Local Churches Mobilize to Aid Tsunami Victims, You Can Help

As the full scope of a massive earthquake that hit Japan unfolds, the Loma Linda and Redlands Adventist communities have already begun to pull together to help those affected.

Mission Church, in Redlands, formerly Loma Linda Japanese Church, is collecting money it will donate through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Japan, said Mission Church Pastor Dean Horinouchi.

The people in the affected region probably have access to the resources they need but they just need money to purchase things, Horinouchi said.

“They have a lot of earthquakes in Japan so of any country, they are probably the best prepared for earthquakes but still there is a lot of devastation,” he said.

On Friday, a magnitude-8.9 earthquake struck near northeastern coastal city of Sendai, near the state of Miyagi. The quake triggered a tsunami that ripped through the town, on Friday, or late Thursday California time, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The quake is the biggest recorded. The tsunami killed hundreds as it carried away ships, cars and homes and triggered widespread fires that burned out of control, the Associated Press reported.

Hours later, the waves washed ashore on Hawaii and the U.S. West coast, where evacuations were ordered from California to Washington but little damage was reported, according to the AP.

In northeastern Japan, the area around a nuclear power plant was evacuated after the reactor's cooling system failed and pressure began building inside, according to the AP.

Japanese authorities told reporters that 200 to 300 bodies were found in Sendai. Another 151 were confirmed killed, with 547 missing. Police also said 798 people were injured.

The offshore quake triggered a 23-foot tsunami and was followed for hours by more than 50 aftershocks, many of them more than magnitude 6.0. In the early hours of Saturday, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the central, mountainous part of the country - far from the original quake's epicenter. It was not immediately clear if this latest quake was related, according to the AP report.

The massive quake shook cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coast, including Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter.

Pastor Horinouchi said he and his fellow church members have already checked with Japanese members of the church who have families there. One physician has family in Sendai but they were not affected, he said.

Coincidentally, Mission Church Senior Pastor Morihiro Kohama is preparing to return to native Japan on March 27 to assume a position at the Adventist church in Sendai.

“The church there has not been affected,” Horinouchi said. Of the damage there is, Horniouchi said, “This is going to cost millions and millions.”

The church may donate through the disaster agency. They may ask Pastor Kohama to deliver the money or work through a different envoy.

But the public is welcomed to donate. Checks can be made out to ADRA or the Mission Church. They can be delivered to Mission Road 721 Nevada Street, suit 405. Information: (909) 335-8369 and leave a message.