“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
Dear Praying Friends,
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
These are the words that were quoted by the Pastor Sato (Tsubasa’s father) of First Bible Baptist Church when he arrived at Aizu Chapel relieved to see almost 60 of his church members safely evacuated and being cared for by the church. From that location they were about to depart for Yonezawa Chapel in Yamagata an even safer distance from the troubled nuclear plant.
Today’s theme was evacuation. Not only were these Christians being safely evacuated out of Fukushima, but our own city became a haven for evacuees. I got a call early in the week that we would not be able to rent the Tsukuba International Congress Center for our Celebration Service this Sunday – it had suffered damage during the quake and would not be operational for another month. In the meantime the usable parts of this facility have been opened to people left homeless by the week’s tragedies. I got word from one of our church member’s that they needed blankets so I piled up the extra blankets in our home and headed over on my bicycle to deliver them. I offered to volunteer but they had all the help they needed.
In addition to displaced people being evacuated to other parts of the country, I was busy coordinating the details of our evacuation plan with our Canadian home office and American counterparts. While we are confident of our safety currently and are assured we are a safe distance (200 km) from the troubled Fukushima reactor we are following the directions of the Canadian Embassy in Japan and making every precaution for our safety with a clearly defined contingency plan for the event that conditions change significantly for the worse. Officials at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo made the following statement today:
Following consultations with Government of Canada experts, and based on information available from the Government of Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Canada has assessed that at this stage there is no indication that there is a radiation health risk to Canadian citizens in Japan and other countries in Asia.
While there is much uncertainty God is clearly at work. A neighbour who has never opened up to us before approached us for advice with her daughter who is facing issues compounded by the current stress. When I contacted members of our Mom & Tot group to share Scripture and encourage them in relation to their children and what they’re going through right now one of the mothers opened up about issues she has been having with her son and was deeply grateful for the help. Another one of our church member’s today wrote to say how encouraging it was for her to know that we were standing alongside her in this crisis, even though we were from a different country. And Rob Fleming reported that one of the CRASH teams made it to his city and helped him distribute 1500 L of drinking water to his neighbourhood.
This Saturday we have a scheduled Gospel choir practice and while some will not be able to attend because of this week’s events, we have encouraged everyone who can attend that we will make this a special time of hope and encouragement. Pray that God would open hearts at this difficult time and work in people’ s lives as I share an evangelistic message. Pray also as I seek to minister to all who come to church on the following day. I will be preaching on the faithfulness of God from the book of Lamentations. May God be glorified.
Please join us in prayer:
l Pray that God would continue to open up opportunities to minister to people in the midst of the current crisis. May He work to draw people to faith and repentance.
l Pray for our ministry this weekend and my continued preparation.
l Pray for our son Evan. His elementary school graduation is tomorrow. The gymnasium was damaged by the earthquake and so they will have to hold the ceremony at Brooke’s junior high school instead. He was a little disappointed because the Grade 1 to 3 students will not be able to attend as usual and several of the traditions have been changed to accommodate. We were very touched however when he brought home a card from his teacher today. As an elementary school graduation present she had given every student a hand-made card tied with a ribbon, cut to the exact length the student has grown since they entered elementary school in grade one. Amidst all the chaos of this week, trust a teacher to remember the little things that make a child’s life special! Pray that despite our current situation we would be able to celebrate this important day for Evan.
l Pray for the continued relief efforts of CRASH and CBAJ. They are the front line equipping churches to be Jesus hands and feet to the most needy people in Japan right now.
l Pray that God would aid efforts to provide emergency power to the Fukushima Plant, effectively cool the reactors and avoid more serious radiation damage.
l Pray that God would bring beauty out of this crisis and turn the nation of Japan to Jesus Christ.
While we can’t answer all of your e-mails at this time we are truly moved by the many expressions of your love and concern and continue to covet your prayers for our safety and effectiveness.
Paul & Jennifer Sadler
Brooke, Evan, Caleb