• The 2011 Japan Tsunami—Survivors Tell Their Stories
    Awake!—2011 | December

    • Various organizations helped their members. Jehovah’s Witnesses were among them. Immediately after the Friday afternoon quake and tsunami, Witnesses checked on the safety of those with whom they regularly meet together for worship. Roads, however, were impassable in many places, and electricity and telephone services were cut off. Locating people over the huge affected area was very difficult.

      Takayuki, one of the elders in the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, could contact only a few families that horrible Friday afternoon. “I decided to look for others the next day,” he said. “As dawn broke, I started out by car and then went on foot to find them and continued until evening. I went to 20 locations, including shelters, to search for congregation members. When I found them, I read scriptures and prayed with them.”

      Shunji in Ishinomaki explains: “We set up teams to find fellow believers. When we entered the disaster area, words failed us. Cars were hanging off electric poles, houses were piled one on top of the other, and the debris was piled up even higher than the houses. On the roof of a car, we saw a dead body, probably a person who was unable to survive the cold night. Another car was upside down and hanging between houses. There was a body inside it.”

      Shunji was relieved to find fellow worshippers in shelters. “When I met up with them,” he says, “I realized just how dear they are to me.”

      “You Came So Quickly!”

      Two young Witness women, Yui and Mizuki, lived near each other in Minamisanriku, Miyagi. When the first tremor subsided, they rushed outside and saw each other. Together they ran to higher ground. Less than ten minutes later, they watched as the whole town, including their homes, was washed away by one wave after another.

      When Yui and Mizuki found Witness friends at a shelter, they prayed together. The next morning, members of their own congregation as well as neighboring ones crossed the mountain, bringing them food and supplies. Yui and Mizuki exclaimed, “We knew you would come, but you came so quickly!”

      Hideharu, one of the Witness overseers from the Tome Congregation, visited the shelter. He explains: “All night long I tried to locate our friends living along the coast. Finally, at 4:00 a.m., I received information about a school where some had taken refuge. At 7:00 a.m., about ten of us gathered to prepare rice balls, and three of us set out by car with the food. Most roads were impassable. After much effort, we got through to the school. Even those who had lost their homes helped us give support to others.”

      Filling the Spiritual Need

      Jehovah’s Witnesses meet regularly to study the Bible, and some congregations do so on Friday nights. This was the case in Rikuzentakata; however, the Kingdom Hall​—the Witnesses’ place of worship—​had just been washed away by the tsunami. “Let’s have a meeting anyway,” a Witness suggested. So a home that had not been badly damaged was selected, and members of the congregation were informed.

      Although the electricity had been cut off, an electric generator was available to provide light. Sixteen people were present. “We shed tears of joy,” recalls young Yasuyuki, who had lost his apartment in the tsunami. “It was the best refuge for us.” Hideko noted: “Strong aftershocks often disturbed the meeting, but while we were together, I forgot the fears and anxieties that had been upsetting me.”

      Since then, the congregation has never missed holding one of its regular meetings. Two days later, on Sunday, the subject of the discourse chosen for the occasion was “A Worldwide Brotherhood Saved From Calamity.”

      Organized Relief Work

      Various government agencies soon began relief work, as did the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses, located in Ebina, near Tokyo. By Saturday, the day after the earthquake, the branch had divided the vast area affected by the quake into three sections. On Monday, three days after the quake, representatives from the branch visited these areas.

      Relief efforts continued in the weeks and months that followed. Many tons of supplies provided by the Witnesses have been distributed. At one time, 3 relief centers and 21 warehouses and relay stations were actively delivering relief supplies. During the first two months, hundreds of volunteers distributed over 250 tons of food, clothing, and other necessities. Many Witnesses have shared such supplies with their neighbors.

      Members of the Rikuzentakata and the neighboring Ofunato congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses are using their reconstructed Kingdom Hall to strengthen people spiritually. This will help the local people to cope with the hardships they face in rebuilding their lives and recovering from the trauma caused by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Of the more than 14,000 Witnesses in the disaster area, 12 are confirmed dead and 2 are still missing.

      Many among Jehovah’s Witnesses who were victims of this horrific disaster made expressions similar to what one family said: “When we fled, we had one bag each. But all our needs were met by our fellow believers.” How grand it is that servants of the true God, Jehovah, can now enjoy the worldwide brotherhood of which Jesus and his apostles spoke! This bond cannot be washed away by tsunamis or any other natural disasters.​—John 13:34, 35; Hebrews 10:24, 25; 1 Peter 5:9.