YWAM Japan National Office Team Outreach to Sendai, April 7-11

We took tools (battery-operated drill set), women's supplies, vegetables and other fresh foods to Sendai. We visited a pastor who decided to offer his church facility as a place for volunteers and outreach teams. On the first night just after we arrived at the church, a strong earthquake hit. There were immediate tsunami warnings -- but, thanks be to God, we were spared that experience. We did, however, lose electricity for a day.

We went to an evacuation shelter and heard first-hand accounts of what happened on March 11th from a junior high school teacher. We saw sights of utter devastation.

It was a blessing to see connections being made so quickly. The Japan Emergency Team enlisted the volunteer help of the grandson of the pastor during our outreach. Since our visit, the JET headquarters have relocated to the church we visited. Volunteers from Kona and other National Office teammates have also gone to Sendai and stayed at the same church. Since then, the church typically hosts 10-15 volunteers.

YWAM Azumino (Nagano) Team Outreach to Iwaki City, Fukushima, March 29-31

Our team of four had a good and safe trip over and back to Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture from March 29-31. Our church members and many other people donated lots of goods for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

After arriving in Iwaki, we unloaded most of our supplies at the city drop-off place. The people working there were thankful and polite.

We went on to the Global Mission Chapel where we were warmly welcomed by the pastor and others busily working there unloading goods and making hot meals to take to the evacuation centres. We gave them 2 boxes of mandarines (or mikans as we call them here). They were grateful for fresh fruit.

The pastor was very busy, but he took us upstairs, made coffee for us, and shared about the situation in Iwaki, their current needs, and how we could help in the future. I was very encouraged meeting him and seeing how calm, positive, and cheerful he was in the midst of a disaster and relief effort. The people at the church were so cheerful, treating us like family after meeting us for just a short while.

The church has been buying hot spring water and taking big tubs of it to the evacuation shelters where they bathe peoples' feet. While their feet are soaking in the warm water and being massaged, the evacuees open up to the church people and share their stories and let out their hurt and grief. They also give shoulder massage as a way to care for those in the shelters. In addition to the warm meals they provide, these are the practical ways the church has been able to minister to those in the shelters.

 

The next morning we visited the coast to see for ourselves some of the damage. I was shocked to see huge concrete blocks, cars, houses, etc., swept away or smashed up.

On the way back to the church, we saw cars lined up for kilometres for petrol at the few stations opened. Some places didn't open till 1 p.m., but the cars were all lining up at 10 a.m.! We gave the church the rest of our petrol (approximately 45 litres) to help with all the delivery they do. 

We were very thankful to God for leading us there and connecting us with His people. We pray we have been of some support to the people in Fukushima. Now we are praying about what we can do next and where to minister.

The YWAM Azumino team.

Prayer Points (Updated June 1)

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf! Please join us in praying for Japan.

For the Fukushima nuclear power plants, please pray that:

+ all 6 nuclear power plant reactors will be fully restored and contained.

+ all the nuclear power plant workers, Self Defense Forces, electric power company workers, firefighters, and every person be protected and healed.
(Psalm 91; Psalm 46; Daniel 3: 25-27)

+ those who live close to the forced evacuation area will be shielded from radiation.

+ all evacuees will soon be relocated from the public evacuation shelters into their own separate homes.
+ God intervenes to cleanse the air, the ocean and waters, and the soil in the areas surrounding Fukushima.

+++ "Skilled Veterans Corps" is a group of some 250 volunteers over the age of 60 who are willing to work at the Fukushima nuclear power plants at the cost of their lives. Please pray for these courageous persons.

For disaster relief, please pray for:

+ volunteers and relief teams working in the disaster-hit areas -- for protection over their health, minds, emotions, and spirits, as they witness the extent of the damage and destruction.

+ for the smooth flow of distribution of relief supplies to all of those in need.

+ for the Christian Relief, Assistance, Support, and Hope (CRASH) network based in Japan. To sign-up for weekly prayer slots, go to: http://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/c397f6. After you've signed up, you can find updated prayer requests at: http://tinyurl.com/CRASHPrayer.

For the Japanese people, please pray for:

+ hope to arise; for all believers in Japan to be carriers of hope. (Romans 15:13)

+ God’s peace and God's perfect love which casts out all fear. (Philippians 4:7; 1 John 4:18)

+ those experiencing survivor guilt, heartbreak, overwhelming sorrows, compounded grief, and untold loss -- that God will bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted. (Isaiah 61:1)

+ the teams going to evacuation shelters to talk with survivors -- that God’s compassion will be revealed through them. Please pray for their emotional, spiritual, and mental health as they listen to many heart-wrenching stories.

Messages of Encouragement from Around the World: 20011 March

We praise God for the many persons, many churches, and many group prayers which are praying for Japan. Since March 11, we have received encouragement from persons from around the world. Here are some of the messages emailed to YWAM Japan.

March 12: A spontaneous prayer meeting is held at a prayer house in Germany. Last year, this organization sent an outreach team from Germany to Tokyo. Their team partnered in ministry with the YWAM Japan National Office.

March 16: From a YWAMer in Holland.

Isaiah 43: 2: Stand firm for the Lord your God is with you. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Psalm 18: 32: For who is God save the LORD? Or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

March 18: From YWAM Amsterdam, we are praying Psalm 46 for Japan.

March 21: God showed me the most gigantic fishing net. I got the impression that this net was being thrown over the entire country of Japan, and while many people popped up out of the holes, many, many more remained in the net.

March 23: From the Missions Team of YWAM Santiago, Chile.

Habakkuk 3: 19: The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Acts 16: 26: Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

Proverbs 2: My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Haggai 2: 3-4: ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.

Isaiah 38: 4-6: I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears.  I will not leave you nor forsake you says the Lord your God.

Isaiah 62: 4 & 11 – 12: No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’”  They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

March 23: From a former YWAMer who is now serving among urban Navajos in Arizona.

“What if the believers in China and Korea took deliberate, prayerful steps to do something extraordinary to partner with the hurting in Japan, thus putting feet to their words and prayers on behalf of these people? Would not something powerful occur in the heavenlies? Would not the forces of darkness be shattered and the grace of God pour through in ways not heretofore witnessed in Japan? By acting in ways contrary to the natural enmity that exists between these countries, you might bring unimaginable transformation in all three!”

Want to Send a Message of Encouragement to Us?

If God brings to your mind some specific scripture, prophetic words, visions, or images, and you would like to share them with us at YWAM Japan, please email the information to Kristyn Kuroki at ywamofficekk@gmail.com.