Thursday March 24, 2011
Thank you for your Prayers!
Dear co-laborer in the Lord,
So much has happened during the month of March and so many have contacted us through email and facebook. We feel very loved and cared for!
We have a lot of links to websites in this month's email. All of the words that are in red, bold and underlined are links. Please click on them for more info.
Please be sure to check the Prayer Partner Calendar at the bottom and the prayer topics in the lefthand column of this newsletter. We, and everyone in Japan, need your prayer now more than ever!
Blessings,
Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae Oh
Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae Oh
Few Quick Updates
* Hiroshima is over 500 miles away from the triple disaster area and so we are very safe. We did not experience the earthquake, and were not affected by the tsunami. We are also very far away from Fukushima, and thus do not anticipate any radiation contamination in our area. The winds also tend to blow west to east out to the Pacific Ocean, and we are located southwest of Fukushima.
* Life in Hiroshima is pretty much the same as usual except for things like gas prices which is now over $7 per gallon and the cheapest sacks of rice are becoming harder to find as people are buying it down here and taking it up to the affected areas.
* Right after the disasters, the exchange rate was the worst it's been since WWII! Many missionaries are suffering and the funds that are being raised outside of Japan are losing much of their value when changed to Japanese Yen. Efforts by the Japanese government have taken place to stabilize the Yen, but is slow to take effect.
* A team from our church is working together with JIFH (Japanese Inter'l Food for the Hungry) and the Evangelical Free Churches in Japan to transport supplies to the affected areas. Pastor Kitano, our Team Leader Scott, and Richard (ex-marine who's lived in Japan for over 20 years), will be driving Richard's 3-ton truck 20 hours (each way) on Sunday evening to Sendai City, one of the worst hit regions, returning next Friday. (Pic: Team with just some of the donations received by members of the two churches.)
* Our Area Leader, Dan, as well as other Pioneers missionaries from Japan and China, will be traveling to Tokyo on Wednesday/Thursday to aid in the efforts of CRASH Japan (link). From Tokyo, they will then travel to the affected areas with supplies and will be there for about 2 weeks. CRASH Japan is a Christian organization and they have been coordinating the efforts of the missionaries in Japan.
Will we be Evacuating?
No. It's not because we're brave, but because there's no tangible risk to us right now. Of the 3 Pioneers' teams in Japan, we're the furthest north, and should there be any risk posed to us, our Team Leader and Area Leader will act quickly and decisively to make sure that we come to no harm. Jenny and the kids will be evacuated immediately. But we're hoping this will never need to happen.
What's going on with us?
* We've been busy replying to lots of emails and trying to get information out to as many of you as possible as we know you're worried and many of you have asked how you can help too. Thank you!!!
* Peter was busy preparing for the annual Spring Vacation youth camp which started today (Thursday). He will be sharing his testimony, leading a seminar and game times. There will be 4 English speaking girls (Sydney, Taylor and 2 girls who speak no Japanese whatsoever!) and they'll be part of an "International Team". :) They return on Sunday morning.
* Peter finally completed the long and complicated application form to start full-time Japanese language study at the YMCA in downtown Hiroshima and is preparing for the placement test on April 6th. School starts soon after.
* Peter will be teaching Scott's English class next Tuesday while Scott's away.
* Jenny is busy trying to prepare for the start of Juhee's school and is a bit nervous about Juhee's first day! She'll also be at home alone with the two kids this weekend for the first time since the last youth retreat he attended a few days after Juhee was born over 3 years ago!
* Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae spent 2 hours at the doctor's office on Tuesday for routine immunizations. Juhee had to receive immunization for Japanese Encephalitis (brain inflammation via mosquitoe bite)! (Pic: Juhee taking her own temperature. Temperature is taken by moms/kids in waiting room while waiting to see the doctor. Nurse then checks and writes on form.)
* We thank God for placing us here during this time of need and while feeling rather helpless, remain open to whatever God may have planned for us here. The relief effort is just beginning and will be going on for a long time.
How Can You Help?
(Pic: It's not just debris that needs to be cleaned up but also ships that were brought ashore by the powerful tsunami. This will definitely take a long time and a lot of manpower.)
* PRAY!!! It's amazing how, through this triple disaster, God has mobilized Christians all over the world to pray in earnest for Japan. So encouraging and so awesome! We have listed a few special prayer topics in our prayer column (left).
* Pioneers has set up a special fund called Japan Disaster Relief. Please reference account #150495 with your gift. Please do not write our names!!! These funds will be used to purchase supplies and to take them to a staging area or point of distribution, including travel costs (gasoline, etc). If you give online, please note that a 3% credit card charge is deducated from your gift amount.
* If you're in Johannesburg, South Africa, or know anyone there, you can help by purchasing t-shirts from "Pray for Japan from South Africa ", an organization set up by a High School friend of Jenny's who is currently working for UNICEF in J-burg. You will own a t-shirt that many ambassadors in SA now own. :) In just a few days, they sold more than 1,100 t-shirts! All proceeds are being sent to ADRA Japan, a Japanese disaster relief NGO.
* If you're near New York, NY, you can also help by attending concerts organized by "Save Japan Benefits". Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon took part in the first of their benefit concert series.
* If you have a spare room or a spare house :) you can temporarily host dislocated Japanese people through the NPO "Host Japanese People".
* You can also give directly through other organizations such as CRASH Japan (non-tax deductible). CRASH Japan 's website is also a great place to keep up with news on the affected areas and relief efforts taking place, especially once the media loses interest.
* Our home church, New Vision Church, is giving through a Southern Baptist organization. At one of our supporting churches, Reverend Lo (Missions Pastor), has challenged the congregation of Dallas Chinese Bible Church to raise $5,000 to contribute to Pioneers' Japan Disaster Relief fund. One of Jenny's aunts sent money to our Korea account specifically to contribute to the disaster relief offering of the two local Japanese churches that we work with.
* Contact organizations like CRASH Japan to find out how you can take part in the relief efforts taking place in Japan. Even if you can't speak Japanese, they can use you! Please check theirwebsite for more details. Afterwards, spend some time with us before heading back home. :) There are so many ways in which you can take part in the relief effort!
Prayer Partner Calendar
April Prayer Calendar
We are joyful to have the members of Jubilee and Binnerri as well as other friends support us in prayer this month. As always, our prayer requests are in the left hand column of our newsletter. Even if your name's not there, please continue to pray for us! We covet your prayers. :) (Pic: Peter preaching & Ogawa-san interpreting during Peter's sermon at Kabe Chapel on March 6th. Thank you for praying!)
1 Caelyn Shin 16 Lisa Puckett
2 Carolina Kim 17 Lois Park
3 Daniel Ra 18 Manuela Yim
4 Debbie Yi 19 Nevah Frogozo
5 Erin Sickels 20 Ruth Kim
6 Esther Seo 21 Sarah Shih
7 Evelyn Chang 22 Sophie Chough
8 Gracie Lee 23 Susie Sun
9 Heather (Alex) Kim 24 Taryn Schmuland
10 JiHyun Hong 25 Victor Chun
11 Jillian Luttrell 26 김인배 장로님, 문연호 집사님
12 Jinny Park 27 박상미 집사님
13 Joe Lee 28 서수원 형제님
14 Jungwon Yook 29 이보연 자매님
15 Karlan Kim 30 조삼현 장로님, 조미리 집사님
More Stories...
We haven't been blogging as much this month, but there are a few new blog postings about life, ministry and the triple disaster. Click on the links below to read more.
Death of a Turtle - It was so cute! But alas, we had to say good-bye...
Fast Food - Udon! - We've had udon many times before but it's never been this fast. Apparently, that's the way it's supposed to be.
1,000+ Easter Eggs! - Easter Eggs from Global Harvest Church's Rising Son House Church to advertise our special Easter Children's Service outreach. Exciting! :)
"Kids' Room" - It relieved some of our stress during the high-stress first few months, made us run around and laugh, and gave us opportunities to learn and practice Japanese. Will forever be grateful to Kids' Room! (Pic: Juhee and the teacher holding up the trilingual Thank You card Juhee (and Jenny) made for her.)
Update - Initial Response - Part of an email we started sending to the many of you once our inbox started to overflow.
Update - Prayer Requests - Prayer requests a few days after the events compiled from newsletters from other missionaries in Japan + some from us.
Update - Today's Prayer Topics - Updated prayer topics as of March 17th.
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