Ongoing Work

While homes are getting rebuild and people are moving on with their lives there is still a lingering fear and loss of community that people must live with. On of the most challenging results of the 2011 tsunami was The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The government was slow in communicating the severity of the event leading to mistrust and more fear. More than 100,000 people were evacuated and given six hours or less notice. They left most behind including family pets and livestock. Many have never returned and the surrounding villages remain ghost towns. There is a severe loss of community among those who have been displaced. This is where the local church has come together and with donations from Bayside and others they host community mixers where people come together to talk and rebuild their lives and relationships. They have provided things like child care and even hosted a summer carnival to help restore some sense of normality to this community. The churches have come together and have shown signs of growth. This aweful tragedy has helped them realize they have much to offer and has allowed them to go outside the walls of their church buildings. New ministries have sprung up and these churches will never be the same.