Dear friends,
We are very grateful for your help given to the victims of flooding resulting from the July 25th break of a dam high in the mountains above the coast village of Lima (literally Five).
In 2012 a massive landslide formed a natural dam across a stream high in the mountains. Nothing was done to resolve this issue as a large lake formed behind the dam.
The 2013 rainy season has come with torrents of rain as is normal in Ambon. What the government has deemed a “natural dam” was eroded by these downpours and eventually gave way.
Fortunately some government agencies were monitoring the situation and encouraged the people to move out of the way before they were swept to sea. The warning did not give enough lead time to keep their possession, livestock, and homes, of course, from being totally destroyed. Only 3 people died.
More than 450 families are now in flimsy tents. They have no floors. The tents are hot and tend to let water in.
With the funds provided by Savannah Christian Church and IDES (International Disaster Emergency Services), we have so far blessed 1,270 or more students with the basic writing supplies they need for school. We still have a good amount of funds left and are praying for and looking into ways that we can be most helpful.
This village is totally Muslim. They were responsible for the burning of a church several kilometers away during the inter-religious conflicts that swept the Maluku islands for about 5 years starting in January 1999. They need Jesus. We are beginning with showing the love of Jesus to build strong bridges for the gospel. Understandably IDES would appreciate stories of life-change. The change we are trusting God for at this time is an open door for gospel workers into this non-Christian community which has a long history providing abundant reasons not to trust Christians..
Priorities for the selection of the next phase include finding a defined need we can address with resources available which will put Great Commission Christians into contact with Muslim villagers over an extended period.
In order to best select this program. We need a trusted local person who can frequently visit the village assessing needs, locating supplies, etc. THIS IS AN URGENT PRAYER REQUEST AT THIS TIME. The village is isolated, and the travel is demanding. Please pray with us for a key assessor. Those who managed the initial response and got us into the community are all very busy with projects and work in the city and cannot continue to give the days it will take to accomplish this. Our white skin and too-quickly-tired bodies make us less than the ideal choice.
We value you prayers and partnership deeply,
Dennis and Lynn
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