CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

From NPR: http://m.npr.org/story/135206877?storyId=135206877&from=mobile

Japan was hit by a strong earthquake and tsunami warning Thursday night nearly a month after a devastating temblor and tsunami flattened the northeastern coast.

Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning but lifted all alerts less than two hours later. The warning had been issued for a coastal area that was torn apart by the twin disasters March 11.

Thursday's earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of at least 7.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at a depth of about 30 miles. The quake that preceded last month's tsunami was a 9.0-magnitude.

NHK said that the Tokyo Electric Power Company reported no problems at its crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex. All the workers were said to have been evacuated to a safe location.

Parts of Tokyo "shook for about two minutes," NPR's Greg Dixon reported, even though the quake epicenter was more than 200 miles away. He said there were no immediate reports of damage.

NPR's John Burnett said he was in bed on 32nd floor of a hotel in Sendai, about 40 miles from the epicenter, when the building began to shake.

"It started shaking back and forth tremendously, and the hangers in the closet made quite a racket and then the hotel alarm system went on," Burnett said. "We heard the voice of someone on the PA saying that the elevators were down."

NHK also was reporting that the earthquake hit the Tohoku region in northern Japan — the same region that was devastated by the March earthquake and tsunami. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the northeast region since last month's temblor, but few have been stronger than 7.0.

With reporting from NPR's Greg Dixon in Tokyo. Material from The Associated Press was used in this story. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]

Please keep praying for Japan.

Just what Japan needs >.>

Still praying.

Are these poor people ever going to get a break? Praying!

I am always praying for Japan!

My poor Japan. This is terrible.

Praying everyday for the country.
At least they canceled the Tsunami warning that is a good thing.

I was saddened to hear about the strong afterquake. Fortunately, so far, the damages aren't devastating but my prayers still go to everyone in Japan. I lived there all my life and its disheartening to hear about another quake. Will keep on praying.

How terrible!
Hasn't Japan gone through enough already?
They're still trying to recover from the first one.

Either way, my prayers go out to them.

Will be praying as well. Gee that's just hard! I mean, another one?!?! Well, at least a tsunami didn't hit this time, but still. I'll be praying.

I'm definitely praying for the people in Japan, gosh what a hard thing to keep going through again and again.

How are our Japanese members doing?

I'll be praying as well

Another one? That's sad. They've certainly been through enough.

Will continue to pray. I also plan to donate to the red cross or any other organization.

Prayed. Wish I could afford to donate or GO OUT THERE AND HELP but I'm too young. Messaged Yuki-Anne on FB, she said she is helping Crash Japan an going back to her regular ministry, but she still needs prayers. God bless you all! And Japan, they need it!

Praying! So sad... It seems like just one thing after another.

Will be praying. I just hope it'll be the last one for a very long while.

Well I'm going to post this link here and make a new thread in the Jam Session board, but if any of you have, or are planning on, donated money to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or a similar charity that directly goes to help the people of Japan, the electronica artist/producer BT will reward your graciousness by giving you two unreleased tracks. All you have to do is email proof of donation to [email protected] by April 11th.
BT's Advert

If you hadn't already donated I hope an incentive like this will lead you to donating. Though honestly, I don't think an incentive should be needed to make you want to donate.

Hey, guys. Long time no see. ひさしぶりです、ね。
Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've been very busy, but even when I took time to relax I should have come here to see how you all are doing.

That aftershock was pretty scary. Not gonna lie. I haven't heard of any casualties. There was one 85-year-old woman I heard about whose house collapsed, but I think she was rescued. A few minor injuries were reported, mostly from people falling down stairs trying to get out of buildings (which, by the by, if you are ever in an earthquake, is one of the worst things you can do. Earthquake safety tip: If you're inside, stay put and cover your head!) or from things falling on people. The power went out in a lot of the northern prefectures for a period of time, including at CRASH Japan's bases in Sendai and Tono, but as far as I know, the power is back.

Basically, those aftershocks are terrifying, but not surprising. We've been told to anticipate strong aftershocks like that for a while, with some scientists saying up to a year.

A more personal update: About a week after the quake, I went down to Tokyo to help out at CRASH Japan's headquarters. I made a bullet point prayer list and oversaw its translation into eight languages (including Japanese, Chinese, and Russian), and I also administrate CRASH's forum (which you can access from the above link).

I was there for about two weeks, then I returned to my church in Tochigi to resume my teaching ministry. That's kind of hard, because it feels like I could be doing so much more, but I think just being here and not abandoning my students is a witness in and of itself. Many foreigners have fled the country. We went to teach weekly classes in Nikko last week, and the place was a ghost town. Nikko is a huge tourist spot, but I saw maybe one group of Japanese tourists. That was it. It was so eerie. It was the first time I've ever been the only foreigner in Nikko.

Things are weird like that these days. Usually when you're in Tokyo you see tons of other foreigners, but there are hardly any now. In non-disaster zones, things are starting to return to normal in convenience stores (they have most of their regular stock now, instead of just onigiri) and gasoline stands (meaning you can actually buy gasoline again).

Please pray for me. Before all this happened, my parents had been planning to come visit at the end of this month. At first I told them not to come, but we've since decided that they will still come, and we're going to try to go help at one of the disaster zones. We can't do much counseling or anything, but we can at least shovel mud from people's houses and help them gather belongings and other things like that. Anyway, please pray for wisdom for me as I try to plan this, and pray that God will put us in the right spot to do some good work for him.

Praying for you, for sure!

And another one today. This reminds me: the thread title is a misnomer. "Second earthquake" would imply that there was only one big one the day of the quake. There were actually at least two or three over magnitude 7 on March 11. And, for those of you who don't know, we've been rattled by aftershocks and entirely separate earthquakes of varying magnitude every single day since the quake. Often multiple times a day.

Stuff like this, it's so stressful. It's really hard on everybody, not knowing when the next big one's going to hit, but knowing that more big ones are almost guaranteed. It's hard to sleep when you keep getting hit by aftershocks.

It's been one month since Japan was changed forever. I just don't have words. I really don't.

Those poor people. I'm definitely praying for them and your safety, Yuki.

http://vimeo.com/22152315

Watch this video. And pray for Japan and for the churches of Japan.

And for my sanity, because literally as I wrote this post the earth shook. Again. Sooooo the opposite of awesome.

@Yuki: My gosh, I wish I were there. You have no idea how much I wish I were in Japan trying to help those people and to be there to comfort them. My heart reaches out to you! I'm praying for you and Japan and all her people. May God watch over you all in these hard times.

Yuki-Anne (post: 1470621) wrote:http://vimeo.com/22152315

Watch this video. And pray for Japan and for the churches of Japan.

And for my sanity, because literally as I wrote this post the earth shook. Again. Sooooo the opposite of awesome.

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal over there Yuki-Anne (I wish I could help in some way!), though as you said it is both amazing & awesome to hear no fatalities at the moment.

Don't give in my friend. Yours & others' efforts during this tough time & during dangerous circumstances is not only awesome but incredibly humbling to hear. Never forget that you're making a real difference in other's lives who really need it at the moment.

Also, especially don't forget that God is always right there with you, keeping close watch & mighty hand over you & those around you - even when you're scared or even when you can't seem to feel Him at the moment.
He most definately is ALWAYS there, as His Good Word says:

Deuteronomy 31:6 wrote:[I]Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you]

EDIT: Actually, these verses also came to mind...

Mark 4:36-38 wrote:Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion...

Through our relationship with Him, despite what is going on around us we also share in Jesus' peace. That's another amazing thing not to forget!

You and the people of Japan are in my prayers Yuki.