ACU M.Div. student Jonathan Straker and his wife, Michiko, have started a Facebook group to help streamline interest in and humanitarian aid to Japan. The Strakers first met in Sendai, the city near the epicenter of a March 11 earthquake.
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a catastrophic tsunami and set off a chain reaction of other disasters, including damage at three nuclear power plants, and has created nearly half a million refugees.
The Christian Chronicle news blog reports that “Working and Praying for Japanese Earthquake Victims” already has more than 1,000 Facebook friends and is helping connect concerned Christians with churches and other aid sources. In some instances, it is helping victims report their safety or great need, or inquire about family and friends with whom they have lost contact.
Straker recommends that donations be made to the Mito (Japan) Church of Christ through congregations in Memphis, Tenn., and Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He is interim young adult minister at Abilene’s University Church of Christ while studying in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology.