Major Earthquake and Tsunami
Friday, March 11, 2011
An 8.8 (some reports say 8.9) magnitude earthquake hit the northern coast of Japan yesterday afternoon. We have heard from several missionaries, who have indicated that all our workers are fine.
Regional Director Dale Bishop wrote, "You may have heard of the earthquake here in Japan. All of our people are fine. There is still quite a lot of tsunamis (tidal waves) happening but we are located on a hill and away from the coast. Don't know how many lives have been lost but there is going to be a considerable amount of damage to property according to reports we are seeing on TV."
Ruth McDonald confirmed this: "We are fine!! We have also heard from all of the other FWB missionaries here, and everyone is safe and at home. The main area of damage is north of Tokyo, south of Hokkaido. None of us live close enough to a coastline to suffer from tsunamis. We definitely had a MAJOR quake, and we had some items fall and break in our house (lamps, vases, books, etc.) Our children were unable to return from school by train, as they all ceased. But the school has a great protocol in place for the students' safety, and they kept them safe and calm until we were able to go by car to pick them up. Thank you for your prayers. I'm sure there are many in need of them at this time."
"Even as we thank God for the safety of our workers, we realize that people entered eternity while we slept last night," mourned Interim General Director Clint Morgan. "The likelihood is that many of them never heard the gospel. Please join me in praying that this tragedy will give Christians in Japan the opportunity to share the gospel with family and friends."
Regional Director Dale Bishop wrote, "You may have heard of the earthquake here in Japan. All of our people are fine. There is still quite a lot of tsunamis (tidal waves) happening but we are located on a hill and away from the coast. Don't know how many lives have been lost but there is going to be a considerable amount of damage to property according to reports we are seeing on TV."
Ruth McDonald confirmed this: "We are fine!! We have also heard from all of the other FWB missionaries here, and everyone is safe and at home. The main area of damage is north of Tokyo, south of Hokkaido. None of us live close enough to a coastline to suffer from tsunamis. We definitely had a MAJOR quake, and we had some items fall and break in our house (lamps, vases, books, etc.) Our children were unable to return from school by train, as they all ceased. But the school has a great protocol in place for the students' safety, and they kept them safe and calm until we were able to go by car to pick them up. Thank you for your prayers. I'm sure there are many in need of them at this time."
"Even as we thank God for the safety of our workers, we realize that people entered eternity while we slept last night," mourned Interim General Director Clint Morgan. "The likelihood is that many of them never heard the gospel. Please join me in praying that this tragedy will give Christians in Japan the opportunity to share the gospel with family and friends."