Osaka Church Ministered in Tohoku
This is the story of one of many churches in Japan who sent groups to Tohoku to minister after the disaster in 2011.
The recovery from the Tohoku disaster of 2011 saw many groups and individuals work together to help in the stricken area. My church, Osaka International Church (OIC),1 like many others, organized relief and ministry trips to Tohoku. Between August 2011 and September 2015, I participated in seven trips with various members of my church. This article is an overview of these trips, with highlights on the ongoing progress in various areas.
First Trip: Ishinomaki (August 2011, 5 months on)
The first OIC team, three Americans, one Japanese, and myself, a Briton, stayed with a Japanese–American missionary couple who worked for Committed Relief Japan.2 Throughout the week, the five of us ministered in Ishinomaki with helpers from Calvary Chapel Natomas (Sacramento),3 the J’s Café team,4 and some Samaritan’s Purse missionaries. We cleared mud and debris from drains and gutters so that people could get their household water systems working again. We also organised several barbecues and film nights for survivors. It was good to see the initial work that the J’s Café team had made on converting an old, disused building into J’s Café, a haven of life, hope, and encouragement to the local community. During the week, we ministered to and prayed with all kinds of people—the hopeless, the hopeful, and the thankful. Although some people felt hopeless about their situation, everyone we met was very thankful that many teams from across Japan and overseas had come to bring hope and healing to the people of Tohoku.
Second Trip: Ishinomaki (December 2011, 9 months on)
This time the seven-member OIC team ministered at J’s Cafe with a team from Kokubunji Calvary Chapel5 in Tokyo. We distributed winter clothing to residents in several temporary housing units and assisted with a Christmas party at J’s Café for survivors. It was encouraging to see several locals attending a weekly Bible study.
Third Trip: Ishinomaki (August 2012, 17 months on)
I ministered in Ishinomaki with two other teams that included both Japanese and foreigners. Our main task was to do the latter stages of restoring Ishinomaki Panda Park, a park for children. We built a path, scattered gravel on the path, and planted flowers. One highlight was hearing amazing stories of God’s provision from an American missionary based in Ishinomaki. This missionary often prayed earnestly and expectantly for specific amounts of money needed for various relief projects but never told anyone the amounts prayed for. Days after praying, God always provided the exact amounts in the form of cheques in the post or electronic bank transfers from overseas supporters! On our last night, all the teams and some survivors gathered at a local community centre and sang and worshipped God together. One of the most powerful and poignant moments was when we all sang “God of This City” by Bluetree.
Fourth Trip: Ishinomaki (December 2012, 20 months on)
The ministry team distributed winter clothing to residents of several temporary housing units and assisted with the annual Christmas party at J’s Café for survivors. Seven locals who had been attending the weekly Bible studies since the summer of 2011 became Christians at the Christmas party!
Fifth Trip: Iwate (April/May 2013, just over two years on)
The OIC team ministered with Dawn Birkner, RJTA missionary and planter of North Sanriku Christ Church in Iwaizumi, Iwate. The team assisted with several social events for temporary housing residents, cooked meals for survivors, distributed donated clothing from OIC members, and distributed event flyers in various towns. Two years previously, some rural towns in Iwate were closed to help from outsiders. But as a result of prayer and relationship-building, several of these towns had become much more open to outsiders, especially non-Japanese Christian groups.
Sixth Trip: Ishinomaki (August 2013, nearly two and a half years on)
I ministered with six ministry groups including a large group of Brazilians and Japanese–Brazilians who mainly communicated in Portuguese. Morning announcements at Ishinomaki Christian Center were given in Japanese, English, and Portuguese! One of our main tasks for the week was to erect industrial-sized storage tents for the local fishermen who had lost their storage sheds in the tsunami. I also worked at the Nozomi Project for a few days at the request of the project leaders. I polished jewelry and took photos of all the workers in action.
Seventh Trip, Iwate (September 2015, 4½ years on)
During the Silver Week holiday, the OIC team and I ministered in Iwaizumi and surrounding towns with Dawn Birkner and a small church team from Florida, USA. Dawn and the North Sanriku Christ Church had recently relocated to a much bigger building with better plumbing. This building was the answer to much earnest prayer by Dawn, church members, and prayer warriors worldwide. I helped Dawn and the Florida team putty and paint the walls of the new building, to be used as both church and volunteer relief base. We also distributed over 500 event flyers in Iwaizumi and Noda, a nearby coastal town. It was so good to see that many residents of several temporary housing areas had moved into permanent housing. One temporary housing village had recently been completely dismantled. I was also encouraged to see that a lot of progress had been made since OIC’s first trip to Iwaizumi and the Sanriku coast in 2013.
Conclusion
It was an incredible blessing for these OIC teams to have seven opportunities to show God’s love to the people of Tohoku with 16 ministry groups and the involvement of nine nationalities. We saw firsthand the amazing things God has done in Ishinomaki, Iwaizumi, and other areas. And in the words of Bluetree we pray that “Greater things have yet to come; And greater things are still to be done in this city”6 and throughout the region of Tohoku.
1. http://oicjapan.org
2. https://www.facebook.com/Committed-Relief-229324413864832
3. http://ccnatomas.com/
4. http://jscafecci.wordpress.com/js-cafe/
5. http://www.calvarykb.org/
6. http://www.songlyrics.com/bluetree/god-of-this-city-lyrics/#QFvAZBMKcs4xCCx1.99
Photo supplied by the author.