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This is a disaster relief update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate, in northern Japan.

In 2005, Taro district was merged into Miyako city. The district was protected by a 10m (32.8ft) high storm surge barrier that ran 2.4km (1.5 mile) along the coast line. It took over 40 years to build it. But what happened to this protected district on that day was….

I parked my car on the highway that penetrates the town from north to south, and looked to the ocean with the mountains on my back. What I saw was the pride of the town, the storm surge barrier. But, nothing else. Not even rubbles of destroyed houses. According to yesterday’s news, on March 11^th, the tsunami that hit this town supposedly reached 39m (128ft). The wave that easily overwhelmed the storm surge barrier that people took pride in swallowed up, destroyed, and swept away the buildings, cars, and people. And what is left is a flat wasteland.

The people at the Taro district general office wore an anguished expression. The small town is isolated among the mountains and still has no life line. Even though they know that people are not getting enough relief goods including food and are worried for them, there’s not enough manpower to visit them all. I shared in their concerns and burdens, and will start working in this district starting tomorrow, with a help of Hokumin (Hokkaido Christian Mission Network) team that came to Iwate today.

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

Self-Defence Force soldiers cutting food on cutting boards on a school yard we visited today. At this shelter, every meal is prepared by these soldiers. I asked a child as we watched them, “So those are the people who work so hard to make the meals, huh?”  “Yeah, but it’s not very good.”   Oh well, it’s men cooking after all. Go Self-Defense Force! (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate)

This is a disaster relief update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate.

A little earlier, a relief team left the church to go to Miyako city. They will be splitting up into “Clean-Out-the-Houses troop” and “Play-with-Children-in-the-shelter troop” again. I’m going to stay in Morioka today and pray for the teams, prepare for Sunday service tomorrow, and play with my son, which I hadn’t done much of at all in the past 3 weeks. May the Lord’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

When I saw the flowers beautifully arranged in the sanctuary on Sunday, it made me realize that my sense of things had not been “normal” since I started visiting the disaster area. I couldn’t move for a while at the sight of bright colored flowers, for I felt like I had seen colors and living things for the first time in a long time. In the last 2 weeks, what occupied my mind was the grey and reddish brown of the rubbles, and the shadows of death towns from which I cannot imagine its previous state.

Now I’m just running around doing the specific works needed right now, but when I stop and think about rebuilding the disaster area, I find it difficult to picture a specific blue print. Where will they build the town? Who’s going to live in it? Who’s going to do the rebuilding? What will happen to the economy of this area now that they lost their main industry, fishery? Is the population going to shrink even more, and economic gap widen as the people have lost their industry and jobs?

In my mind, I dream and pray for the day when flowers will bloom in the town of rubbles like a flower in the grey and make it colorful again. May the Lord who makes way in the desert have mercy on this land.

This is a disaster update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate, whose coastal towns were hit by tsunami.

When I walk the coastline, I see fishing boats stranded in the city. Every once in a while I see fish as well. Salmon, brevoort, and tuna were carried into the city with tsunami (Although I’m not sure if they’re from a fish market or the ocean.) We were rewarded for our work with canned food from Sanriku yesterday. They said that tons of canned food were washed into the house probably from a factory. Also yesterday, when one of the people who were working in the house got a stomachache, he looked at his feet and found a handwarmer that was washed away with the mud. He stuck it on his belly and got back to work. There’s provision on top of a mount of mud.

The Sanriku area of Iwate, which is called “the countryside of the countryside”, has been sending out people and things. I hope that not just things like these that get washed into this area, but our prayer, God’s workers, and believers will also be washed into this area, and not just now but stay there, and start new churches.

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

Like last Saturday, we formed a ‘Play-with-the-Kids-in-Shelter’ troop and visited Miyako city again. (‘Clean-Out-Houses-Hit-by-Tsunami’ troop has also been formed.) Many of us were students because it was a weekday, and I also joined the ‘Kids’ troop this time, not the ‘Mud’ troop.

I heard them talking as we played. “Downstairs were hit” “My house was swept away” “I thought I wouldn’t see my parents again, but they came looking for me the next day.” … These are some of the things they were saying. It isn’t easy to find the words to say to them.

It had been four days since the last time we were there. Four days ago is such a ‘long time ago’ in a disaster area where they are forced to live an abnormal life. A little girl expressed her joy with her whole body when she saw my wife who went visit again, as she jumped up to her with a big smile on her face. Such an indescribable anxiety and loneliness is hidden behind the smile, which she shouldn’t have to have. When I come home, take a little rest and close my eyes, I see the children waving to us until they couldn’t see us anymore. (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate)

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

March 26, Sat. We went over the hill in the snow to go to Miyako city. 8 of us men headed toward a house of “someone who needed help” that a local pastor told us about with a help of car navigation. We parked near the destination, and heard a “Hey!” calling out to us. We stood in front of the house, or is this a house? No it was an inn. We walked in and saw it in a terrible condition. Bent concrete walls, piled up mud, woods that shot into the room with the tsunami as they crashed the windows, rubbles. A couple hundred plates and food scattered, destroyed heavy machines in the kitchen… After four hours, we finished most of the cleaning out.

Then we talked to the inn keeper in his seventies. Looking at the ocean, he said “I don’t want to remember (about the tsunami)” with tears in his eyes. But slowly, he kindly shared with us about his experience of an unforgettable terror. “When the ‘wall-like water’ came, I was swept away before I knew it but was saved because I got stuck on something. My wife was swept into the cellar with the water but was rescued by the local fire fighters. We survived miraculously, but looking at the destruction it did, we thought we could never reopen the inn. But then, these helpers came out of nowhere.” He looked around the cleaned out room and said, “I guess there is also a saving god…” He told us with a wrinkled face to come back in 6 months and that he will treat us good fish. I couldn’t help myself but to ask if I could pray for him. In 6 months? I would rather see him again tomorrow and pray for him. Even if I couldn’t see him, I want to serve him through praying for him. (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate)

 

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

Visited an evacuation shelter in Otsuchi town. The average age of the evacuees is apparently high. I listened to their story. “All the young ones got swallowed up by the tsunami when they went back toward the ocean (trying to rescue the people who were left behind)…”

When they come to themselves after being in so much shock and tension, what weighs heavily on their minds is the worries for future. Rebuilding the town…? The reality is: who could possibly be the ones to rebuild it? It’s not just the support and rescue needed now. It is needed that in the 10, 20 years to come, the Church serves these communities, brings the gospel, and be the ones to rebuild the town. But then I face the reality that there are so few churches in the area. I pray that there will be churches in Iwate that will be the ones to help rebuild the town. That the prayers and thoughts will not be temporary but be continued, and that new ministries will spring up from among them. I pray that from the bottom of my heart. (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Morioka city, Iwate)

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

An isolated disaster area with blocked roads. I heard a sudden, lively laugh, looked back, and saw a little girl running toward me chasing the ball. A lady standing next to me says almost to herself, “That voice is what keeps me going…” The little girl caught up with the ball, picked it up and looked up, and all around her were mountains of rubbles and Self-Defense Force soldiers trying to rescue some people underneath all that.

How do the children see this abnormal sight that’s not in TV, but right in front of their eyes? How do their hearts perceive their town that went through so much change? We are going to get some volunteers to go play with the children in evacuation centers starting this weekend. May God protect the hearts of children.  (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo)

This is an update from Pastor Yoshiya Kondo in Iwate prefecture, Japan, who has been serving and ministering in the disaster area since the tsunami.

Otsuchi town, Iwate. The city is completely destructed, rubbles everywhere we see. 35 town officials including the mayor were killed or are missing and the village is no longer functional. Walked into a small, isolated village on the hill where the roads and lifeline have been cut off, talked to some people there. “We have so little information, are we forgotten?” I told them, “No, just yesterday I saw news coverage about this town on TV!” “So we’re not forgotten…..” They told me that about 80 people are living in 7 houses since the tsunami. “Sounds tough… Must have been scary…” “……” “What do you want right now?” “Sanitizers, masks, medicines, clothes… even bananas! Just saying… We’re glad just to have someone from outside to talk to. Thank you so much for coming.” They bowed many times as we left. That was yesterday.

Today, a team from Chiba, Singapore, Taiwan, and New Zealand drove up here to bring the relief aids in spite of a request on a short-notice. Together, we visited the same village. Arrived in the twilight, handed the goods that were requested the day before to the people who came out to meet us in surprise. Bananas too of course! …”We can’t believe you really came back.. No offense but we didn’t think you would really come back …. Thank you.. we can’t believe this…. Thank you…”

We drove 200km in two days going back and forth between Morioka city and Otsuchi town. I wish Iwate prefecture wasn’t this big, and that the disaster area was not so far. Does this physical distance also distance us from reaching to these people? No, we were able to meet some people even in the midst of tragedy. I remembered over and over the words I heard yesterday: “We’re glad just to talk to someone.” It’s not just the goods that we bring to them. The fear when tsunami hit, grief of losing loved ones, worries about future… we first listen to the bursting thoughts and emotions. A time like this enables us to serve this way. Love is what we bring to them. Somebody!  (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo)

I (Tomo) know a pastor in Iwate prefecture (colored in the map on the left), Japan, where the coastal towns were devastated by the recent tsunami. Pastor Yoshiya Kondo has been driving into the disaster area to serve and minister to the people there. He posts updates on his Facebook with photos he took, and he has some great first-hand reports and about how great the spiritual needs are in the area. So I asked his permission to translate his updates into English and share them on our blog also, so that more people can pray more specifically for the people there.

Here’s the first one:

In Ofunato city in Iwate Prefecture, we first visited the church. There was a clear mark on the wall showing the water level of the tsunami. It was truly heart-breaking to see the destructed, mud-covered sight that had hardly any resemblance to what I remembered from when I attended their service a couple times in the past. But the day will come when a worship service is held at this place again, and the voices of praise will resound into heaven higher than ever before. We will pray and wait for that day. (by Pastor Yoshiya Kondo)