Theologize Japan, do not Japanize Christianity

On March 23, my last day in Japan during my recent trip, Midori and I attended a theological conference in Tokyo after we returned from Fukushima, our last trip together for a while.

The topic of the conference was "How can we start again? Centurial Vision for Post-disaster Japan. Two American theologians and three Japanese theologians presented their essays on the relationship between disaster relief and evangelism throughout Church History and how each of the major disasters in history helped shape or change the identity and or mission of the Church and how the Church engaged with society in those times. It was a very fascinating topic to hear, especially just a week after hosting an international forum in Fukushima. It was also interesting to me personally because the broad-mindedness of the ideas expressed in these essays answered many of my questions about how to interpret the socio-political level of meaning of disaster in a culture where people understand clashes of worldviews and supernatural dimensions of human politics (read my very first blog on this issue here and also on Yasukuni shrine here).

What caught my attention most was the final presenter, Hideo Ohki who presented an essay called "The Reformation Pressed upon Us by God," with a subtitle of "Thinking Japan theologically," or Theologize Japan, do not Japanize Christianity as he explained in his presentation. He gave an example with his interpretation of the socio-political impact of the Kanto earthquake that took place in Tokyo, and killed over 100,000 people in 1923. The Kanto earthquake is the second largest natural disaster in Japanese history (the largest disaster being this Tohoku disaster). 

In the period leading right up to that earthquake, Japan had been victorious in wars with China and Russia. Fought on the side of the English, French and American Allies in the World War I, and enjoyed the prosperity of Taisho Liberalism. However, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance that had supported newly developing Japan was decided against in 1921, and officially terminated on August 17, 1923 (Taisho 12). Just fifteen days later, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed Tokyo, turning it into a scene of disaster and misery. ....

In 1933, ten years after Tokyo was dstoryed, Japan left the League of Nations and its seat as a permanent member and joined Germany, where Hitler had come to power, to form the Axis powers, thus cutting off the rudder of destiny and moving on its disastrous course towards August 15, 1945....

In the very year of 1933, with his "Theological Existence Today" Barth stood against "German Christians" who were connected to Hitler. However, a bizarre phenomenon took place. "As if nothing had happened,"using Barth's expression, Japanese churches on Sunday kept theri worship services with the vertical relationship (with God) in a spiritual catacomb, so to speak. And they could not help but obey the national policy during the weekdays in militarist Japan. The dualism resulted from misusing the "transcendence" of Barthian theology.

.... I cannot help but feel that God is pressing us to reform the post-war Protestant churches in Japan through the great earthquake that also shook us from the foundation. 

"The Reformation Pressed Upon Us by God: Thinking Theologically of Japan"

Three lies of Satan, the roadblock to transformation of Japan

Dr. Eisuke Kanda, the leader of Friends with the Voiceless International (FVI), has been consistently calling the Japanese churches to a paradigm shift from insularity to active service in their local communities. The triple-disaster in Fukushima that shook foundations of modern Japanese culture and mindset is now waiting for a paradigm shift (listen to him on why FVI chose to work in Fukushima in my interview with him last July - here). After another six months passed, I asked him a question, "What is one thing you've learned through this disaster?" his answers were short and clear.

Repent for the Kingdom of God is near. We Japanese Christians need to repent in the ways we lived under the lies of Satan. The three major lies are:
First, Ba'al (or mammon) worship: Money will make you happy!
Second, Babel tower: science and technology will make you happy!
Third, oppressive power structures: The leaders will decide. I don't need to think!

This message isn't just for Japanese Christians only, and it applies to all of us. It's time to theologize every nation and stop (Koreanizing or Canadianizing) Christianity. This is not an easy task. The foundations of modern confidence in money, science and technology, power and control have now shaken, but we have a story to begin again. And that is God's story of transformation and his love story to his creation through the cross and that is the good news which has the cosmic scope and impact: 

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

(Colossians 1:15-20) 

This is not about simply saving individual souls and vanishing up in the sky. The risen King is on his way to be with his bride and the earth will receive her King again! There will be no more pain, no more suffering (Rev 19-21). That is the Easter hope.

Relational Relief: a ministry of Holy Saturday

The Way of Martyrs: Self-denial in a culture of self-promotion 

After one year in which I visited Fukushima four times from Vancouver, what have I learned? I started asking myself this question as I reflected on the yearlong process. All I can testify is what I saw and what I heard: the powerful stories of local church reaching out to their neighbors at the cost of their own safety and material possessions (potential losses of career and jobs). I feel deeply privileged to eye-witness the grace of God flowing through the tiny small segment of Japanese population to tens of thousands of people affected by the triple-disasters.

A local church is a community of people who put their faith in Jesus Christ and follow him as his disciples with a clear mission to love God and love neighbor. This dual-love rises from a dual-knowledge of knowing God and knowing oneself. This is the backbone of discipleship process and a source of power that has transformed communities and nations throughout the centuries.

The bridge between the dual-knowledge and the dual-love is the simple yet powerful place of self-transformation: Dying to self. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24). No one goes to a place of life and glory with a cross. There is no career, no future. Your cross will take you to a place of death just as the cross Jesus took upon himself led him to Golgotha. But the death is not the end and it does not take the final victory. God raised Jesus from the dead and establishes his Kingdom on earth. The way this kingdom advances is through a new life that is birthed out of the death that followers of Jesus willingly go to - through serving others sacrificially. In some contexts this death is the physical death believers willingly accept when facing persecution (martyr, which means witness in the original Greek word).  But in many other contexts, it is more of dying to self and choosing to serve others at the cost of one’s own life.

This is the essence of transformation and what some Christian traditions call green martyrdom as opposed red (blood) martyrdom. After persecution of Christians ended in the Roman Empire, after extreme asceticism of the desert fathers (and mothers) declined in the early church history, the monastic movement was started in the West by those who renounced the desires of the good human life on earth in order to purse a lifestyle given to the service of others and of creation (that’s where the color green comes from). This is evident in the early hymns of Irish Celtic Christian traditions (before the tenth century):

We carry the cross of Christ in two ways, both when we mortify the body through fasting, and when out of compassion for him we regard the needs of our neighbor as our own. A person who has compassion for the needs of our neighbor as our own. A person who has compassion for the needs of his neighbor truly carries the cross in his heart.

Perhaps this movement of local church ‘dying to themselves’ and loving their neighbors by serving sacrificially will continue in Fukushima even after all the foreign agencies leave and all the resources dry up in the country, because these transformed people will be still there. And that’s the secret of how to turn ordinary Christians into relief workers in their own communities in times of disasters. This is genuine relief work and genuine love to the point of dying. 

Relational Relief: a ministry of Holy Saturday

The term 'Christian relief work,' however, has carried baggage for a long time because of unhealthy past mission practices, particularly of 20^th century's notions like ‘rice Christians’ and prosperity gospel. Even today, many churches and Christian organizations view relief work as platform for doing evangelism or as merely a pre-cursor to evangelism. ‘Evangelism’ is viewed the "real" Christian work whereas relief work is not good enough on its own.  

There is another view which advocates the total separation or dichotomization of relief and evangelism. Some would argue that relief work has nothing to do with evangelism or should not interfere with evangelism. Or they might say that relief work hinders from doing ‘the real gospel work’ of saving souls for heaven. In any case, the view of the gospel is reduced down to ‘saving souls for heaven’ and the way relief work is conducted in such a way that it is assumed to be only dealing with physical loss and resources like food, water, shelter and so on (the basic necessities of life). This is again a reduced and distorted view of ‘the loss of human life’ and what it means to restore and reconcile all things to God through Christ (Col 1:15-20).

We have much work to do here to overcome problems of reductionism at all fronts of our lives. We need to once more emphasize the importance of restoring right relationships in the relief work with genuine motives to serve those outside the four walls of the church building. And that is to re-imagine how relief work can be done differently: relationally, holistically and communally. That is the foundation of transformation we have encountered in local churches in Fukushima.

Offering genuine love is a witness to the greatest love received from Jesus. Relief work done with genuine motives, the ‘willingness to take up one’s cross and go’ may be a way of martyrs, and is a witness because of the hope of resurrection. This is the ministry of Holy Saturday, caught between death of Good Friday and the hope of Easter Sunday.

Ikarashi, a courageous pastor, in Iwaki boldly confesses this way:

Q. What is the attitude of people in Fukushima toward the church after the disaster?

A. Many professional people escaped Iwaki, even the mayor. The attitude of leaders caused the Japanese people to lose confidence [in the leaders]. But the church is called to testify to the glory of God – we started a volunteer centre before the government started. Church people are trying to come into the city; everyone else is trying to leave. This strengthens our relationship, and people hear what we are saying.

Q. How do you overcome fear of radiation?

A. In the days after the disaster, even Christians began to escape from Fukushima. We prayed to God, and we decided to die for the victims, because we could each discern a call (with the senior pastor and other pastors). Alone, I don’t think I could decide to die for the people of Fukushima. But God chose us, the body of Christ. It is only by his grace.

Q. Confession of willingness to die among you and the other pastors, how did you come to this? Together or separately, etc?

A. Many people lost families in the disaster and I also lost my daughter after. This taught me that we do not know what will happen even tomorrow. But the reason we share the gospel is life, eternal life. We don't know about tomorrow – but physical death is not the only goal, it is only the process. In suffering and trials it is easy to hear the voice of God. But we have to change our attitude to God, everyday, we have to obey and we have to prepare for both physical death and Christ’s return.

Community of Easter Hope (4): Theology of martyrs, the foundations for new community

Every time Midori and I visited Nakoso Christ Church in Iwaki city, Reverend Sumiyoshi surprised us by his deep love for the community and wide vision for the whole nation of Japan. This is surprising according to Midori because it is not yet common to see an evangelical pastor act out of such a comprehensive social vision for his ministry. Since our first meeting a year ago, I could not stop talking about Rev. Sumiyoshi's testimony of repentance after encountering Jesus in his dream (read the full testimony here) wherever I was asked to share about Fukushima. He seems to have found a balance between solid theology and sensitivity to the Spirit's movement to discern carefully, yet boldly, when Jesus calls him, through whatever media Jesus uses.

During my November visit, I was very curious to hear about the theological seminar he had organized for pastors to discuss the theological implications of the nuclear crisis in Fukushima I asked him about the seminar because I was interested in hearing about how he developed such a vision of connecting  theology and social crisis. This time to my own surprise, he told us a story how he came to admire a Korean martyr from the 20th century, about whom I knew very little.

Rev. Sumiyoshi has been part of a theological association that studies the life and ministry of Chu Ki-Chol, a Korean pastor who was martyred during World War II. When Japanese pastors go abroad to study, they generally choose Western countries such as the USA and Germany. But Japan Alliance Christ Church (the denomination to which Rev. Sumiyoshi belongs) sent a pastor to Korea to study the life of Chu Ki-Chol.

During the colonial rule of the Korean peninsula by Japan from 1910 to 1945, the Japanese government forced the Korean people to worship the Japanese emperor at shrines. For Christians, this was tantamount to idol worship. Rev. Chu Ki-Chol refused to worship at the shrines. He was imprisoned and in the end was poisoned to death in jail. Sumiyoshi continues:

Where did you get the vision to start a theological seminar on the nuclear issue? 

It is sad that Japanese churches also supported the policy of Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula... With this historical regret, I am very interested in why martyrdom was not happening among Japanese Christians. Even in Korea, not all Christians were martyred; some complied and worshiped at the shrines. Based on these facts, the main purpose of this seminar [on nuclear crisis] is to learn something from the spirit of Reverent Chu Ki-Chol and to implement that in Japan.

What is the real problem with the nuclear power plant?

"Some people are calling for the denuclearization of Japan, but this idea creates an issue – how can people in Fukushima live without nuclear power plants? If this issue is not considered, the idea of denuclearization is nothing more than words on paper. With this regard, I have been appealing for a long time for the need to start a company, or to invite companies to Fukushima.

If we go with the idea of denuclearization, what should we do? We have to work on promoting alternative energy."

Nakoso Christ Church has been serving the community ever since Jesus appeared in Sumiyoshi's dream after the disaster. They had non-Christians coming to ask about 'the greater power than the tsunami' which Christians seemed to have. Mr. Sato, a lay-leader in the church is one of such courageous Christians that non-Christian neighbors have been witnessing.  

Mr. Sato's first career was in nuclear engineering and he understands the power plant issues very well. His second career was recently ended on March 10, 2011, only one day before the disaster. He's thankful (!) for being laid-off from work so he could fully focus on disaster relief work through church. He told us about the day of the disaster and the first few days of the chaotic situation in Nakoso town when Midori and I visited the church on Sunday, March 11, this year - the anniversary of the disaster. 

When the earthquake happened on March 11, 2011

I was watching TV and suddenly an earthquake came. I realized it was a big one. It last very long. I opened the window. The neighbor’s house roof tile started falling. I prayed, “God, this is your land and your house.” I asked God for his protection. When I finished praying, the earthquake ended. I went outside to see the neighborhood. All surrounding block was broken and affected by the earthquake. I quickly got in the car and took a couple of elderly neighbors in my car and drove to the hilly area as I expected a tsunami might come. But that tsunami was already receded quite a bit along the river because the embankment stood firmly, so it didn't cause any major damage in the area. Then I thanked God for his protection.

Local church, a new family in Christ 

After moving to a couple of different evacuation shelters, Mr. Sato eventually came back to his home. He's been helping Rev. Sumiyoshi and the church in various relief activities. His son came back from Tokyo area soon after the disaster and decided to stay and started helping as a youth worker at the church. Mr. Sato's son is now a 'big brother' to three young new believers who started coming to the church a few months after the disaster.  The three boys live with their grandparents and father who works at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. They hardly see their father at home especially after the nuclear crisis because of long hours of work and the long commute each day. Their school was close to the ocean and hit badly by the tsunami. Some friends from school went missing after the tsunami but they stopped looking for them, so they do not talk about school or friends.

On Sundays, Mr. Sato or his son pick up the three brothers to church, and after church, the boys spend time with the Sato family - doing their homework, playing soccer, or having dinner together or anything they feel like doing with their 'big brother.' It was very refreshing to see young faces in a church where most members are elderly.  

Midori and I arrived at the church a few minutes before the service on March 11, so we had a chance to talk with them briefly. The smiles on their faces conveyed the hope and joy they found in Christ in the midst of tragedy and crisis they had gone through because they now have a new spiritual family. 

(Question) What do you want tell other people in the world who hear about Fukushima?

Youth leader (man in white jacket) : I believe God really cares and loves everyone. I want to serve and help everyone to get saved.

Boy 1: It was very a very difficult time [during this year], but the most important thing I could think of is “thank-you” and appreciation and cooperation. We'll be able to get through this if we all stay together. Please hang in there!

Boy 2: When the earthquake happened, everything stopped. Water stopped, etc.. We now have water and things are moving. I am thankful. Please hang in there. Let’s overcome this crisis together.

Boy 3: This earthquake hurt many people. Please pray that this kind of earthquake will not happen again. Please be grateful to each other. By saying “thank-you” everyone will be happy. 

Rev. Sumiyoshi spoke about the identity of his church in terms of local mission, a mission to serve their community. He shared the church's plan to start working on long term economic recovery in Iwaki to serve the community. I prayed with them that God would give them strength and power, the greatest power that comes from Jesus, who helped them to overcome the fear of both tsunami and radiation (read my first story about Nakoso Christ Church - here). 

Community of Easter Hope (3): Wholistic Discipleship in Service

When I first accepted the invitation from Food for the Hungry Canada to go to Fukushima last April, one of the few things that I was most curious about was how local churches would train and sustain relief workers. Having done HR work during the tsunami in Southeast Asia 7 years ago, I could sense the daunting challenge that was laid upon small local churches in Japan. I had seen some cases of serious burnout, ill-equipped volunteers struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and so on. Tens of thousands of volunteers flew in from all over the world to help Japan, and young and old people from all over Japan also marched in to help the disaster hit Tohoku area, though Fukushima received a much lower level of attention from abroad than the other prefectures because of the nuclear crisis. I was amazed at the scale of volunteerism mobilized for the Japan disaster. We are indeed operating in an age of people-power. Many churches coordinated to channel thousands of volunteers to serve their communities.

Grace Garden Chapel in Koriyama was a bit of exception in this. Their Life Support Program already had a limited number of evacuee families that they had decided to serve after a careful survey and relationship building at the evacuation shelters in the early days after the disaster. They turned their church members into volunteer relief workers to serve the community actively rather than living in fear and anxiety as victims. Rie Matsumoto is one of the staff who has been going out to various temporary housing blocks all over Fukushima to meet evacuees and to listen and find their needs so that the service provided by the Life Support Program would actually meet their actual needs at the right time. Midori and I met her for dinner in my previous trip in March and she testified to us how she's been growing in faith through her relief work. Her father was recently hospitalized after a serious car accident and she shared with me and Midori about how God reached her in the midst of her own problems.

Too tired to listen to the problems of others any more...
When I am so down and trapped by my own problems, I feel 'I ma not the right person to help others.' so I lose my joy and I feel like I cannot stand up on my own. I've been too discouraged to do anything lately. 

There was an elderly couple whom I was closed to [among evacuee families in her work] and they were really stressed because of this earthquake and they got ill from the stress. I was hesitant to contact them, thinking that I might disturb them. However, they contacted the church to find out about me and asked the pastor how I was doing because I was suffering from asthma [at that time]. My pastor told me about the phone call later and asked me to call them back. I was too down and stressed to phone them because I wondered if I had any strength left to listen to someone else's problem any more. For one hour I held the phone indecisively. 

God restored my joy!
I finally called the couple. They really poured out their anxiety and fear about the future and their problems. They complained about their neighbors, relationships going sour and so on. At the beginning, I thought I couldn't take this any more, but I continued to listen.... Then I noticed somehow joy started flowing again in my own heart. It wasn't a happy thing to listen to someone's problems. I realized my attitude was changing and I could listen to the elderly couple with full empathy. Then the couple said that they would not need any material help, but they would like to continue to talk with me.

After the phone call, I started wondering. What really happen over that phone call just now? I didn't really solve any problems, or said anything but only listened to their issues. But I realized it was obedience to respond to God's call. The things I listened to were not exciting things but gloomy and negative stuff, but God restored a joy in my heart as I was listening.

We gladly chose to stay.

Pastor Toyomi Sanga co-leads Grace Garden Chapel with her husband. She disciples Rie and other staff in their ministry to evacuee families, day in day out. They cry together and they laugh together. They are growing in discipleship together in God's family. She trains and encourages her church members in relief work so the church can be friends, neighbors, leaders and whatever the community need them to be. As she spoke in front of camera for me, one last time (!), her words ring so true to me: "We can't live in disaster mode. We need to move on because God chose us to stay here and we gladly chose to stay!" 

 

(This interview was done on March 14, 2012)

Community of Easter Hope (2): Genuine motives matters!

Volunteers packing goods for delivery

The Life Support Program is a relief program run by Grace Garden Chapel in Koriyama (read more details about the program - here). The name of the church, 'garden' shows their mission and focus very clearly (I discovered the meaning of this name in my first visit last April. Read about the name of the church - here). The leaders of this local church is committed to planting seeds of hope and grace throughout Koriyama. They started serving evacuees in a very simple and tangible ways of helping with household appliances and material support to resettle and create homes, rather than wandering around from evacuation shelter to evacuation shelter.

Because it involves material support and it is done by the local church, there were some roadblocks the church had to experience. These roadblocks came from both within and without the church. I was very privileged to hear some of the stories of both the positive and negative impacts of such assistance. The criticism coming from outside is easy to understand in today's world. Local churches in many countries have over-used formula of 'relief goods + dying poor = rice Christians' trying to fill the pews of the building through providing food and other material goods. Japan was not an exception to this. Disaster victims in Japan are not dying poor, but had credit cards and cell phones in evacuation shelters trying to navigate the devastating crisis in their own ways. In a developed country like Japan where basic infrastructure is well built, local residents have high expectations that "the government must do something! (by the way, in Fukushima the expectation of efficient government assistance is now an eroding belief.)

A temporary housing block in Koriyama

As for roadblocks coming from within the church, often well-meaning volunteers, who are eager to evangelize strangers, often do not understand that the work has to be done with a genuine motif to help others in need, and they cannot have hidden agendas when neighbors become vulnerable through life circumstances. Simply, within the church we have this 'reductionist gospel,' which says that gospel is only good for saving souls for the next life in heaven (somewhere up in the sky!). This is still powerfully at work among many well-meaning Christians who want to use 'doing good works' as platforms for evangelism. 

The integration of relief work with the local church is a very delicate matter to address that I will save for another day, but now I want to share stories of positive impact made on victims when assistance is provided with genuine motives.

In my November visit to Grace Garden Chapel, I met with two non-Christian families who were assisted by the church. One family is comprised of three women (names undisclosed; grandmother, mother and a little daughter) and the other is a couple. Both families moved to Koriyama from the 20 KM exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-chi after the disaster. They live in temporary housing units and spend most of their time at home doing little chores and waiting for the day to go back to their home town.

When they heard Ms. Matsumoto, a relief worker of the “Life Support Program” run by Grace Garden Chapel, was a Christian, the grandmother honestly thought that because she was a Buddhist the church is not a place she would think to go for help. Ms. Matsumoto told them not to worry about that, and that she would never force them to become Christians. Through observing the engagement of Ms. Matsumoto with her daughter, the mother found that Ms. Matsumoto was a very nice person. She even felt ashamed for caring that Ms. Matsumoto was a Christian. Ms. Matsumoto even prayed for them, and this touched their hearts deeply. And she continues:

Grandmother: I wonder why Ms. Matsumoto helps total strangers like us so much. I think she is a very strong person. I am very thankful for her now. The supports from the central and prefectural governments are very slow. When the victims were in trouble, Grace Garden Chapel instantly took action to support us. I am very amazed that individuals help and support us like this.

(Interview question I asked) What do you want to tell people in other countries to know about Fukushima?

Grandmother: I want everyone to know that Fukushima, and Japan, are not places where people cannot live anymore because of radioactive contamination.

The second family is Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe and we were thrilled to witness the unexpected reunion of the neighbors when I came out of the interview room with the mothers to greet the Watanabes (see my story from yesterday). This couple were so touched by the genuine love of a relief work, Ms. Matsumoto, they began to volunteer with Grace Garden Chapel soon after our interview.

A genuine motives is contagious and it spreads.

We invited Ms. Matsumoto to let us know anytime if there is something that we can do to help them. I have been thinking of what we can do to return the help they gave to us. I do not remember when it was exactly, but in the past the river flooded due to heavy rain. Since we were not familiar with Koriyama, we did not know which part of the city was flooded. Later, we heard that this church was also flooded. I thought if only they had informed us, we could have helped them somehow. Ms. Matsumoto said, ‘It’s okay, we cleaned up by ourselves.’ So I told her, ‘If something happens to you, please contact us right away. We will help you anytime.’ Then, she invited us to visit the shelters to encourage people with relief supplies. So with pleasure, we decided to join in visiting the shelters. Each time she called us, I kept telling her that we were willing to help them in order to return what they had done for us, and asked her to let us know if there was something we could do. Before I was asked, I was always thinking of offering a helping hand to those in trouble, if possible. This is not because we were asked to help. They offered us this opportunity because we have been asking them to tell us if there was something we could do. Therefore, we are very pleased to help you tomorrow. 

As long as we live in Koriyama, we would like to volunteer. Even when the day comes when we can go back to our hometown after reconstruction, we do not want to forget the help that was given to us, and want to keep helping.

Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:13-16)

Community of Easter Hope (1): Restoring the fabric of soceity

I met Mr. Suzuki for the first time at Global Mission Center in Iwaki last November when I went to visit Usuiso village with a few members of GMC. GMC has been very instrumental from the first day of the disaster on March 11, 2011, in reaching out to the whole city. It soon became a popular place of community service, fellowship and networking (read the story about GMC - here). Mr. Suzuki lost most of his family due to the tsunami, and his home was completely washed away. But he didn't give up even after such tragedy and shock.

The third day of the disaster, on March 13, 2011, he became a group leader of the Usuiso shelter where he was evacuated to. The first food distribution from the city was only one onigiri (an onigiri is a rice ball, not enough for an adult) for 28 people in the shelter for a whole day. As a leader, he went through very hard times because he didn’t know to whom he should give the only onigiri. 

Onigiri, half a size of an adult's palm

Furthermore, he could not tell anyone that there was only one onigiri. Mr. Suzuki met a man at the shelter who had driven from Sendai all the way to the shelter. This is a distance of approximately 200 km. He was trying to find his father, whose house was destroyed by the tsunami. The man had not had anything to eat for several days because he could not find anything at the shops on his drive from his home. Mr Suzuki decided to give the one onigiri to this man, and told him to eat it in secret, hiding it from everyone.

The next day, there were only four onigiri. The situation made him very sad, and he no longer thought that he could continue in his role as a group leader. He asked another senior to take over his role, and quit as group leader.

Mr. Suzuki started visiting the community cafe run by GMC and started getting to know some of the volunteers and staff. He comes to the cafe in hopes of meeting his neighbors and friends with whom he completely lost touch because of the tsunami. For nearly 8 months, he could not return to Usuiso village because of painful memory. However, the day when I visited, he finally decided that he wanted to return to Usuiso with us for the first time because he felt better after friendly Christians prayed for him and were kind to him.

Mr Suzuki: The old people living in this neighbourhood used to get together in the community centre several times a day, around 6 am, 10 am, between 1 and 2 pm after lunch, and in the summertime after dinner as well.

Volunteer (woman’s voice): Since they could always meet each other, they did not exchange phone numbers.

Mr. Suzuki: We did not exchange our emails either, so now I still have no idea where they are.

Volunteer (woman’s voice): How do you feel about visiting here today?

Mr. Suzuki: I felt like I did not want to come.

Volunteer (woman’s voice): You came today although you did not want to, right?

Mr. Suzuki: I did not want to see this landscape…

Volunteer: You haven’t been back here for a long time, have you?

Mr. Suzuki: I have not been back here for a month. I just do not want to see this landscape.

For Mr. Suzuki, the loss of friends and neighborhood is even more devastating than the loss of his fishing boat and house.

 

At a department store in Iwaki Train Station

Many survivors suffer from trauma and economic loss, and more importantly they suffer from loss of their social fabric - family, friends, neighbors and their communities. 

Community centers and department stores offer spaces for people to connect and also allow nonprofit organizations to run their programs of providing disaster victims with opportunities to connect with others. 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe moved to Koriyama city soon after the disaster. They were helped by Grace Garden Chapel and I met with them in my visit last November - just a few days before I met Mr. Suzuki in Iwaki. I was visiting Koriyama in order to meet with them and a few other victims in order to hear their stories at the church. They arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled interview time and when I came out of the interview room with women from an earlier interview, they were very surprised. They burst into joy and laughter to find out their neighbors were alive after the disaster!   

 

Mr. Watanabe: Oh yes! You were an office worker in Kitamachimuki!

Woman (interviewee): You fixed the blinds for us. I didn’t recognize you by name.

Ms. Matsumoto (relief worker): When I asked you if you knew Motomu Watanabe, you told me it was difficult to recognize him by name.

Mr. Watanabe: Indeed, it is difficult to recognize just by name.

Woman (interviewee): When I saw your face, I recognized you.

Mr. Watanabe: It is a relief to see someone I know.

Woman (interviewee): Surely, it is.

Local church, restoring the fabric of community 

People often think relief work is about providing relief goods to individuals and families - physical resources. People underestimate, however, the power of connecting people and restoring relationship in that early stage of relief work. The restoration of social fabric is an important foundation for carrying out long term recovery work, and is a foundation the local church cannot afford to bypass. It can be done rather quietly like the way how it happened in Grace Garden Chapel above, or it can be done more intentionally like GMC's vision to rebuild Usuiso community. Pastor Ikarashi is passionate about the prophetic vision God gave him to serve this community by rebuilding economy, providing education and alternative energy so Usuiso can become a model community from which the rest of Japan will come and learn.

Ikarashi, showing the new community design