Nakoso Christ Church
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Nakoso (Iwaki city), Fukushima
A violent shaking woke me up just before 4 am. It wasn't even for a minute, though it felt more like five minutes to me. Midori also woke up and said, “This must be a big one!” After a brief moment of black out, the power came back and we turned the TV on to find out more about the quake. It was an earthquake of M 6.4 in the coast near Iwaki, the city where we are staying now.
In my half-awake mind, the only thing I could compare this level of shaking was an overnight, 2nd class train I took from Chennai to Madurai in India 12 years ago. I had no other reference point for an earthquake of this level even after many aftershocks - small and medium ones - I experienced during my first visit in April. Lying on my bed in the hotel, I stared at the ceiling, wishing that it would have been nice if there was something to protect over my head. I walked with some close people journeying toward their deaths, and reflected and read much about death. But if anything else was going to happen right now, I thought, my story (or my life!) would end here with no preparation. When my whole being was shaken by such magnificent power of nature beyond my ability to control especially in my vulnerable moment of sleeping, my best rational process or imagination of death did not help me at all this morning. Prayer was not my first reaction, to be honest.
Having fallen back to sleep for a couple more hours, we had rather a rushed Sunday morning. Midori and I went to the train station but only to find out the morning train schedule was canceled because of the earthquake a few hours earlier. We took a taxi to go to Nakoso Christ Church where Rev. Sumiyoshi and his wife have been serving for the past four years. I visited that church in my first visit and wrote my experience that time on this blog on April 20. I wanted to see how they have been moving forward a few months after the disasters.
Rev. Sumiyoshi and his wife were at the Fukushima Future Forum last week and the testimony of how he encountered Jesus and his cross encouraged all of us at the Fukushima Future Forum.
Sumiyoshi’s Dream: “Why are you abandoning me?”
I saw Jesus was approaching toward the Nuclear power plant [in my dream]. I am not talking about something strange or funny. I saw Jesus walking toward the plant. Jesus asked me, “Are you evacuating?” That reminded me of Jesus’ question to his disciples [before he went to the cross], “Are you abandoning me?” Those reminders led me to make my own decision to remain in my community. In this complex situation, many kinds of information were coming to me, like people were saying ‘the nuclear power plant is very dangerous,’ or ‘we will have another tsunami’ and so on. I asked myself, “To whose voice shall I listen?” I learned this one thing. This [the aftermaths of earthquake and tsunami] was an unthinkable situation and we’ve encountered something that we’d never imagined before. That is the challenge to us about our own faith.
Soon after such an encounter with Jesus in his dream, Rev. Sumiyoshi started actively serving the neighborhood. They received more than 200 volunteers from all over Japan and overseas and served more than 1400 neighbors. During the first couple months after the disaster, the church was the relief center for the whole community and they started having many visitors seeking to understand Christianity. Today, Sumiyoshis continue to seek God’s guidance for them to engage more deeply (and practically) in their community, while joyfully serving the needs of visitors to the church.
Midori and I had a leisurely visit yesterday to observe a bible study for seekers that Rev. Sumiyoshi started after the disaster. I got very excited to see two familiar faces showing up. In April, they just started coming to church because they couldn’t comprehend such loving kindness of the Christians they encountered at the church. They were simply curious of the secrete path to having greater power than the tsunami.
Mr. Funayama (65) and Mr. Moue (79) started to attend the Sunday service and weekly bible study soon after they discovered what the church was doing following the disaster. Midori and I politely asked them if I could just set the camera at the back while they were talking, but they were more than happy to talk to unknown ‘global audience’ in front of the camera. Mr. Funayama had encountered Jesus twice before in his life, but never accepted him into his heart. He shared this third time, the big one, he experienced through tsunami.
Jesus, the Greater Power than Tsunami
The third encounter with Jesus was this time because of this disaster and it was the biggest encounter. I met a friend on the street walking with his both hands holding bags filled with goods. I asked him, “What happened?” “I went to the church. Go get the stuff from them.” And I went to the church and was so surprised. Because there were so many stuffs and so many people from all over the world. I thought to myself, ‘What is this Christ church? From where do they get this kind of power?’ I was so impressed with that power which people showed. I started chatting with the pastor.
I was suggested to come to Sunday service and I started coming. There were many people in the church, but I didn’t understand many things. Sometimes I felt I could identify with some stories. My life was not a happy one, but rather unhappy one. I started realizing that by knowing this “Kiristo Sama’ [Lord Christ], I may be able to find true solution to happiness. Being happy means knowing Jesus and happiness may come by offering whole of myself.
These days I am thinking like this. First, I needed to know who Jesus is so I started coming to bible studies. Happiness is knowing Jesus Christ. I was very surprised by Pastor Sumiyoshi. He was also affected by the whole disaster, but he was serving without showing any reluctance on his face. I always wondered from where this kind of power come. I am realizing that this is because of Jesus’ love and power.
Today as we were sitting at the back row during the service, Midori was pointing to me who were new after the disaster, and the people she pointed out to me were over a third of the room. There were some teenage boys who helped serving lunch after the service. I thought it was an unusual thing for teenagers not only staying at the worship with elderly folk, but also serving and having lunch together. (I will write about their experience of tsunami separately after I meet more young people this week.)
Rev. Sumiyoshi talked about the earthquake this morning and gave the message of the Cross from Mark’s gospel. I don’t understand Japanese at all, but when I heard him repeat, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” a few times with tears in his eyes, I felt something significant, like movement of the Holy Spirit. Several people in the congregation started weeping. I knew it was about his dream and about the Cross. Toward the end of his preaching, I quietly stood and captured that moment in my camera.
Jesus Interceding for Us at the Nuclear Plant
Jesus approached to the nuclear power plant. In order to understand your own suffering, Jesus is even now moving toward the power plant and is interceding for you there. He died for you on the cross. There are many various religions in the world. But we cannot find anywhere else this love of Jesus who abandoned his own life for us.
[Prayer]
“We had an earthquake this morning. I pleaded you, [oh God], not to give us any more suffering. However we believe that everything is in your hands. As Jesus walked toward the cross a long time ago, he is walking toward the nuclear plant now. He is kneeling there and praying for us. Because of this, we can persevere and have hope. Jesus made a promise that he would be with each of us and walk in our lives. We have so many sorrows, suffering and pain in our lives. And we will face death in our earthly life.
Lord Jesus, help each of us to open our hearts to you. Help us to accept Jesus as Savior, and give us true victory, hope, joy in our life. The life of those who believe in Jesus never ends in despair. We may be given power to endure whatever situation we may go through. In the name of Jesus, we pray.”
Right after the disaster on March 11, Sumiyoshis did not know what to do when everyone was busy evacuating. They were praying and waiting. Only one thing they knew clearly was that God did not tell them to evacuate. So they waited and waited, until Jesus appeared in Sumiyoshi’s dream and challenged him. That changed everything; not only their own lives, but also thousands others in Iwaki city.
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Nakoso (Iwaki city), Fukushima
A violent shaking woke me up just before 4 am. It wasn't even for a minute, though it felt more like five minutes to me. Midori also woke up and said, “This must be a big one!” After a brief moment of black out, the power came back and we turned the TV on to find out more about the quake. It was an earthquake of M 6.4 in the coast near Iwaki, the city where we are staying now.
In my half-awake mind, the only thing I could compare this level of shaking was an overnight, 2nd class train I took from Chennai to Madurai in India 12 years ago. I had no other reference point for an earthquake of this level even after many aftershocks - small and medium ones - I experienced during my first visit in April. Lying on my bed in the hotel, I stared at the ceiling, wishing that it would have been nice if there was something to protect over my head. I walked with some close people journeying toward their deaths, and reflected and read much about death. But if anything else was going to happen right now, I thought, my story (or my life!) would end here with no preparation. When my whole being was shaken by such magnificent power of nature beyond my ability to control especially in my vulnerable moment of sleeping, my best rational process or imagination of death did not help me at all this morning. Prayer was not my first reaction, to be honest.
Having fallen back to sleep for a couple more hours, we had rather a rushed Sunday morning. Midori and I went to the train station but only to find out the morning train schedule was canceled because of the earthquake a few hours earlier. We took a taxi to go to Nakoso Christ Church where Rev. Sumiyoshi and his wife have been serving for the past four years. I visited that church in my first visit and wrote my experience that time on this blog on April 20. I wanted to see how they have been moving forward a few months after the disasters.
Rev. Sumiyoshi and his wife were at the Fukushima Future Forum last week and the testimony of how he encountered Jesus and his cross encouraged all of us at the Fukushima Future Forum.
Sumiyoshi’s Dream: “Why are you abandoning me?”
I saw Jesus was approaching toward the Nuclear power plant [in my dream]. I am not talking about something strange or funny. I saw Jesus walking toward the plant. Jesus asked me, “Are you evacuating?” That reminded me of Jesus’ question to his disciples [before he went to the cross], “Are you abandoning me?” Those reminders led me to make my own decision to remain in my community. In this complex situation, many kinds of information were coming to me, like people were saying ‘the nuclear power plant is very dangerous,’ or ‘we will have another tsunami’ and so on. I asked myself, “To whose voice shall I listen?” I learned this one thing. This [the aftermaths of earthquake and tsunami] was an unthinkable situation and we’ve encountered something that we’d never imagined before. That is the challenge to us about our own faith.
Soon after such an encounter with Jesus in his dream, Rev. Sumiyoshi started actively serving the neighborhood. They received more than 200 volunteers from all over Japan and overseas and served more than 1400 neighbors. During the first couple months after the disaster, the church was the relief center for the whole community and they started having many visitors seeking to understand Christianity. Today, Sumiyoshis continue to seek God’s guidance for them to engage more deeply (and practically) in their community, while joyfully serving the needs of visitors to the church.
Midori and I had a leisurely visit yesterday to observe a bible study for seekers that Rev. Sumiyoshi started after the disaster. I got very excited to see two familiar faces showing up. In April, they just started coming to church because they couldn’t comprehend such loving kindness of the Christians they encountered at the church. They were simply curious of the secrete path to having greater power than the tsunami.
Mr. Funayama (65) and Mr. Moue (79) started to attend the Sunday service and weekly bible study soon after they discovered what the church was doing following the disaster. Midori and I politely asked them if I could just set the camera at the back while they were talking, but they were more than happy to talk to unknown ‘global audience’ in front of the camera. Mr. Funayama had encountered Jesus twice before in his life, but never accepted him into his heart. He shared this third time, the big one, he experienced through tsunami.
Jesus, the Greater Power than Tsunami
The third encounter with Jesus was this time because of this disaster and it was the biggest encounter. I met a friend on the street walking with his both hands holding bags filled with goods. I asked him, “What happened?” “I went to the church. Go get the stuff from them.” And I went to the church and was so surprised. Because there were so many stuffs and so many people from all over the world. I thought to myself, ‘What is this Christ church? From where do they get this kind of power?’ I was so impressed with that power which people showed. I started chatting with the pastor.
I was suggested to come to Sunday service and I started coming. There were many people in the church, but I didn’t understand many things. Sometimes I felt I could identify with some stories. My life was not a happy one, but rather unhappy one. I started realizing that by knowing this “Kiristo Sama’ [Lord Christ], I may be able to find true solution to happiness. Being happy means knowing Jesus and happiness may come by offering whole of myself.
These days I am thinking like this. First, I needed to know who Jesus is so I started coming to bible studies. Happiness is knowing Jesus Christ. I was very surprised by Pastor Sumiyoshi. He was also affected by the whole disaster, but he was serving without showing any reluctance on his face. I always wondered from where this kind of power come. I am realizing that this is because of Jesus’ love and power.
Today as we were sitting at the back row during the service, Midori was pointing to me who were new after the disaster, and the people she pointed out to me were over a third of the room. There were some teenage boys who helped serving lunch after the service. I thought it was an unusual thing for teenagers not only staying at the worship with elderly folk, but also serving and having lunch together. (I will write about their experience of tsunami separately after I meet more young people this week.)Rev. Sumiyoshi talked about the earthquake this morning and gave the message of the Cross from Mark’s gospel. I don’t understand Japanese at all, but when I heard him repeat, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” a few times with tears in his eyes, I felt something significant, like movement of the Holy Spirit. Several people in the congregation started weeping. I knew it was about his dream and about the Cross. Toward the end of his preaching, I quietly stood and captured that moment in my camera.
Jesus Interceding for Us at the Nuclear Plant
Jesus approached to the nuclear power plant. In order to understand your own suffering, Jesus is even now moving toward the power plant and is interceding for you there. He died for you on the cross. There are many various religions in the world. But we cannot find anywhere else this love of Jesus who abandoned his own life for us.
[Prayer]
“We had an earthquake this morning. I pleaded you, [oh God], not to give us any more suffering. However we believe that everything is in your hands. As Jesus walked toward the cross a long time ago, he is walking toward the nuclear plant now. He is kneeling there and praying for us. Because of this, we can persevere and have hope. Jesus made a promise that he would be with each of us and walk in our lives. We have so many sorrows, suffering and pain in our lives. And we will face death in our earthly life.
Lord Jesus, help each of us to open our hearts to you. Help us to accept Jesus as Savior, and give us true victory, hope, joy in our life. The life of those who believe in Jesus never ends in despair. We may be given power to endure whatever situation we may go through. In the name of Jesus, we pray.”
Right after the disaster on March 11, Sumiyoshis did not know what to do when everyone was busy evacuating. They were praying and waiting. Only one thing they knew clearly was that God did not tell them to evacuate. So they waited and waited, until Jesus appeared in Sumiyoshi’s dream and challenged him. That changed everything; not only their own lives, but also thousands others in Iwaki city.
The slogan in the main street of Futaba near the power plant seemed as powerful a promise as the nuclear power it was generating. 
