinner the night before and various neighborhood issues, things that just about any person would talk about. But in a moment those discussions can quickly change to talk of earthquakes, tsunami and March 11.”

The fact of the matter is these people are by no means in what anyone would consider a ‘normal’ situation. Many of the residents who come out to the activities organized by missionaries are very energetic and happy to connect with volunteers, but many of them say that when they are at home alone, it’s hard to keep that happy spirit. Being alone, particularly when it’s dark and cold outside, is incredibly difficult emotionally. Especially for those who have lost family and close friends in the tsunami, they cannot forget their losses no matter how much time passes.

“Others have really banded together and put a lot of emphasis on community and their neighbors,” Amy observes. “For many of them, since they don’t have strong beliefs or religion to fall back on, they turn to each other and see hope for the future in each other. But for most people, the future is a big question mark, and they need to just take it a day at a time.”

Are people questioning their traditional beliefs as a result of the disaster?

Some people in the disaster areas are feeling betrayed by the gods who failed to protect them. Hundreds of local temples have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of family god-shelves have been washed away, and local temple associations have disintegrated, thus removing many of the “visual” bonds which tied the people to Shintoism and Buddhism.

However the reality is that the area hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami is in a rural part of Japan, with very few churches and very little penetration of the Gospel. For many, although the familiar structures have gone, the traditional Buddhist beliefs seem to be held and practiced much more so in the aftermath of the tsunami since this is all they have to default to.

Jim Nielsen shares the story of one of the temporary housing community residents. “She mentioned how she just barely escaped as the sea water came rushing into her house. But just before the water came in, she saw a bright and gleaming item out of the corner of her eye, which was a small polished bronze image of Buddha. She reached for it and put it in her bag as she ran, and she believes that’s why she was saved.”

This is just one of many accounts of how deeply many of the survivors hold to traditional Buddhist beliefs, which represent the spiritual strongholds we are up against here in Japan. We are thankful, though, for the fact that the love and mercy of God are even greater and we will continue our ministries in the hope that many Japanese people will find Christ.

What has TEAM been doing?

Over the past twelve months, together with local churches and CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support, and Hope), we have been working throughout the disaster areas providing practical support and assistance, counselling, listening ears through café ministries, and radio broadcasts. We’ve also poured much financial assistance into relief, recovery and outreach efforts.

But in the midst of providing food and clothes, heating and shelter, counselling and rebuilding, one ministry has touched lives in a remarkable way — reaching out through crafts.

“By handing out fliers that include a description of a craft that will be done that day, it has given many residents an incentive to come out,” Amy Nielsen describes. “They feel better knowing they’ll have something to do. Craft sessions provide opportunities for communities to come together, for people to meet and share their stories. They give people a chance to make something, to create things with their hands and pass the time in a loving environment.”

While the crafts are being made, the survivors talk with each other, the missionaries, and the Japanese Christian workers. It’s amazing how they tell the story of their experience on March 11 in detail as though it happened just yesterday. It has been proven that this retelling of their experience is part of the process of healing from the associated trauma.

These craft sessions are not only opportunities for one-time conversations; they form the basis for relationships. Gospel work often begins with friendship and care and this is particularly true in Japan where Christianity is barely known.

In the wake of the trauma and tragedy, this non-threatening and therapeutic ministry is showing Japanese men and women the love of God. “Such activities promote ‘next step’ activities,” Tim Cole points out, “such as family seminars, gospel concerts, Christmas gatherings, etc… which can then lead into evangelistic meetings, Bible studies, and church attendance.”

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