Grace Brethren International Missions, who administers the emergency relief fund for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Relief Agency Brethren, has announced a partnership with other mission agencies.
Posted on gbim.org today:
Wayne Hannah, Regional Director of Asia, been in regular contact with Ralph and Joan Justiniano in Tokyo, our Team Leader for Japan. They have contacted a number of mission organizations and Japanese church groups to discover the best possible channel through which our Grace Brethren family worldwide can respond and provide relief. One such partnership of missionary groups and Japanese evangelical churches has emerged and we are confident that any and all relief contributions will be used in the best possible way to provide a Christian response to this disaster.
If you’d like to donate toward providing relief for Japan in the wake of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami, click here.
As of Monday afternoon (March 14), only people in Japan may volunteer to provide physical relief help. At this time, no teams are being created to travel to Japan to offer assistance.
In other news, pastors of Grace Brethren congregations in Hawaii have reported little or no damage as a result of the tsunami that was expected to hit Hawaii on Friday, March 11.
From Ted Kirnbauer, pastor of Grace Fellowship in Waipahu, Hawaii, late Friday:
The tsunami hit Oahu at about 3:30 a.m., exposing reefs before surging onto beaches and up canals. The wave height however was only about 3 feet – nothing like our normal images of a “tsunami.”
I heard that a few buildings on Maui and some boats on Oahu were damaged but to my knowledge there was no major damage or any deaths. Praise God for that!
We opened the church Thursday night for some people who had to evacuate their homes but the threat passed around 11 a.m. and all roads were opened.
Other than schools being closed, life is back to normal – 75 degrees, sunny skies and 10-15 mph trade winds. God is good.
Thanks for your aloha and prayers!
Later Friday evening, Ted reported:
It seems like more details have come in since the news update that I read before I wrote to you and there is more damage than I heard when I wrote – some areas have estimated damage of ten million dollars, and there were larger waves that also came in though reports seem to conflict.
From Frank Figueroa, pastor of Waipio Grace Brethren Church, Mililani, Hawaii:
We are all fine, but let’s please continue to pray for those in Japan.