ONE of the first Texas Baptist disaster-response team to arrive in Japan after the March 11 earthquake delivered a load of kerosene and food to three churches in one of the major cities affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Yukata Takarada, pastor of Japanese Baptist Church of North Texas in Dallas and a Texas Baptist disaster-response team member, said the supplies should provide great help for families suffering in the region.
“As we came here, we realized that to get gas, you must wait in a long line,” Takarada said. “The same for kerosene. After consulting with (Japan Baptist Convention) leaders, it was determined that taking kerosene and some easily prepared food to the people in the Sendai area would meet an immediate need. It was received with great joy.”
The advance team – Takarada and Texas Baptist Men veteran disaster-relief leaders Gary Smith and John LaNoue, together with Texas Baptist videographer Rex Campbell – spent a week in Japan assisting leaders of the Japan Baptist Convention in the relief effort there. The Texas and Japanese Baptist leaders discussed ways the faith groups can work together in the relief effort.
In addition to providing kerosene and food, the Texas team also brought Geiger counters with them to help people know their level of radiation exposure.
The Texas team witnessed the tremendous damage done by the earthquake and tsunami. Team members saw a car that was pushed through the wall of a school, as well as buildings turned into rubble. Much of the debris remains untouched, and in many places, a strong stench remains.
“We had a successful time of going to some of the churches in the Japan Baptist Convention and helped them see the possibilities,” Smith said. “They don’t have a lot of experience dealing with this sort of thing.”
The team heard numerous stories of harrowing heroics and tragic death. One woman told the story of her parents’ death from the perspective of people who watched it happen from on top of a hill. The people on the hill called to her parents and tried to warn them, but her parents could not drive fast enough out of the tsunami’s path. One of her parents has been found dead, and the other is presumed to have died.
The Texans met an 81-year-old pastor who is trying to revitalize a church that has dwindled down to one member. Despite its size, the pastor remains confident God will grow the congregation.
The team also met a pastor who was inside his house when the earthquake struck. His family rushed outside, but his son was too afraid to move. Instead, he crouched beneath a table, trembling in fear.
The pastor ran back into the shaking building, held his hand and used his body to protect his son from anything that might fall. Both the pastor and his son survived, an image that reminded Takarada of Christ’s love for humanity.
“This father’s love reminds me of the love of God demonstrated toward us. He himself gave up his life in order to deliver us from the final judgment,” Takarada wrote. “Because Jesus voluntarily came down to this troublesome world knowing that people would reject him, because he willingly gave up his life to die on the cross on behalf of us sinners, we now have peace in God. And no matter what might trouble our hearts, we don’t worry for tomorrow. ABP
