One recent afternoon in a small community room in an apartment building in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, people streamed in carrying big boxes and bags full of food, beverages and clothing.
The room was bathed in sunlight and the air was charged with positive energy as mothers busily packed the items in boxes to be sent to the disaster areas up north while their children wrote colorful messages of support.
What started as a small group of missionaries at Grace City Church Tokyo quickly expanded into a wide local network, as many Japanese and foreigners gathered to help the disaster victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku region on March 11.