Husby was writing to report on a recent trip to earthquake-damaged areas by Jim Peterson, who was part of an eight-member team that visited the area to assess the damage. Following is Peterson's report.

By Jim Peterson

On November 3rd I had the privilege of leading a team of eight people to the city of Ojiya in Niigata prefecture (top photo). Ojiya was one of the worst hit locations from the recent earthquake and is only about 30 minutes by car from Nagaoka, where we have a Covenant church. Our team was comprised of six individuals connected with the Yoshioka Covenant Church and two from the Isesaki Covenant Church pastored by Tim and Andrea Johnson who are presently on a three-month home assignment.

Our task was to go prepare and serve lunch and supper in the small community of Nishinaka on the outskirts of Ojiya City. We are greatly indebted to Pastor Kogure, the director of Akagi Bible Camp, for loaning essential equipment to us. We borrowed a large tent with no walls, burners, propane gas tanks and some large pots and pans.

On Monday and Tuesday we went out and bought all the food and other supplies needed and stored them at the Yoshioka church. Six of us gathered at the Yoshioka church on Tuesday night - we didn't all get there until about midnight. Then we packed our equipment into three cars and got to bed around 2 a.m. A little after 4:30 a.m. the two from Isesaki arrived and after a brief devotional from 1st John 4:7-8 and a time of prayer, we departed for Niigata at 5 a.m. We were able to go most of the way on the expressway and the final leg was on Route 17, which had just been reopened the night before.

We arrived at the volunteer center in Ojiya at 8 a.m. where a large staff coordinates the activities of hundreds of volunteers who come every day. It is quite an operation to behold. We had been given our assignment the previous day by phone so we signed in and got directions to Nishinaka, which lies just off highway 117, a few kilometers south of central Ojiya. It is a community of about 200 people, but only 100 to 150 are actually there now. Most of the homes are along the one central road and everything is surrounded by acres and acres of rice fields.

Many of the homes were badly damaged in the earthquake and most of them sustained some damage. All of them suffered the normal damage of having everything fall off shelves and out of cupboards. Everything ended up on the floor with lots and lots of broken glass. Most of the residents are still refusing to live and sleep in their homes due to the continuing aftershocks. For the most part they are living in their garages or storage sheds which tend to be right on the road. They are lighter structures, less likely to collapse and easier to get out of. Water and electricity was restored to most of the homes a day or two before we arrived. (Roads remain severely damaged in many areas – see lower photo.)

Volunteer teams have been supplying meals quite regularly, although not quite on a daily basis. The local gathering spot and center of town is the shrine. We set up our tent along side another one that belonged to the town and began preparing lunch at 9 a.m. We served pork and vegetable stew for lunch and udon noodles for dinner. The residents were genuinely gracious and thankful for the food we brought. Most of them came to the shrine at meal times with large pots and took home how ever many servings they needed while some chose to eat right there on the shrine grounds.

The shrine constitutes the religious and psychological center of the town. A few of the residents came and offered prayers while we worked. The shrine building was shaken off its foundation, but remains largely in tact. The large stone entry way, several statues and other stone idols all ended up on the ground, many shattered beyond repair. We were careful to avoid showing any sort of disrespect or disregard for the shrine and idols. When we asked about the large stone dogs that guard the shrine, but are now on the ground, the local town elder said they were giving the dogs a little rest and expect to put them back on duty before too long. Then he suggested that we pet them every once in a while to keep them happy. Later in the afternoon we caught him sitting on the head of one of toppled dogs and he sheepishly started petting it and mused about whether he might get struck by a bolt of lightning.

It wasn't long before the lighting actually did arrive, along with some rain and wind. We were glad for our tent! The weather report had been predicting it all along so it probably didn't have anything to do with the "dog incident."

We were done by 6 p.m., but had a long trip home due to traffic. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of cars carrying volunteer workers head out each evening . . . on the main highway, which had just been reopened and is still operating on only one lane in several spots. We didn't get back to Gunma until 9:30 p.m. I arrived back home in Tokyo at about midnight.

Since we were there at the request and under the direction of the city volunteer center, it wasn't appropriate for us to aggressively share the gospel with those we served, but we all felt the power of the Spirit made manifest in love that is shared in the name of Jesus Christ. We were blessed by the opportunity to be of service and found genuine encouragement in our interaction with those who have suffered so much. We also were glad for the opportunity to let everyone in our group . . . experience Christian service.

Please join us in prayer for those who suffered the effects of the earthquake. Pray also that God will continue to open doors for us to be of service. Our Gospel Choir has received an official request from the volunteer center to go up and perform for those who are living in the refuge centers. We hope to see that happen sometime in the next couple of weeks and pray that it will be an encouragement to those who have been through so much.