March 11, 2011 - MTW Japan

Pilgrim PCA family,

I wanted to pass on some prayer requests for the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. As you can imagine it has caught my heart and I ask that you would have people praying for this.

Specific prayer requests would be:
Pray for team members: to be prepared with earthquake necessities, to experience the peace of Christ that is greater than any tremor, and to be able to pass that on to others. Pray they would be able to set aside their own fears to comfort others. Pray as they seek to assemble a team of volunteers to go and help in the affected areas, that it would be in God’s timing and specific location for those able to go.

Pray for the Japanese Christians: Pray that after being jolted from their routines they would look to Christ, and as they contact family members and secure their safety, that God would fill them with a new desire and urgency to love and share the gospel with their families.

Pray against hopelessness – pray that many would not give in to the hopelessness that surrounds them, but would reach out to the hope found in Christ.

Pray specifically for the salvation of English Students as they process the “why’s” of this catastrophe. Many students have relatives in the affected areas and may have experienced death directly. Pray that they would be counseled and comforted by the love of Jesus.

One missionary from our team wrote this account:
Water in the fish tank splashed out.
We ran into the street. The ground was moving.
Our host rode his bicycle 1 hr 45 min home b/c the trains were stopped. He took video on his iPhone of cracks in the sidewalk and roads. On the video, we could see the cracks widening and narrowing. Weird! Also saw his video of mud and water seeping up through the ground.
We heard the explosions at an oil refinery 5 miles away, and saw the fireball.
Watching the tsunami live on TV was ... there are no words.
We keep having aftershocks every 10-15 minutes. It can leave one always on edge.
Not sure what today will bring (6:45 AM local time now) ... what reports of deaths and devastation.
Please pray for Japan ... for a spiritual awakening.

Thank you for your prayers and partnership in the gospel.
- Roberta Brown MTW Tokyo/Chiba Team