Here is the latest update from MTW:
May 9, 2011 - Help Japan Update from MTW
Would you be surprised to know that more than 30,000 Japanese commit suicide every year? That is double the number of Japanese who have been confirmed dead, so far, in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Japan has one of the highest per capita rates of suicides in the industrialized world, and some experts believe the numbers are much higher than previously thought. The number of suicides is rising every year, with depression given as the most common cause. While many factors contribute to this deadly toll, it is clear that Japan is in spiritual crisis.
The tsunami has come and gone, leaving devastation in its wake. Even though the shock and immediacy has passed, the larger crisis will not be over for a long time, and our teams in Japan are still working to minister to the survivors. The earthquake did terrible damage, especially to the east coast nuclear reactors, and believers are braving the dangers to reach out those who live within the reactors’ shadows. They are traveling to the tsunami area and cooking hot meals. They are coaxing out personal stories, weeping with those who weep, sharing the hope of Christ, and praying for fruit. And they are seeking God as they develop a long-term strategy in response to the recent events. But none of the damage that stretches for miles and miles is as severe as the increasingly chronic loss of hope by many of the Japanese people. And fewer than .5 percent know the true hope for the world—the hope found only in Christ and the gospel.
Rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives is important, but the single most critical need is to build the Church of Christ in Japan.
Would you continue to pray for the believers as they reach out with the gospel in word and in deed? And would you pray that this would truly be that longed-for day of opportunity in which God will open the hearts of many Japanese people.
Thank you for caring for Japan!
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