Christian Reformed Church Says Japan Disaster Continues

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> CRC Says Japan Disaster Continues

April 26, 2011 -- Larry Spalink, Japan field
leader for Christian Reformed World Missions,
says he was deeply moved and saddened by the
in-depth survey that he and a handful of others
made last week to communities in northeastern
Japan that were devastated  by the Great East
Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the country on March 11.

He describes the trip and offers analysis and
assessment of what they saw and of the many
ongoing needs they encountered in a lengthy,
powerfully written letter sent this week to CRWM
officials. He returned from the trip with the
conclusion that relief and reconstruction efforts
will likely need to go on for quite some time.

The trip mainly, he writes, was to visit members
and facilities of the Reformed Church in Japan,
with which CRWM has close ties. He made the trip
with two fellow CRWM missionaries and four Japanese pastors.

Especialy etched in Spalink?s mind is the

landscape they drove through as they made their
way to the community of Yamashita, near the ocean.

?We witnessed the devastation of the tsunami
there. Cars were strewn throughout rice fields,
housing neighborhoods had been totally (or
partially, in some cases) collapsed into piles of
rubble by the force of the waves,? he writes.

The Joban Line, and major railroad trunk line,
was devastated as well. Cars sat on the platform,
and the train tracks had turn upside-down or were
covered in debris. They could see that the height
of the waves there had been about three to four
meters high, perhaps more in some places.

?Self defense personnel were working with heavy
machinery to clear debris in areas they had
previous checked for dead bodies,? he writes. ?It
was depressing and overwhelming to witness. The
church members whose business had been destroyed
were there, too, and talked with us about their
feelings, and they guided us around the area to
show us other results of the disaster.?

Although he was impressed by how many churches
and church groups were working together, Spalink
was nonetheless struck by the widespread, almost
overwhelming reality of the disaster and how much
relief work and reconstruction yet needs to be
done, likely for years to come, across the area
devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.

And, he writes, the situation could grow more
difficult if additional problems arise at the
nuclear power plants in Fukushima that were
damaged by the tsunami. They didn?t visit the
nuclear power plants, but traveled through the
nearby area. They did hear several times that
there are people living in communities near the
power plants who are receiving little assistance.
It is as if they had sunk into ?black holes? and
have been forgotten, a situation that deeply grieves Spalink.

?The devastation is of apocalyptic proportions.
But that mustn?t stop us from starting somewhere
and doing something,? Spalink writes.

?There are many good partners to collaborate with
? and it seems that it will be useful for some
time to send volunteer teams of laborers to help
with clean up. The idea of establishing some kind
of center is being promoted from various quarters
and this too seems like something that we could
participate in and should pursue.?

But re-building has not been nor will it be easy,
for many reasons, including the reality that
there ?is a tremendous shortage of construction
materials of every kind created by the huge
demand due to the disaster,? writes Spalink.

Spalink writes as well about the visit they made
to the Sendai Church, located in the city of
Sendai, which has about one million residents.
Sendai is the largest city located in the
earthquake zone. Rev. Takashi Yoshida is pastor
of Sendai Church, moderator of the RCJ general
assembly and of the Northeast Presbytery and
leader of the Sendai Christian Coalition.

The coalition meets once a week to share stories,
needs and discuss resources, and to determine how
to best work together to coordinate and serve where the needs exist.

?Their basic mode is to use all the churches as
bases to distribute goods and services to their
neighborhoods in the name of Christ. Their theme
is ?through the church to the neighborhood?,? writes Spalink.

Among other things, they spoke to Yoshida about
some possible activities the Christian Reformed
Church in North America might consider providing
in the area, such as helping with counseling,
offering children?s programs, caring for the
care-givers, sponsoring retreats for the pastors,
and giving special attention to traumatized children.

The meeting with Yoshida was very productive and informative.

?I have a great love for and respect for Rev.
Yoshida, and I want to show wholehearted support
for what he sees as needed. Rev. Yoshida told us
with obvious pain in his heart of the
difficulties they face with comprehending the
needs of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami
down along the coast,? Spalink writes.

Dotted along the coast were many small, mostly
independent church groups, ?but they can?t find
them to make contact, as much as they desire to
offer them help and work through them to reach
out to the area with greatest need,? writes Spalink.

During the visit, Spalink assured Rev. Yoshida
that the CRCNA was praying for him in a situation
that many people outside of the area can hardly
fathom.  He also asked Yoshida how CRWM and the
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee could
specifically be of help. Yoshida provided
suggestions in several areas, but particularly
asked that the CRCNA doesn?t forget them and
remains at their side ?for a long time,? writes Spalink.

When they left the Sendai church, they prayed for Rev. Yoshida.

Spalink?s group visited several RCJ churches and
mission stations, finding some that are actively
engaged in the relief effort and others such as
the Ishinomaki Evangelistic Station,

Northeast of Sendai, where the city experienced
tsunami-driven water flowing into the homes and
leaving tons of toxic muck, ruining everything on
the first floor (furniture, appliances, etc.) ?
and making the houses and other buildings virtually unusable.

Overall, he says in his letter, good

?collaboration is taking place among Christian
groups. Even though it is not organizationally
coordinated very well, there is in most cases
mutual respect and a certain amount of
collaboration. I am very gratified by the setting
up of the Sendai Christian Coalition Emergency
Support Network and of the leadership role that
RCJ pastor Rev. Yoshida is playing there.?

Upon return to Tokyo, Spalink says he has thought
long and hard about what other kinds of response
might be appropriate for CRWM and CRWRC to make.

?One basic principle should be that we should not
impose ourselves or our desires on the churches
on the scene, but be servants to them in every
sense of the word. If not, we may find ourselves
at cross purposes with them and a burden to them
instead of a help. Yet at the same time we
shouldn?t be shy about offering ourselves or our
ideas and submit these to their judgment,? he writes.

> --Chris Meehan, CRC Communications

> --
> Chris Meehan
> News & Media Manager
> Christian Reformed Church in North America
> 1-616-224-0849