Churches Helping Churches

One of the most interesting facets of my role with Churches Helping Churches is learning the nuances of the different countries we work with after a large-scale natural disaster, and then making sure we respect those nuances as we formulate a plan for long-term support.

In Japanese culture, non-verbal communication is perhaps more important than the spoken word. To be effective, we must be hypersensitive to what is not said. In Japan, even college rejection letters rarely directly state that you have been denied admission to a university. You simply read between the lines, note there are no further forms to be filled out, and graciously move on.

This means if someone comes right out and says, politely, what they are really thinking – you can essentially take that statement and amplify it 1,000 times over to read the underlying message. When a friend from Japan recently sent us this article, written for one of Japan’s Christian newspapers in early May, I immediately realized how dire the situation must be for such a direct appeal to be written.

Unorganized assistance, help that is thrust upon victims, or too much help from too many sources can and will complicate, rather than help, the victims of a natural disaster. Our Japanese pastors are literally drowning in offers of unorganized help from well-intentioned volunteers that ultimately detract from the pastors’ ability to accept assistance where it is desperately needed.

Though written softly, this is a desperate plea for relief organizations and volunteers to listen to the needs of victims and respect their wishes.

This article reminds us to listen. Listen. Listen. Then work together and coordinate efforts wherever possible to lessen the burden of help on those in need.

Let’s leave our own agendas at the door, and do what’s best for the churches.

Christian Shinbun (Christian News Paper) May 1, 2011
“Listen to the Voices – Warning Against ‘Self-Satisfying’ Relief Work”

It has been one month since the disaster hit East Japan. The reconstruction work continues.

There are many churches and Christian organizations involved in the relief and reconstruction. However in some cases, outside relief work has become a burden to local churches in the disaster-affected area.The following is gathered from the visitation of churches in Iwate Prefecture that are involved in relief work and is a report on their actual conditions.

It takes about two hours driving through the mountainside from Morioka City to the costal city of Miyako via the winding national highway. There is traffic on the highway and the damage on the mountainside by the highway is not that severe. However, when you reach the area by the ocean, rubble and some pillars that remain from where buildings used to be is all that meets the eye. There are piles here and there of debris that were created during the initial clean up.

We visited the Miyako Community Church (Pastor Kazuo Iwatsuka). A team sent by the church plays with the children in the evacuation places in the city. They also visit the houses in the area one by one to deliver food and other daily necessaries. They listen to the victims. Pastor Iwatsuka says, with a deep sigh, “There are nonstop calls and visitations of relief offers from organizations both inside and outside of Japan. I cannot take any rest or even do what we planned to do.” Even though the intentions of these people are good, they can be a great burden to those on the receiving end. Pastor Yoshiya Kondo, (Morioka Bible Baptist Church, Coordinator of 3.11 Iwate Church Network), who partners with Pastor Iwatsuka in Miyako City, appeals for understanding. “Please don’t be ‘a selfish service.’ Please listen to the needs of the victims. Please don’t push what you want to do.”

He mentions that there are pastors who are already very overwhelmed with corresponding to people. He suggests that the first thing is to really listen to the hearts of the pastors that the pastors themselves may not be able to express directly through words. Coordination helps to deploy teams to do various activities. Pastor Iwatsuka says with concern, “The churches without a coordinator have to deal directly with many relief organizations by themselves and it must be very tough.” When we asked Pastor Iwatsuka about the long-term plan for relief activities, he replied with a troubled face, “It is very hard to answer. I am listening to the request of the victims day after day to my best ability. I cannot have a long perspective. I have no idea how long this situation would even last.” However, ongoing relief work is needed. “When people forget about it, it will be very hard. Victim local churches cannot do this alone,” Pastor Iwatsuka added.

The care for these local churches, which are engaged in relief work, is also important. We listened to Pastor Kodaira, (Pastor of Nishinomiya Church, Christ Brethren), who was a victim himself of the 1995 Kobe Awaji Disaster and who led the church, which was a hub for the relief work during that time. “As time passed, victims noticed the difference between recovery levels. It is just like people fighting an illness together in the hospital. One by one people recovered and moved on. It was a joy to see someone become well, and we celebrated with them. At the same time, when we looked at all the continuing needs, we felt despair and wondered if we would personally ever recover. In this current disaster, there might also be some pastors who may be discouraged by seeing that much of the support is being concentrated to the churches that are known through media or they may feel that they are being blamed because they are not following the same model as those who are deemed to be ministering ‘successfully.’

Pastor Kodaira also shared some further concerns. “Sometimes there might be a gap between the pastor’s desire to help and the church members’ desire to go back to normal, especially when your church is accepting the non-stop flow of materials and volunteers.” Also, there is a concern about being forgotten by others. Pastor Kodaira continued, “The public attention moved on two months after the Kobe-Awaji Earthquake when the Sarin Gas Terrorism attack happened.”

The sorrows and fatigue from non-stop relief continues. We must listen carefully to the voices of the victim-pastors. We must work to hear their needs as we continue to support them.

Translated by Takeshi Takazawa with permission.