Japan

PLEASE VISIT www.samaritanspurse.org to help the people of Japan!!!! I copied this from their website, there is more info, video links, photos on the site.


RESPONDING TO JAPAN'S CATASTROPHE
Samaritan’s Purse is providing emergency aid to people suffering in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami

A Samaritan's Purse disaster relief team is working in a devastated coastal area around Sendai, delivering relief supplies to survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11.

On Thursday, our staff and local church partners distributed water, blankets, hygiene items, and first aid kits at a junior high school where 700 people are living in the gym. We also unloaded supplies at a church whose members will hand out the items in their community.

Our team has encountered heart-wrenching scenes in the affected area, where the tsunami did much more damage than the earthquake. Coastal towns look like war zones. Collapsed houses spill out into streets that are littered with crushed cars and debris. Boats have been thrown out of the sea and tossed miles inland. Every time they turn a corner, team members seem to come across another line of people—sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands—waiting for basic necessities, mostly food, water, and fuel.

The 14-member team arrived in Sendai after a long drive from Tokyo through a heavy snowstorm. The convoy of trucks carried four tons of relief supplies. A strategic local church partnership secured government permission for our team to travel on a restricted access expressway that was otherwise closed to civilian traffic.

“For most of the journey, our vehicles and Japanese civil defense vehicles were the only traffic on this six-lane highway,” said team member Ivan Giesbrecht. “This created an eerie, even surreal, experience as we traveled north through the quiet Japanese countryside.”

Much of northern Japan is experiencing shortages of food, water, fuel, and other necessities. Samaritan's Purse has deployed another team to Osaka to set up a logistical hub to facilitate and expedite the purchase and transport of more relief supplies.

Back in the United States, we are organizing a 747 cargo jet to airlift about 90 tons of emergency aid, including blankets, hygiene supplies, and heavy-duty plastic shelter materials. The plane is scheduled to depart for Japan on Friday.

Franklin Graham appears on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham has conducted evangelistic Festivals in the Japanese cities of Osaka and Okinawa. The events were organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which is working with us for this response.

Pastor Yoshikazu Takada, who was chairman of the Osaka Festival committee, requested our assistance. “Please come. We need your help,” he said.

The giant tsunami was triggered by an 9.0-magnitude earthquake, one of the most powerful in recorded history. Huge waves engulfed towns and villages, sweeping away houses, cars, boats, and trains. Strong aftershocks have continued to rock the area, hampering relief efforts. The misery is compounded by fears of radiation leaks from damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima power plant, about 60 miles south of Sendai.

Japan's National Police Agency says more than 5,300 people are officially listed as dead. Officials believe the toll will climb to well over 10,000. Many survivors are facing a desperate situation with little food or clean water, and no electricity to heat homes in freezing temperatures.

Evangelical Christians number less than one-half of one percent of Japan's population, according to some estimates. Please pray for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by this catastrophe, especially that they will be touched by the love of Jesus Christ through the ministry of Samaritan's Purse, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and our Japanese church partners.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
PRAY:
That God will provide comfort and peace to the suffering.
That the nuclear reactors will cool and pose no further threat.
For wisdom and strength for our staff and church partners.
That God will continue to open doors and provide resources for our work.
GIVE:
Please visit our donation page to help provide the resources to meet critical needs in Japan.