September 16, 2011
The following is an adapted excerpt from an update by Jane and Harry Landaw, serving as church-planting team coordinators in the tsunami-stricken area of Japan.
Recently, God used a “chance” encounter to accomplish a remarkable opportunity to show the love of Jesus to business owners and residents of Ishinomaki, a seaside city along the northeastern coast of Japan that was hit hard by the tsunami.
A few weeks ago in the Tokyo area, Mr. Doi, a non-Christian businessman, had been walking by the CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support, and Hope) Japan headquarters. He stopped by to see what the organization was doing to help out with relief and recovery efforts. Mr. Doi learned that CRASH had a large supply of rice cookers in storage but had run out of opportunities to distribute them. Because of his business contacts in Ishinomaki, Mr. Doi knew of shop owners near the train station who had lost all their kitchen goods in the disaster. He negotiated an opportunity for CRASH Japan to distribute this stock of new rice cookers to anyone who needed one.
When we arrived with the truckload of rice cookers, about 80 people were standing there, waiting to receive a new cooker. TV crews were also on the scene filming the entire event. We formed a “bucket brigade” with the local businesspeople and carried the heavy boxes into the little shop. We all crowded into the store where the local business leader explained what CRASH Japan was and that we had come to help them with this need. Along with the rice cookers, they allowed us to pass out tracts and an advertisement for a church that is located on the opposite side of the train station.
Many of the shop owners said, “Oh yes, we know about that church.” (You might have seen some youtube videos of this church and its food ministry after the tsunami.) We were able to distribute 150 rice cookers. Praise God! Everyone was so pleased and expressed genuine appreciation to us. In the process of distributing the rice cookers, we also had special opportunities to listen to individuals as they shared their stories, and we encouraged them and let them know that we cared deeply about their situation.
Later, we drove over to the church and helped the local pastor set up for a “Snow Cone Festival.” It was very hot, so we set up a large tent in front of the church, along with some benches, and made snow cones (“kakigori” in Japanese) for those who were passing by. Between 50 and 80 people stopped by to take a break from the scorching heat and enjoy the refreshing shaved ice with flavored toppings. Many people said, “This is the first kakigori I’ve had all summer. We have been so busy just trying to make it through the difficulties.” Along with the other Japanese volunteers, we had many opportunities to sit and listen to these special people tell their stories and to encourage them.
Among those who shared was a mother with two boys who had been at the beach on the day of the tsunami. They had tried to drive away but couldn’t get away fast enough, so they jumped out of the car and ran up a mountain, where they found safety. Then, they stayed in an evacuation center with 2,000 others for 10 days. The mother said that the little boys thought it was fun because it was like camping. What a precious family. (The father was not with them, though, and we wondered if he had survived.)
Then there was the woman who wept and wept, saying, “Would it have been better if I had died with everyone else? Was it better that I lived?” She kept going over those two questions. We told her that God had a plan for her and that her family needs her. Another woman’s husband made it through the tsunami, but because of an illness, he died at the end of July.
We pray for a mighty moving of the Holy Spirit, as so many are very open to Jesus. Also, we pray that many will return to ongoing outreach ministries at the church.
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Learn More
Read another story by Harry Landaw about relief efforts in the tsunami-affected area.