Alabama Baptists were standing by at press time as Southern Baptist relief workers assessed needs in the aftermath of an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck northeast Japan on March 11. The quake spawned a 23-foot tsunami that crashed into the country’s eastern coast and moved across the Pacific Ocean.
“Alabama Baptist disaster relief teams are high on the call-out list for relief efforts. The airlift kitchen also is available for call-out,” said Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “We are praying for the people of Japan and other affected areas.”
Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response (BGR), said that if disaster relief specialists are needed, BGR will mobilize teams from the Baptist state conventions on call.
“We have notified our call-out states to be on standby,” he said. “Alabama is the first on call for the month of March.”
BGR has partners in the affected region who are moving to assess the damage, said Ben Wolf, who with his wife, Pam, directs work in the Asia Rim for BGR. An inital allocation of $100,000 has been made in preparation for the initial response.
“We have great Baptist partners that we will contact and see how we can initially support them with resources and expertise in the response,” Wolf said.
For Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville, who has been to Japan to preach several times within the past couple of years, watching the news coming out of Japan has saddened him.
“My heart is just broken as I’ve watched the news … knowing that there are souls in those vehicles and in those buildings being swept away into eternity,” he said.
Although most of Willmore’s contacts and friends in Japan live in Tokyo or the southern part of the country, they all have felt the devastation nationwide, he said.
“One of the e-mails I received said, ‘The eyes of the world are now upon Japan. We pray the eyes of the Christian world will be on Japan,’” Willmore said.
Willmore already has plans to return to Japan in November of this year and February 2012 for preaching opportunities. His prayer is that this disaster will open up more opportunities to share the gospel.
“In this time of brokenness, sadness and sorrow (I pray) that their hearts will be open to the hope and message of Christ,” he said.
“I pray that Japan in this time of brokenness will be a time in which they can enter the blessings of God.”
In an e-mail Willmore received from a Japanese pastor, the pastor asked for prayer that the Japanese people will come to salvation in Christ.
“Pray above all that they may know the unshakeable, solid salvation in Christ in this difficult situation,” he wrote.
“Please pray also that the churches in Japan be available in Christ’s love to the damaged peoples.”
International Mission Board (IMB) personnel living in Japan were accounted for and suffered no injuries, a spokesperson with the IMB in Asia confirmed.
IMB representative Mark Bennett used Facebook posts to let people know his family was safe.
“The boys said their school had ‘cracks,’” Bennett said in one post. “The street in front of our house is buckled and tons of gray sand has filled the street. Utility poles down the street have fallen down but we still have water, electricity and Internet.”
In the coming days, an IMB assessment team will evaluate and determine what response might be facilitated through local Japanese churches.
To keep up with Alabama Baptists’ disaster relief response in Japan or to donate to disaster relief efforts, visit alsbom.org/japan or call 1-800-264-1225. (Compiled by TAB)
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