Our Indonesian partners have been doing the hard work of turning our donations into tangible help and getting it to where it is needed most. Many thousands live in makeshift tents, with a roof, but often no walls. Even trying to stay warm at night is a challenge. This is what our team found in Tipo:

‘Today we went to a place named Tipo. There are several tent camps with survivors there. We visited the largest, with about 130 families.

Each tent houses 10-20 families, depending on size. No-one has privacy, they all sleep together. These are the people that were hit by the earthquake and the tsunami. Some have lost relatives. All have lost virtually all they had. They were only able to keep the clothes they were wearing.

They told the tsunami hit ten minutes after the earthquake. First, they felt the ground go up and down. Then the ground started moving from left to right. Because of this it was very difficult to run away.

They thank God for the sarongs we brought. They were very cold at night, but we hope they will be able to sleep better now.’

Bible stories can have unexpected applications, our team found as they visited Petobo:

‘Today we visited the area where the mudslide took place. We listened to their stories. Then we talked about the Biblical story of Noah. That encouraged them. They too want to start working again to rebuild their lives.

We also visited the women. Some have very young infants, between 1 and 3 months old. Some have lost their babies, because they could not flee fast enough. The babies need to be checked by a doctor.  

Pray we can encourage these people from the Bible’

‘Reaching unreached people groups’ took on a whole new meaning as our team went off the beaten track to search for people in the mountains that were still awaiting help:

‘The disaster in Palu made people look for their own place to survive. Because roads are broken, and communication often is not possible, some groups of people were isolated. They have lost everything and cannot contact others.

Our team was trying to find these people that were still isolated and hard to reach. We found several places in the mountains with isolated groups that were still trying to survive. They were so scared and traumatized. One group survived 14 days without any tents or lights. We are thankful God guided us to them’

Please pray for God’s mercy on these partners. They will need both physical and spiritual strength to help the hurting at this time, as well as protection during their journeys. Pray God will touch many hearts and bring comfort through the love that our partners show. Also, give generously as the Spirit moves you!

 

Disaster Relief