>> i think for the first time many japanese people are open to the gospel of jesus christ. >> today on "christian world news," japan, one year after the devastation. how the hope of jesus is transforming of the lives those devastated by the earthquake and sunni. plus pastor yousef nadarkhani gets a powerful international ally. how the nation of brazil is helping at the urging. a bible translation meant for muslims causes an uproar. how one ministry is working to find a solution.

welcome to "christian world news" i am heather sells, george an w wendy are on assignment. japan is still suffering from the devastating disasters that hit one year ago, some 19,000 people died in the earthquake and resulting tsunami. george thomas found japanese christians working non-stop to bring help to survivors. >> if it hadn't been for christians this man would have abandoned the factory that has been in his family for years. his company sits 500 yards from the ocean. multiple tsunamis swept through his factory.

thanks to christians they have helped him rebuild. churches and individual christians moved quickly and still working to help the displaced and hurts. on march 11th a few met to pray for a revival and then the earthquake happened. >> they watched the drama unfold on television screens. >> we went to the subway and train stations. we served coffee and tea and tried to share hope. >> yoko left tokyo and moved

here away from the fukushima dai-ichi plant. >> people are coming to the lord and they are touched. >> this man is one of them, a former gang member. he got an invitation to attend the church. >> tremendous progress has been made, realities are tens of thousands are homeless. the government has set up temp shelters like this one. so many are looking for a place to call home. >> these are lonely people that have lost everything. i am here to show them the love of christ. >> did you know god has a plan

for your life? japanese church leaders invited franklin graham to hold a celebration of hope festival in sendai featuring several artists. >> we are reminded god is sovereign and still on the throne. >> graham, son of famed evangelist billy graham drew 12,000 people. >> i think for the first time many japanese people are open to the gospel of jesus christ. >> this man co-leads a congregation not too far from the power plants. >> we remember those that died but seeing those move like never

before. >> later in the broadcast we'll have an exclusive interview with franklin graham about revival. now hope is coming from a surprising source that coming to help and support yousef nadarkhani. since learning of the pastor's situation, the country has been pushing iran and has been led by the evangelical churches. nadarkhani says he was never a muslim. jordan sekulow has been meeting with church and government leaders. charlene israel asked him about his effort. >> jordan, what are they doing

for him? >> they said we asked iran to put a halt and working to have him released. they are taking the information and demand the meeting with the ambassador. this is happening while we are on the ground. brazil is diplomatically engaging iran to save pastor yousef nadarkhani. they have a relationship. a key ally diplomatically for iran. they are getting responses western leaders couldn't get. we were in the newspaper. vice president said we have a duty as brazil to stand for human rights especially when we have a specific case where we know the name. >> you are meeting with church leaders, tell us about this.

>> church leaders follow the christian news. they know about the aclj. they are very connected to the government. they have high profile contacts. when they contacted us. we contacted them. we saw the interview about brazil being able to play a key role, they have taken this opportunity to show us the power of the evangelical church. every church i walked into, they only had 3-day's notice. we met with the vice president and 3,000 pastors ready to hear from us, 2,000 people on a saturday night. >> jordan sekulow, thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. coming up, lost in translation, how would you

explain the trinity to someone that hasn't heard of it? why it is causing an uproar. >> later, a one on one with

>> recent controversy wycliffe universities are under fire. first there is background on the debate. >> what is the best way to reach muslims who maybe seeking to know more about christ and christianity? missionaries to islamic countries say it is important for muslims to receive a bible in their own language.

one that is culturally sensitive. >> any bible translation should communicate within the culture to the audience. we tried as mor rocken christians. >> mor rockens don't know what is synagogue. it doesn't exit. few places. nobody knows about them. we changed synagogue, for example, but with a decision that it should be a place for prayer which is a true meaning of synagogue. >> what about more important matters like the trinity? three bible translators, wycliffe, summer institute and

frontiers are under fire for mixing arabic and turkish. references to jesus as the son of god are replaced with messiah, matthew 28:19, baptizing them of the son, father and holy spirit. he thinks people are trying to present an inoffensive gospel to muslims. >> what should we do about the crucifixion of jesus christ? what should we do about the gospel itself? it is not the word of god. it is should include mohammed is a prophet of god. should we put mohammed there?

>> the voice of the martyrs is less critical. the key to reaching muslims is important. >> here is what you can understand now. you are doing this, you are a muslim. you have grown up this way. in a year after you have been following christ, here is what you can understand, apostle paul talked about spiritual milk and spiritual meat. there is a time for both. >> wycliffe usa applauds putting on hold approval of translated scripture around which this scripture is focussed on. a formal review led by bible scholars, translators and others to guide future efforts. >> bob kreeson is with the of wycliffe usa.

bob, why did wycliffe decide to change the language in the arabic language and talk about the decision making process? >> i am assuming we are referring to the true meaning of christ. these are important issues in how the defined terms are being translated. we are interested in accuracy. it all comes back to this eternal word of god in the past from john 1:1, eternity future, revelation 14:6, every tongue, tribe and nation can be before the throne before god. accuracy is important and that is what this debate is about.

>> haven't there been arabic versions for years? >> if you do a google search, there is a number of different kinds. issue comes back to accuracy and how we communicate the truths of the gospel so people understand the gospel message in a way they can relate best. >> what has your experience been to muslims when you explain the trinity, for example? >> you want to make sure these terms are communicated accurately. when people hear the term son of god, god the father had sexual relations with marry to produce a son, jesus. we know it is a virgin birth, for example, it is a legitimate point.

we are taking a pause. all of these communities, we are inviting people into a process that help us figure out how to communicate accurately. >> how do you respond to those is going too far. >> issue is how do we communicate accurately? if the communication offends people, we know the message is going to offend people. we want top invite people into a process that will inform the way into all the way they are translating these terms. >> what are you opening to clarify now in order to go forward? any >> assuming we are relating to the positive how we want to

relate other people into a global consultation that informs the way others translate it into familial terms. bible scholars, so we get a complete perfective so we understand what it means. >> what are muslim-background believers tell you? >> they want to clearly communicate the truths of the bibl bible. >> they would like to be a part of it. maybe some are skeptical. as we go through this, we believe we are open minded and this independence group will inform and help us contextualize how we want to translate these terms. >> bob, we appreciate you for joining us today.

>> thanks for having me on. i appreciate you offering our perspecti perspective. >> you can post your comments at our "christian world news" facebook page. up next, our exclusive interview with evangelist franklin graham in japan. why he believes the country could be on the brink of a spiritual revival.

>> one year after the disaster in japan, franklin graham's ministries are working to meet physical and spiritual needs, george thomas talked with him in japan. >> a year has passed, japan's northeast coach on march 11th. >> there are those images that will never, ever be the same again, image of the scarf stuck in the middle of this ocean, and

this beach 40 kilometers the fukushima dai-ichi plant. >> sendai, largest city is back on its feet. roads clear, shops and restaurants open for business. it is a story being played out across the tsunami effected areas. >> a lot of changes. the city is being cleaned up and rebuilt. >> suicides up, illnesses up, unemployment up. a new survey out shows 20 percent of those living in the tsunami zone are suffering from insomnia and other psychiatric problems. >> there is a lot of pain and suffering.

there are 10s of thousands out of work and have no hope. >> franklin graham had a celebration of hope in one of sendai's main arenas. >> there was so many and not enough space in the morgue. they took this arena and it was the morgue. >> they invited people came to listen to christian music. >> god wants give you peace, joy. [ foreign speaking ]>> he wants to bring fulfillment. >> event organizers say some 12,000 people turned out with

some 400 receiving christ. >> we pray there will be hundreds, thousands of people that put their faith and trust in jesus christ. >> christians around the world have been flocking to japan. this team from norway is partnering with a local japanese church to share the gospel. there is greater awareness of the country's spiritual needs. less than one percent of the population is christian. >> churches from all over japan are praying for sendai, churches in japan and asia. >> not too long after the earthquake, reverend graham deployed enormous resources and

12 months later samaritans purse is still there. >> when everything is good, your business, your family, your life, many people, why do i need god. it couldn't get better. when life turns upside down and everything you put your hope and faith and trust in is gone, it is a time when i believe the holy spirit of god will speak to people's hearts. >> an increase in church attendance and great curiosity of identity and a spirit of unity among churches. >> the churches in this yarp didn't work together. now they say the church in this part of japan is one.

even though there are many denominations they say there is one. >> gram is holding several

>> finally today a new video campaign aimed at bringing down an african war lord is sweeping across the internet. coney is joseph coney he is the president of the lord's army. he is wanted for crimes mostly against children. >> for 26 years coney has been kidnapping children turning the girls into sex slaves and the

boys into child soldiers. >> the video has more than 50 million hits. the group is called invisible children. it wants the international community to take action. that is all for this edition of "christian world news" see you next week.