Letter From Word and Deed Canada
The above organization is a mission that our church supports. The president of this mission actually goes to my church. This was a letter sent out on the Tsunami disaster in Asia.
"On Sunday Dec 26, 2004 a powerful earthquake hit just off the coast of Indonesia causing Tsunami waves to hit a number of countries in the South Asian region causing tens of thousands of deaths, extensive damage, and overall destruction. Word and Deed Ministries Canada Inc has joined our sister organization in the Netherlands (Woord en Daad) in providing relief through a number of organization in the affected areas.
An initial 100,00- euros ($160,000 CND) has already been sent and is being used for the initial needs such as medicine, shelter, cooking utensils, and water supply. Much more is needed and it is our prayer that through your generous support in this emergency we may supply our brothers and sisters in our partner organization with the resources they so desperately need.
Below is some information we have from each organozation involved in the relief efforts.
Batticaloa (East Sri Lanka) CSI (Church of South India)
Rev S Jeyanesan writesl "The whole of Batticaloa is in funeral mode. Every family either lost one of their family members and or their home." Some centers (girls and boys homes) have been totally lost while others are heavily damaged and full of sand. Al the children from one of the homes completely destroyed were worshipping at church at the time the waves hit. Alll those inside the church were safe however 6 church members along with Pastor Selvantha's wife and 11 month old son were washed into the sea.
Presently help is being distributed here as follows:
-Food is provided for approx 4000 families (20,000 people)
-Thursday 4000 cooking apparatuses are being distributed
-Each day 8 wells are being cleaned and chlorinated. On Thursday pumps are also being delievered.
-Cleaning of the centers and churches has begun.
-Each day volunteer teams people are being buried.
Rev Jeyanesan closes with "We are grateful for our friends and partners for their support and concern. We are grateful to God for His mercies. It could have been worse. Please uphold all the effected families in your prayers, and also pray for us for our operations."
Word and Deed Sri Lanka (Colombo)
Rev. Charlie Jansz, Chairman of the board and President of the Dutch Reformed CHurch in Sri Lanka, informs us that many of their churches in the South have been affected and some churched have 6 feet of water inside. They have opened a place in his church nearby for donations of food and provisions, water, blankets, sheets, bedding, clothing, etc. He appeals for help. Cynitha Davadason (director of W&D Sri Lanka) on Tuesday wrote "Please we need your prayers for us to know where to begin and how to operate. We need wisdom to answer people around us who are asking 'Wht this?' and 'where is your God now?' people are putting up posters saying that this tragedy is because of the Christians who celebrated Christmas. Anything to blame the Christians."
AMG - India (Andhra Pradesh Area)
As of Wednesday AMG staff has distributed relief material of rations and clothing to 700 families in Giripruam, Uppada Kothapakalyu and Uppada Pathapakula areas in the town of Machilipatnam. Today (Thursday) they hope to distribute clothing and other relief material to 2000 families in the Prakasham district.
AMG also wants to stimulate the fisherman they have worked with for years to go back to work. Many are afraid to go back to the sea, as they have lost everything, homes, boays, and fishing nets. A whole program will need to be set up to help them obtain homes, boats, and nets.
IREF (India Rural Evangelical Fellowship) Repalle, Andrha Pradesh
In conjunction with the local evangelists (supported through IREF) in a number of villages help is being administrated to 1000 families by way of rice, blankets, clothing, and fishing nets.
HBI - India Tamil Nadu (Chennai)
Bobby Gupta President of HBI starts his email to us as follows "Csn you imagine burying 294 bodies together on one day? I received an urgent call this morning (Dec 28) from Nagapatnam, the worst hit area in Tamil Nadu. It was heart breaking to hear from Mr. Parri, the head man of Tharangbodi village in Nagapatnam who called me and shared with me that he and his fellow willage men found 294 bodies out of 500 that died and did a mass burial yesterday. They were recovering another 150 to 200 bodies that were stuck in bushes, trees, and rocks and are trying to bury them today."
On Tuesday a team of 22 from HBI and New Calvary Church visited 5 villages and distributed rice, utensils, plastic buckets, pots, plates, glasses, etc to 750 families in the villages. On Wednesday a team from HBI and New Clavary Church left for Chennai with 2 medical doctors and relief supplies to help 400 people in desperate need. They were planning to provide aid to the children first and render medical help to as many as the doctors coulod handle. However they did not have enough resources to provide for all 4000 people.
Bobby Gupta writes, "One of the exciting things about the relief distribution in these villages, two of the village head men have promised to give us lands so that we can start a church. Three villages do not have any Christian presence and other two villages have two or three Catholics. So it is a great opportunity not only to give them hope of Jesus but incarnate Jesus in the midst of them Praise God!"
SO that was some info from a letter to people in my church. It's amazing how when you get deep down into what actually happened and the Christian perspective, people are asking Christians in this part of Asia why their God did this. Below all the media coverage and that, there's people asking that, and through this disaster the gospel can be brought to many people, and give them hope.
We don't know why God chose to do this, but we know He didn't do it by mistake. There's a purpose to this tragedy, and God will work all things out for good to those who love Him.
"On Sunday Dec 26, 2004 a powerful earthquake hit just off the coast of Indonesia causing Tsunami waves to hit a number of countries in the South Asian region causing tens of thousands of deaths, extensive damage, and overall destruction. Word and Deed Ministries Canada Inc has joined our sister organization in the Netherlands (Woord en Daad) in providing relief through a number of organization in the affected areas.
An initial 100,00- euros ($160,000 CND) has already been sent and is being used for the initial needs such as medicine, shelter, cooking utensils, and water supply. Much more is needed and it is our prayer that through your generous support in this emergency we may supply our brothers and sisters in our partner organization with the resources they so desperately need.
Below is some information we have from each organozation involved in the relief efforts.
Batticaloa (East Sri Lanka) CSI (Church of South India)
Rev S Jeyanesan writesl "The whole of Batticaloa is in funeral mode. Every family either lost one of their family members and or their home." Some centers (girls and boys homes) have been totally lost while others are heavily damaged and full of sand. Al the children from one of the homes completely destroyed were worshipping at church at the time the waves hit. Alll those inside the church were safe however 6 church members along with Pastor Selvantha's wife and 11 month old son were washed into the sea.
Presently help is being distributed here as follows:
-Food is provided for approx 4000 families (20,000 people)
-Thursday 4000 cooking apparatuses are being distributed
-Each day 8 wells are being cleaned and chlorinated. On Thursday pumps are also being delievered.
-Cleaning of the centers and churches has begun.
-Each day volunteer teams people are being buried.
Rev Jeyanesan closes with "We are grateful for our friends and partners for their support and concern. We are grateful to God for His mercies. It could have been worse. Please uphold all the effected families in your prayers, and also pray for us for our operations."
Word and Deed Sri Lanka (Colombo)
Rev. Charlie Jansz, Chairman of the board and President of the Dutch Reformed CHurch in Sri Lanka, informs us that many of their churches in the South have been affected and some churched have 6 feet of water inside. They have opened a place in his church nearby for donations of food and provisions, water, blankets, sheets, bedding, clothing, etc. He appeals for help. Cynitha Davadason (director of W&D Sri Lanka) on Tuesday wrote "Please we need your prayers for us to know where to begin and how to operate. We need wisdom to answer people around us who are asking 'Wht this?' and 'where is your God now?' people are putting up posters saying that this tragedy is because of the Christians who celebrated Christmas. Anything to blame the Christians."
AMG - India (Andhra Pradesh Area)
As of Wednesday AMG staff has distributed relief material of rations and clothing to 700 families in Giripruam, Uppada Kothapakalyu and Uppada Pathapakula areas in the town of Machilipatnam. Today (Thursday) they hope to distribute clothing and other relief material to 2000 families in the Prakasham district.
AMG also wants to stimulate the fisherman they have worked with for years to go back to work. Many are afraid to go back to the sea, as they have lost everything, homes, boays, and fishing nets. A whole program will need to be set up to help them obtain homes, boats, and nets.
IREF (India Rural Evangelical Fellowship) Repalle, Andrha Pradesh
In conjunction with the local evangelists (supported through IREF) in a number of villages help is being administrated to 1000 families by way of rice, blankets, clothing, and fishing nets.
HBI - India Tamil Nadu (Chennai)
Bobby Gupta President of HBI starts his email to us as follows "Csn you imagine burying 294 bodies together on one day? I received an urgent call this morning (Dec 28) from Nagapatnam, the worst hit area in Tamil Nadu. It was heart breaking to hear from Mr. Parri, the head man of Tharangbodi village in Nagapatnam who called me and shared with me that he and his fellow willage men found 294 bodies out of 500 that died and did a mass burial yesterday. They were recovering another 150 to 200 bodies that were stuck in bushes, trees, and rocks and are trying to bury them today."
On Tuesday a team of 22 from HBI and New Calvary Church visited 5 villages and distributed rice, utensils, plastic buckets, pots, plates, glasses, etc to 750 families in the villages. On Wednesday a team from HBI and New Clavary Church left for Chennai with 2 medical doctors and relief supplies to help 400 people in desperate need. They were planning to provide aid to the children first and render medical help to as many as the doctors coulod handle. However they did not have enough resources to provide for all 4000 people.
Bobby Gupta writes, "One of the exciting things about the relief distribution in these villages, two of the village head men have promised to give us lands so that we can start a church. Three villages do not have any Christian presence and other two villages have two or three Catholics. So it is a great opportunity not only to give them hope of Jesus but incarnate Jesus in the midst of them Praise God!"
SO that was some info from a letter to people in my church. It's amazing how when you get deep down into what actually happened and the Christian perspective, people are asking Christians in this part of Asia why their God did this. Below all the media coverage and that, there's people asking that, and through this disaster the gospel can be brought to many people, and give them hope.
We don't know why God chose to do this, but we know He didn't do it by mistake. There's a purpose to this tragedy, and God will work all things out for good to those who love Him.
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