News
Central American Disaster: Churches respond with help and prayer
The Church is rising to the occasion with an unprecedented outpouring of love and compassion in response to catastrophic natural disasters. In the last 15 months the world has seen disasters of a magnitude never experienced in history. Please read the following excerpts to see how the Church is making a real difference by demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways to people in severe circumstances. (Philip Drayton).
San José, Costa Rica (LAMNS) - The flooding, landslides and damage were beyond belief. "I have never seen anything like what just occurred in my life," said Kathryn Winn, an El Salvador based missionary with the Latin America Mission.
Winn was referring to the aftermath of Hurricane Stan, which slammed El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico in early October, leaving more than 2,000 people dead and millions of dollars of damage in its wake.
Hardest hit was Guatemala where up to 1,400 were possibly buried in a massive landslide that swept away the Mayan town of Panabaj near the country's popular Lake Atitlan tourist attraction. Officials found the recovery of bodies difficult if not impossible and declared the site a mass grave.
Rains from the hurricane also caused flooding in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
El Salvador's Ilamatepec volcano erupted as the region was being drenched by the hurricane's downpours. An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale also struck the country, causing landslides on hills already unstable because of the heavy rain.
Winn reported that more than 70,000 people were living in temporary shelters, mostly in Evangelical churches and schools. "Many of the shelters are inaccessible and the aid must be sent via sliding the food across rivers by rope," she said.
Churches and Christian agencies are responding to the disaster with aid and prayers.
In El Salvador, Winn reported that "The Evangelical Church has been a bigger source of aid than any other agency or religion. Every church I know of in El Salvador has been either collecting goods to distribute to the different shelters, or converting into shelters themselves."
Southern Baptist missionary Philip Johnson in El Salvador reported that "Disaster response in El Salvador, unlike Guatemala, was quick and efficient. Churches and non-governmental agencies cooperated with government officials in providing food and basic necessities to several hundred shelters. People were housed in churches, schools, even stadiums."
"Many churches opened their doors to the homeless, or became collection agencies for food and emergency supplies," Johnson added. "An incredible spirit of unity and solidarity was felt in many churches."
"Churches that did not have the resources to serve as shelters have responded by using their small, ill-equipped kitchens to cook for the hungry," Johnson said. "As one cook remarked to me, 'It's the least I can do; this could have happened to me. I must respond.'"
In Mexico too, churches were at the forefront of disaster response. "Local churches here are gathering money and provisions to help," Isais reported. "We do not yet have information about how many local churches have been destroyed or damaged in the flood areas."
U.S.A –
Billions of dollars will be needed to help Hurricane Katrina survivors. But, the money isn't the only thing needed. Willing volunteers are making a difference. International Aid’s Dean Agee is in the hurricane-affected region distributing aid and helping those in need through hundreds of local churches, who are uniquely able to help when people ask spiritual questions. "The church is just the natural connection point into the community. When you've lost everything, it really makes you reprioritise. And, a lot of people have reflected and the church is really there to help people through those kinds of times." Agee's amazed by how the church has become a catalyst for help. "The community churches that are down here really are ministering to their communities. I literally can stop at any community that we are going through and the pastor almost runs out and greets you. And then, he'll take you through his church and show you exactly what they're doing for their community, and if you ask him what they need, he knows right away."
Full Story: www.mnnonline.org/article/7741
PAKISTAN –
Winter is on the horizon and earthquake victims in Pakistan are at risk. It's being called a race against time. Winter is just days away and millions of victims of the Pakistan earthquake remain homeless and cut off from food, water, or medicine. Doug VanBronkhorst is with the Christian organisation, Interserve. "It's just unbelievable in terms of the number of people involved, both dead and wounded and now secondary issues and concerns. I expect this to be an on-going problem that will change the face of the country not only geographically and physically, but also emotionally and population-wise for years to come."
VanBronkhorst says while the task seems overwhelming, Interserve workers and especially the church are having an impact. "Because they are responding to this disaster, they are providing help in the name of Christ. And, these are Pakistanis helping fellow countrymen. And so it will, I hope, give the church a little more visibility and also an opportunity to shine." And, that could open other doors for ministry.
By Kenneth D. MacHarg - LAM News Service
These news story were supplied by Latin America Mission News Service. For further information, contact LAMNewsService@lam.org
Full Story: www.mnnonline.org/article/7919
