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Aimee Herd : Apr 2, 2012  Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

"Pray for the new Believers in Sendai and for the churches across Japan, and pray also for us. Delegations from four other cities—Tokyo, Hiroshima, Sapporo, and Fukuoka—came and requested Crusades during the next couple of years. I believe the Lord has opened up a door for effective ministry in that country, and we need His wisdom and His provision as we respond." -Franklin Graham

(Sendai, Japan)—Recently Franklin Graham and his team held a Festival of Hope crusade in Sendai, Japan, during the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the area.

In a message detailing the event on his website, Graham shares why the particular venue was picked to house the crusade. He also included a remarkable experience involving two Japanese businessmen who—although non-believers—came alongside the team to help promote the Festival of Hope, and how God's love captured both of their hearts as a result.

The following excerpts are taken from Franklin Graham's report on the BillyGraham.org website:

We held the Crusade in the Grande 21 arena, a sports complex that had served as a temporary morgue after last year's disaster. Many Christians asked God to transform the stadium—which had been a place for families to come and seek their dead—into a place where people found new life. God answered. Hundreds made decisions for Christ, and we give God the thanks and all the glory.

Members of one family said that they decided to attend the Crusade for a simple reason—after the tragedy, it was the military and Christians who came to help, and Christians were still there a year later, volunteering, rebuilding, and providing encouragement. That made them want to learn more about the Gospel.

Two business owners in Sendai, neither of them followers of Christ, had formed a nonprofit community development organization to help their home city. Both suffered significant loss during the disaster. Though Buddhists, they decided to help the local churches promote the Crusade because they felt it would bring hope to the struggling area. Using their own time, money and resources, they advertised the Christian event and urged people to attend.

The night before the Crusade, one of the men explained that he wasn't fully familiar with the Christian faith and wasn't sure what to expect. "If there is a revelation from Jesus or a miracle at the event," he said, "I think many hearts will be opened."

He never expected the miracle to happen to him. At the Saturday night meeting, as he listened to the music, the testimonies, and the preaching, the "Gospel came to [him] not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). He walked forward to declare his faith in Jesus Christ. "I had great guilt, and I needed to be forgiven by God," he said after talking and praying with a counselor. To his surprise and delight, the Buddhist businessman who had partnered with him also responded to the Gospel the same night.

[Read more about these two businessmen who each came to faith in Jesus, and how they helped with the Crusade before they were Believers, by CLICKING HERE.]

Franklin Graham adds, Pray for the new Believers in Sendai and for the churches across Japan, and pray also for us. Delegations from four other cities—Tokyo, Hiroshima, Sapporo, and Fukuoka—came and requested Crusades during the next couple of years. I believe the Lord has opened up a door for effective ministry in that country, and we need His wisdom and His provision as we respond.

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