The sea glistens under the bright sunlight. Gentle waves lap upon the shore, as sea gulls perch on some unseen cliffs. All is calm and serene, until your eyes pan from the Pacific Ocean to the naked land where thousands of houses used to occupy. It is empty now, stripped bare by the hungry tsunami waves that licked up the fishing villages on 11 March, 2011, 1446 local time.

According to news report, the tsunami rolled across the Pacific at 800km/h (500mph)—as fast as a jetliner—after the 8.9-magnitude tremor struck about 400km (250 miles) northeast of Tokyo. In some areas, it swept up to 10 kilometers (six miles) inland, deluging farmlands and carrying house, buildings, boats and cars with it.

As our cars cruised along the stretches of devastation 4 months after that fated day, we could see that there is still much work to do. Restoration and rebuilding works are progressing at a steady pace, but the extent of devastation is so enormous, it would take many more manpower as well as man-hour for the villages and towns to be rebuilt. To date, many victims are still staying in relief shelters.

One fisherman who lost his fishing boat said, “We need to take a bank loan to purchase a new boat. However, it’d be impossible to finance it within our lifetime.”

So more than just rebuilding the physical infrastructure, life needs to be rebuilt. How can the living continue to move on with life?

A story was shared about a father who tried to hang on to his daughter. But the force of the wave was so strong; his energy finally gave way. He watched helplessly as her daughter was swept away. Another father escaped to the hill. From the hilltop, he looked toward the direction where he knew his son would be working. The towering tsunami smashed onto the scene, destroying everything in its path. He knew, as he looked on in horror that he has just lost his son.

When Jesus saw the multitudes of people who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, the one thing he told his disciples to do is: pray. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:36-38).

Would you continue to pray for Japan?
1) For those who have lost their family members, friends or neighbors
2) For those who have lost their livelihood
3) For Christians—both locals as well as missionaries—who are representing God to reach out to the needy

And more importantly, pray that God would send out workers into His harvest field.

Japan has 127.77 million people, however, less that 1 percent is Christians. One missionary shared, “This might perhaps be the window of opportunity for the gospel of Christ to penetrate into the land in a big way. Do pray for us, and for Japan.”

Some pictures:

Looking at the mountains of debris, one could imagine the number of houses destroyed. The train in the foreground was one of the many trains swept away by the tidal waves.

While the large dusty spaces round the houses may look normal to people in some countries, but in Japan, houses should be crammed together and the vegetation lush.