Pray for Japan

CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support, and Hope) volunteers in Tokyo are mobilizing to provide aid to victims of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck the northeastern coast of Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM.

The earthquake was the largest in Japan’s recorded history, resulting in a series of tsunami that reached heights of up to 23 feet and caused widespread damage. The Tohoku region was hardest hit in the coastal cities of Sendai and Fukushima, where hundreds are confirmed dead, and thousands are still missing.

CRASH Japan, working closely with JEMA (the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Association), has a large network of experienced volunteers who know the culture and language. CRASH Japan’s 24-hour fundraising goal is $100,000. In the last few years, CRASH leaders have coordinated relief efforts in China, Haiti, Indonesia, New Zealand, and other major disaster areas.

Missionary Phillip Foxwell recently returned from CRASH survey work in Takayama, Sendai, where he grew up. Foxwell spoke of the disaster: “All I can say is there is devastation beyond anything I've ever even imagined…Absolutely everything is wiped out—every single building, every single home.”
Foxwell added that “the situation is so much worse than the news is even showing. It’s like being in a warzone, and I can’t wrap my head around it. There are a few years of work to do here.”

CRASH team reconnaissance from Iwaki and Ibaraki confirmed that there is still a great need for water, even though many relief groups have already supplied it. Stores in many areas of Tokyo are completely sold out of bottled water due to panic-buying.

Millard and another person are departing again Tuesday night with a van and $9000 in supplies: fresh fruit, toothbrushes, hand sanitizer, batteries, a butane stove, diapers, baby milk, etc., and another group will follow on Wednesday. “We’re trying to get a truck tomorrow,” Millard said.
If there is enough gas, Millard and his team hope to make trips every few days.

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