Japan

Urgent Prayer Request - Moriel Japan Updated 3/17

Japan Update - March 17, 2011

Firstly. Praise the Lord. The pastor, Tokio Tanaka,,  whose town was destroyed by the,  tsunami,,  was found today by his son,  in a refugee camp and is now on his way back to Sendai. He will still need our continued prayer as I imagine he has lost everything. But he is alive.
Secondly, everyone is worried about this nuclear risk. Please pray that they can get this under control. No doubt you all have more information than us about,  this. That is why it is scary. The Japanese are gazing at all the foreigners fleeing Tokyo and some are,  wondering why.
Our Calvary Chapel friends from Tokyo are,  preparing to minister in the most badly affected regions as soon as they are able. They also report that people around,  them,  are still closed,  to the gospel.
We are getting some good signs of response among those who attended our recent Moriel seminars last month. Unbelievers have been reading the bible, listening to our online MP3s,  and asking questions. Please pray that they will come to church while this window of mercy is open to them.
The situation in Tokyo is getting worse each day and many refugee camps are still without supplies. On top of that it has become winter again with snow and cold wind everywhere.
This is a foretaste of what is coming. There is no question about that.
We intend to continue with our focus on evangelism and have some,  tracts printed regarding prophecy and the return of,  Christ. The window of time when people's hearts are open will not be long. The fields are white (and the sky is glowing,  red).

Urgent Prayer Request / Japan Update

As a matter of ongoing urgency we request prayer for the pastor of our contact church in the area of highest tsunami impact, his family and his congregation. The Moriel Japan branch has not been able to make any contact with him and we do not know if he is among the survivors. Akito and all other Moriel associates have been located alive.

Below is the e mail from our branch office in Osaka.

[caption id="attachment_7184" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Pastor Tokio Tanaka"][/caption]

We have found that our subscriber to Moriel Japan, Pastor Tokio Tanaka, lives and has his Methodist church by a river side right on the coast of Sendai. From the map it appears to be right on the water's edge. After seeing the footage of that area it seems there is little hope but reports say that although the water level in his area is still waist deep people around there have survived. Let's hold up his congregation in prayer.

His phone is out of course and I am hoping for a reply from his 'BlessJerusalem' e-mail address. It may be a long time coming.

Please pray with us for Pastor Tanaka and his church.

Praise Jesus - Akito has been found a few hours ago !

We finally managed to get some communication at the Moriel branches in The UK & USA with the Moriel office in Osaka, Japan despite most of the phone system and cell phone system being knocked out. While damage is not serious in Osaka however, Daisuke & Geoff from the Japan branch of Moriel,   inform us that there a number of Moriel associates in the Miyage and Aomori areas (near the off shore epicenter),   whose whereabouts and circumstances we are unable to establish. There are also a number of other believers connected with Moriel in Tokyo and there are Moriel subscribers at the Tokyo Calvary Chapel. There are also a number of 'Arielniks', associated with Arnold Fruchtenbaum's ministry in the same area. Jacob Prasch has also been connected with and spoken at the fellowship in Sendai that is interested in Israel & prophecy. This city of Sendai has been hit very badly but there is no communication.

The good news is that Akito Alagu has at last been located in Chiba, one of the worst affected areas north of Tokyo (Akito is a Japanese believer who is a Moriel organizer and Japanese translator working half in England and half in Japan). She has finally been found by her husband Vima (Vima & Akito organize the Moriel & Jacob Prasch meetings in Nottingham, UK). After multiple efforts with no success she was reached apparently by a satellite skype link using a battery powered lap top computer. Akito is shaken up but Thank God she is alright. She informs us via Vima that they are out in the streets because the aftershocks keep damaging buildings and knocking things down. Akito also reports to us that electrical systems, telephone lines, and cell phones are all out of commission and all supermarkets and sources of food etc. are closed. Much has collapsed or been washed away as the after tremors continue.

We request prayers for Japan and for the believers in the devastated areas. We specifically request very urgent prayer for the Moriel associates in the ‚   Miyage and Aomori areas. From the reports we are receiving from our branch in Japan this is a very bad situation of somewhat apocalyptic proportions. We remember the warnings of Jesus concerning prophetic predictions of increased seismic activity
(Matthew 24: 7). Although Moriel had many associates and brethren connected with us in Christchurch, New Zealand a few weeks ago, by the grace of The Lord none was killed. May the same be true in Japan. Please pray with us for our missing brethren & their families.

Update:

We have heard from most of the Moriel people and friends in Kanto our new friends from Aomori.
All seem to be fine. They are still without electricity and gas ‚  though. There is one person on our mailing list from Miyagi, near the epicentre who we have not been able to contact. All lines are down around there.
Thanks to those who have offered assistance. At this stage we have ‚  little practical way to help as we are a long way from the area. If a particular need arises we will let you know.
Actually, I ‚  can feel the earth shaking right now as I am writing this! The tremors are continuing nation wide. I will update you if there is any new information.
God bless

Geoff