Major Earthquake In Myanmar Spurs Response From Christian Groups
BANGKOK — A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people in Myanmar and Thailand on March 28.
Collapsing mosques killed hundreds of Muslims at Friday prayers, The Associated Press reported, while about 150 monks were apparently killed when a monastery was destroyed.
Relief workers expect the number of casualties to rise sharply.
Send Relief, the compassion ministry of Southern Baptists, is responding through local partners and churches to provide essential supplies, including food, water, emergency shelter, clothing, blankets, hygiene and sanitation items and flashlights.
“Our partners on the ground and local church leaders are already hard at work, serving their neighbors in the midst of this devastation,” said Jason Cox, Send Relief’s international vice president. “As rescue workers scramble to save people buried under collapsed homes and buildings, Send Relief is providing resources to our local ministry partners who are urgently meeting survivors’ needs.”
One of Send Relief’s partners – a local church leader who mobilized in neighboring Thailand – previously received disaster readiness training from volunteers with Hawaii Pacific Baptist Disaster Relief.
“People in Myanmar and Thailand are hurting in the aftermath of the earthquake, but we’ve received word from local churches already taking action, meeting urgent needs, and sharing the love of Jesus,” said John Williams, co-director of Hawaii Pacific Baptist Disaster Relief.
John and his wife, Gay, who serves as co-director alongside him, worked in partnership with Send Relief to provide disaster readiness training. Now, those church leaders in Southeast Asia are working to serve thousands in need.
“Through our partnerships with Send Relief and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, our volunteers had already been in Thailand,” said Gay. “We trained local believers in how to respond. Right now, even in the middle of the night, they are assisting – handing out clean water and urgently needed supplies.”
One of Send Relief’s partners began collecting and packaging relief supplies, such as food and mosquito spray, to distribute to people who had been displaced from their homes. As they did so, local police even helped them with the distribution. They were able to provide information about a local church as well and engage in Gospel conversations.
“Before we left for the night, I asked if we could pray over the officers, and they were very receptive,” said one of the Christian relief volunteers. “The head officer thanked us for our help.”
In addition, Send Relief teams and partners are in the early stages of assessing and planning long-term recovery efforts, including:
— Providing transitional housing, which allows families to avoid prolonged exposure to harsh weather conditions while remaining close to their collapsed homes as they rebuild.
— Developing alternative livelihood strategies, as fish populations have been decimated by earthquake-induced water pollution.
To support the response with prayer and financial donations, go here.
This article has been republished with permission from Baptist Press.
Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.