Dear F2B Family,
I apologize for not updating you earlier. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts at this time. I will try to make this update as long as possible, because I am not sure when I will be able to post again. There are rolling power cuts this week across the Tokyo-Yokohama and wider region.
Earthquake: I was at my office in the southern part of Yokohama when the earthquake struck at 14:46 on Friday March 11. I was the first to feel it among our staff and thought it was just a “normal” one to begin with but after about 30 seconds it began to build in intensity. We all moved to the safest part of the building and huddled together (our building underwent major earthquake strengthening a few years ago), but then it became very intense. I grew up in NZ and have lived in Japan for seven years so I have experienced many earthquakes (most around magnitude 4-5) in my life, but nothing like this one and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. In our area it was a “strong 5” on the Japanese scale (which measures shaking I think), probably equivalent to a magnitude 6 or more. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like in Miyagi and Iwate. It continued for more than five minutes. Suddenly the power went out and alarms started going off. Once the worst of the shaking was over, with the building still moving, we all evacuated quickly to the outside evacuation area parking lot. A five storey building next to us was swaying, a crack had opened near it with water coming out of the ground, and a mobile phone tower was swaying. There was another large aftershock soon after and then multiple aftershocks.
Our response: We quickly organized (I was in charge). There was no mobile phone reception, so we couldn’t make calls or send text messages, but using the 3G network on the iPhone I could access gmail and web-based email systems and used Skype on my iPhone to make voice calls. We then went to the nearest 7/11 to buy food, water, batteries, torches, canned food and anything else we may need while the power was out. The 7/11 closed within about 30 minutes because the shelves were rapidly emptying. I found that a nearby bank was running on an emergency generator so I withdrew sufficient cash from an ATM that was still working and charged my iPhone from the wall. The bank staff were very kind. Our employees all live locally, so once they were able to establish contact with family they went to their homes. Three of us waited in the dark in the office and visited an evacuation center that was already filled with around 300 people (mainly the elderly and families). It was very cold but I had overdressed for the day with four layers of thermals and three coats! Thankfully the power came back on in our area at about 9pm (around 6 hours after the quake). We checked the office and all systems were fine.
Friday night (March 11-12): I sent the other two employees home and stayed in the office overnight to update family and friends on Facebook, and watched the terrible scenes of devastation from up north. Aftershocks continued to be very strong (especially around 4am when a different quake struck Niigata/Nagano on the other side of Japan) and I think we were getting aftershocks from both quakes at the same time, but I was so overwhelmed by the love and prayers and faith of friends (especially LGBT Christians). I was singing in tongues with tears streaming down my face in the middle of an aftershock just feeling the presence of God so strong. I realize now the New Wine of the Holy Spirit and our faith God’s promises prepares us times like this. The Comforter truly Comforts us. God is good, and the Joy of the Lord is our strength. Since the beginning of January I have been watching daily “Great Awakening” revival meetings from the ministry I used to work for (http://revival.com), listening to a “By His Stripes” healing scriptures CD for 2 hours a day on the trains and reading books on faith and healing (“Christ the Healer” by FF Bosworth, “Jesus the Healer” by EW Kenyon and others), and had purchased the complete collection of all EW Kenyon’s books (like “Two Kinds of Righteousness”, “The New Kind of Love”, “Two Kinds of Faith”), so looking back I can see that God has been building up my faith in God’s promises and giving me a new revelation of God’s love and care for all people in preparation for this time. Every one of those promises are so real to me right now.
Saturday (March 12): The trains back to Tokyo finally resumed Saturday morning, so I made my way back to Shinagawa and then walked 40 minutes back to my apartment. I chose my apartment in Tokyo four years ago because it is a new building with the latest earthquake resistance features. There was nothing damaged at all, the power and water were fine, and everything was good. Even my new “Queer as Folk” complete series DVD collection was unharmed! I was very tired though, and the aftershocks continued to sway the building. At one point I got overtired and a bit stressed out, but right at that moment the Holy Spirit gave me the following (which I posted on Facebook) and I had a good cry in God’s love: “The aftershocks keep coming. But “though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10). God feels what we feel. Love took our fears, our doubts, our pain, our grief – dying on a cross. Then Love defeated death for us all. Let’s trust that Love and be that Love today.” That one scripture took away the fear of aftershocks and gave me such a tremendous sense of peace I was able to sleep Saturday night and wake refreshed, even through the aftershocks continued (there were around 300 between Friday-Sunday I think).
Sunday (March 13): The supermarket in my area had plenty of food so I bought some supplies (including Aussie Beef) for myself and friends and others if needed. My Japanese friend told me that in other parts of Tokyo the supermarket shelves were empty. I pulled out my tramping/caving pack and gear and started to pull together everything I would need in case I got stuck again between cities. I had planned to attend an apostolic/prophetic conference further north in Tochigi prefecture, but the ministry leaders were stranded up a mountain along the coast of Sendai (the villages either side of them were totally destroyed by the tsunami).
Monday (March 14): This was the update I posted on Facebook on Monday:
* Train: Keikyu ran from Shinagawa to Yokohama with a 30 min delay.
* Power/Net: On at the office (Area 1). Scheduled blackout canceled.
* Food: Supermarkets, 7/11 open with essentials. No rice, 2L water, milk.
* Aftershocks: M5-6 in Ibaraki around 10:00am.
* Office evacuations: Once so far at 10:00 for 10 min.
* Weather: Fine, warmer than usual.
The big worry on Monday, apart from the nuclear issue and grief and shock at the devastation up north, was the rolling blackouts that had been scheduled but didn’t eventuate until 5pm in a few areas, causing total chaos on the whole regional train network (the trains need electricity), disrupting work and distribution and creating a new sense of crisis and people started to stock up on food again. They said the blackouts may continue until at least the end of April. There were also reports that a magnitude 7 or higher aftershock would strike by Thursday, and some said it would be closer to Tokyo this time, which has made many people in Tokyo nervous. Plus the explosions at the Fukushima power plants, but that is more than 240km north of Tokyo (“By His Stripes We Were Healed”).
Monday evening (March 14): In the late afternoon I received a report about a loved one in New Zealand, so I alerted ministries and prayer networks and believe God has already moved in that situation and I call it done in Jesus Name. My train back to Tokyo was stopped for the rest of the day so I stayed with the family of an employee who cooked a wonderful meal and I didn’t feel any aftershocks overnight (although I am sure they felt them further north). I have not felt any shakes so far today, but we may have a blackout for 3 hours from 3pm.
We are continuing to use our translators and reports to help foreign companies here get out news about their businesses and communicate the facts and details to the outside world. Although we have to deal with the continuing aftershocks, power cuts and train stoppages, we are doing very well. We are a crisis management company and are working very hard (we are closing on weekends, however).
I will travel to Taipei via Narita on Friday March 18 to minister at two wonderful inclusive Spirit-filled churches in Taiwan – True Light Gospel Church in Taipei and Church Alive in Kaohsiung – returning via Haneda on Monday March 21 (a holiday in Japan). Please pray that the trains will be operating by then. The message God has given me for the churches has not changed: God is Love (so just love people!); Jesus is the Victor (trust God’s Word); and be continually filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.
I love all you guys from the bottom of my heart!!!
No matter what you see or read in the natural, continue to stand strong in faith, speaking God’s words and promises of Love, Grace, Power and Life.
God is Love and Jesus Christ is Lord!
Timothy
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