When Cole Elbridge stood to accept the village leader’s appreciation, he did so on behalf of Southern Baptists who have given nearly $17 million to help survivors of the tsunami that ripped through southern Asia’s coastlines on Dec. 26, 2004, leaving a quarter of a million people dead and millions homeless.
(Editors’ note: On Dec. 26, 2004, a massive
earthquake in the Indian Ocean spawned one of the most destructive
tsunamis in recorded history. It swept away thousands of lives and left
millions of people homeless. One year later, Southern Baptists continue
to aid and share God’s love with survivors in South Asia.)
When Cole Elbridge stood to accept the village
leader’s appreciation, he did so on behalf of Southern Baptists who
have given nearly $17 million to help survivors of the tsunami that
ripped through southern Asia’s coastlines on Dec. 26, 2004, leaving a
quarter of a million people dead and millions homeless.
Elbridge, a Southern Baptist worker, explained how
supporters in America had been deeply troubled by the images and were
moved to help. Their love for God had moved Southern Baptists to love
the tsunami victims, he said, and he shared with the villagers about
the true love of God for them in the Gospel message.
“I sat there in awe of how great our God is,”
recounts Jana Eddleman*, another Southern Baptist worker who was at the
village. “Here I was, this small insignificant part of His great plan
for the nations, waiting and watching to see what He is going to do
next.”
No one else had helped this particular village since
the tsunami, the village leader told the workers during the December
2005 presentation.
“With such a sense of gratitude and appreciation,
the village leader stood up and thanked us on behalf of the entire
village for our assistance,” Eddleman says. “Hands shot up all over the
area as he asked how many of the families there had been helped.”
A massive earthquake, centered in the Indian Ocean
west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, set in motion the tsunami
that sent deadly waves across low-lying areas in South and Southeast
Asia – and as far away as Africa.
David Garrison, the Southern Baptist International
Mission Board’s regional leader for South Asia, said the coastal areas
most impacted by the tsunami “are home to millions of lost souls who
have little access to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Over the past months, these people have seen the love of Christ as never before.
Southern Baptist workers have provided emergency
food and water, rebuilt homes, purchased fishing nets, helped
re-establish businesses and, most importantly, offered good news of
eternal hope in Jesus Christ.”
In South Asia, the tsunami battered coastal areas in
Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives, taking a huge toll physically and
emotionally on the people. Yet, Southern Baptist personnel report that
in the past year God’s healing hand has been evident in each affected
region.
In India alone, Elbridge said that about 1,900
people -– mostly Hindus and some Muslims – have accepted Jesus as their
Savior since the tsunami.
As a result, about 150 house churches have been
started. Some of these new congregations have birthed second-generation
churches.
“Already (the advance of the gospel) is growing and
reproducing so quickly that it’s becoming hard for us to keep up with
all that God is doing here,” Eddleman says. “But to me, that’s the
exciting part. The potential here for the work to keep growing is
almost limitless.”
Throughout tsunami-stricken areas, Southern Baptists
focused first on providing practical relief to survivors. That included
food, clothing and vocational training for those without jobs.
Relief workers have faced unique challenges in the wake of the disaster.
With nearly $17 million raised by the generosity of
Southern Baptists for the tsunami efforts, Elbridge said, the workers
“were limited not by funds but by stewardship, accountability,
personnel on the field and ensuring we were meeting real needs of the
people.”
As in Sri Lanka, the relationships Southern Baptist
volunteers developed during their initial short stints of service in
India helped spark spiritual interest among people they were helping in
practical ways.
“Last summer we were able to conduct at least nine
children’s camps, thanks to two American teams that came,” Southern
Baptist worker Tanya Chisolm* says. “Many of these villages had never
before had a Gospel presentation there. We also had a team of college
guys who lead sports camps in numerous villages, showing the ‘JESUS’
film at the close of each camp.”
Chisolm recounted that one village where volunteers
conducted a children’s camp had a reputation for being hostile to the
Word of God and its messengers.
“But after the tsunami, many secular groups came in
to bring relief and didn’t live up to their promises,” she explains.
“So they came to us.
“(It was) a 180-degree about-face – from telling us
to stay away to asking us for our help,” she adds. “So as we gave nets
and fans to the villagers, we also gave out the good news.”
Volunteers served primarily in areas where there
were no Christian believers or evangelical churches. Teams conducted
children’s camps, sports camps and relief work. They integrated
personal testimonies, tract distribution, open-air revivals,
chronological Bible storying, the “JESUS” film and another
Hindi-language evangelistic film to share the Gospel through their
outreach.
“We recorded over 60 decisions for Christ through
the volunteer teams who came to assist us,” Elbridge notes.
The number of decisions to follow Jesus climbed as
Elbridge and a team of Indian pastors with whom he partners began
training laypeople and new believers to share the gospel with others.
Of about 500 villages affected by the tsunami in
India, Southern Baptist workers have focused on a number of strategic
areas, working in 85 villages across 620 miles of coastline in the
region.
Elbridge said that many of the pastors who were helping
tsunami-battered villages had once been beaten and thrown out of the
same villages that welcomed them after the tsunami.
Yet, the work of meeting both physical and spiritual needs is far from finished.
“Those affected by the tsunami are still struggling,
wondering if they will be able to have homes again or earn a living to
support their families,” Elbridge explains. “It is clear that recovery
from the tsunami will be measured in years, not months.” (BP)
*Names changed for security reasons.