See below for a prayer request about a Christian man who has been chosen to direct the re-structuring of the roads and transportation of the damaged areas in Japan. When I think of him, I can’t help but wonder – was he, a believer of Christ, chosen by Him for such a time as this?
Dear partners in prayer,
* We have an urgent request for a dear friend, Mr. Naoyoshi Sato. Gerald has partnered with his wife Chizuko for nearly 20 years on many Christian translation projects, and we have enjoyed times of fun and fellowship with them. Naoyoshi was recently promoted to the position of Vice-minister of Construction and Transportation for all of Japan. It is a stressful enough position in this country with such a complex infrastructure, but the recent crisis has thrust him into an almost unbearable situation.
He has been placed in charge of the national response team to the nuclear power plant crises. As such he is ultimately responsible for finding the solution to the still deteriorating situation. Lives of the emergency workers at the plant and, indeed, many thousands of others are on his shoulders, at least on the human level. He came home last night nearly at the end of himself, but we were glad to hear this morning that the Lord, in His grace, gave them both a night of rest and a word of encouragement.
Please pray for Mr. Sato and those with whom he is working. Even beyond the immediate crisis in the weeks and months to come he will have to oversee the re-construction of the devastated roads, bridges and public facilities up and down the entire east coast of Japan. This is an unprecedented, unforeseen, and nearly unbearable situation for any one man. We are convinced that it is no coincidence that a Christian has been put in that position for such as time as this. He needs God’s wisdom and strength to see this through. We’re particularly concerned that his diabetes stays under control since the nearly 24/7 kind of schedule he’s under makes reasonable diet and rest a very real problem. And, of course, this is a stress for his wife Chizuko. Please pray for her emotional and physical wellbeing.
* On a different note, we’d like to direct you to the Christian emergency response network that has been established by some of our co-workers right here in west Tokyo. “CRASH” (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope) is a network supporting Christians to do relief work in Japan and around the world. CRASH equips and prepares churches and missions to be there to help their communities when disasters strike and coordinates Christian volunteers to work with local ministries in the event of a disaster. For updates on how part of the Body is responding to the crises, as well as how to give to rescue and relief needs, please see their site: http://www.crashjapan.com/ .
* We’d also like to direct you to our own Facebook updates. Debbie is posting thoughts and updates on her Facebook page. Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/mayinjapan.
* Finally, I’d like to ask prayer for me personally (Gerald). I’ve been hobbling around on crutches for nearly 2 weeks now having had my arthritic left knee give out on me. It’s very limiting at such a time, but, it does force me to look to the Lord to do what He will, rather than me rushing about. Even so, I’d like to ask prayer for healing as our Lord sees fit. Also, I am preparing a message for this coming Sunday for the local international church. I want to be a conduit for God’s Word of grace, strength and challenge. Please pray for clarity and that I myself don’t get in the way of what He would say to His people!
Thank-you for sharing with us in these challenging days,
Gerald & Debbie May
Posted on March 17, 2011
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