C.R.A.S.H. Update

Dear friends, please, please continue to pray and give to help the victims of the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan.

We can make a difference.

C.R.A.S.H. Japan is already reporting that they are four days ahead of schedule in setting up one of the planned relief base camps in the city of Sendai!

Here is an update from website:


CRASH Teams and Supplies Head to Sendai

Tokyo, Japan – March 17, 2011 – The first of CRASH’s teams left early this morning with a truck of supplies heading to Meysen Academy, a kindergarten in Sendai. Meysen Academy is out of range of the radiation evacuation zone in Fukushima, but highways heading north will take the team within 40km of the nuclear reactors.

Located slightly inland, with a large campus and two locations, MeySen academy is an optimal location for a base. Team leader Drew Glosson, who survived the 2007 Niigata earthquake and has personally received help from CRASH in the past, said of the team's spirits: “We’re all ready to go, we’re anxious to get there, we’re a little nervous about snow...but the weather is alright, so we should be ok.”

Reports of relief efforts remain hopeful as more area roads are opening, making travel less dangerous. Even so, few are traveling, and highway passes are still required near disaster areas. CRASH teams have passes and access to the affected areas. “The highway is nothing but us and emergency vehicles,” said Glosson.

The runway in Sendai airport, the largest in the Tohoku region, has now been cleared by US military teams, making supply delivery easier. However, ports along the northeast coast of Japan remain inaccessible, forcing supply shipments to move across land from the west, and severely slowing deliveries. "These truckloads that we’re sending up [the highway] are the main things that are getting through," said CRASH Supply Coordinator Tim Cole speaking of supplies being transported in small quantities by CRASH and other relief organizations.

CRASH continues to work with local churches and missionaries in the Tohoku area to gather relief teams, identify the most pressing needs, and coordinate base locations.

Also -

Half a Million Meals Donated

Tokyo, Japan- March 17, 2011- With the establishment of the first CRASH Base Camp, CRASH has been promised two 40-foot containers of much needed food. The containers are filled with enough rice and soy to make more than 500,000 meals — ideal for feeding large groups of people. The much-needed donation comes from Feed the Hungry.

Many other organizations are also sending supplies. Although CRASH has the network to reach those in immediate need, such large donations require significant resources to get from crate to table. CRASH Japan continues to seek funds to ensure the pressing needs of victims are quickly met.

Update on our friends:

Our friend, Ayumi, emailed that there is little rest for the weary of northeast Japan.  Aftershocks, power outages, and the uncertainty of the situation at the nuclear power plant make sleep fitful at best.  Please continue to pray for those affected by this disaster. 

Also, be sure to check out this video that our missionary friends' son put together. 


C.R.A.S.H also has a Facebook page.


Hugs,

Melissa