Here is an update from Matt Huddleston, former missionary in Mito who is currently in Sendai helping with relief.
Thursday morning – we drove north of Sendai to a town called Kesennuma. One of the men on this team has family in this town and we are going to see what ways we might help. We have one large truck and four vans full of supplies today.
As we are driving, I’m riding with two house church leaders here in Japan. They are spending the time talking about the opportunities to minister to the people who are hurting. Both the town we visited yesterday and the one today are places they are praying about starting new churches. It is exciting to see that this disaster is not just being used to reach out to the current churches, but many are seeing this as an opportunity to build more new churches.
I was really touched when one Japanese leader prayed today that God would cause a tidal wave with His spirit. Looking back a decade or so, there was a big earthquake in Kobe (southern Japan) and the after-effects for the church was virtually unnoticeable. Many are asking what they can do to help Japan. Of course relief organizations need financial support, but Japan also needs missionaries who will come and help start new churches.
Joshua and Caleb were a part of spy mission where many were saying that the time was not good to go forward. However, Joshua and Caleb saw what God could do and pushed for that. Today, I call on all my brothers and sisters in Japan and around the world to see that our God works through weakness… Japan is at its weakest point, the churches are hurting, the infrastructure is stretched. Now is the time when God can work so mightily. We must believe! We must prepare! We must move forward in faith. Our God is powerful. Greater things will happen even in the light of the vastness of the destruction and suffering.
Thank you for all who are praying for our work and for the hurting in Japan.