In a region of Indonesia devastated by last December’s tsunami, Kenneth Magnuson says he saw some places completely decimated, “where every home was wiped off the face of the earth – except for an occasional wall or two that was left standing.
In a region of Indonesia devastated by last
December’s tsunami, Kenneth Magnuson says he saw some places completely
decimated, “where every home was wiped off the face of the earth –
except for an occasional wall or two that was left standing.
“We were told it was like that for something like
200 miles down the coast,” says Magnuson, associate professor of
Christian ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and member of
a relief team that recently visited one of the areas hardest hit by the
devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck southern Asia Dec. 26.
“Thousands of wells were filled with salt water,”
Magnuson reports of the scene. “Rice fields were completely destroyed.
We drove by a mass grave where 47,000 people were buried in a field the
size of a football field.”
The group of seminary volunteers undertook a variety
of service projects, including teaching English, surveying disaster
sites, talking with local residents and restoring wells to a usable
condition.
Because of the tremendous need for fresh water,
local residents frequently called on the team to pump out wells.
“People would see us and come from all around to ask
if we could pump their well, hoping to restore fresh water,” Magnuson
says. “They would express great appreciation for
doing that and often would offer something to drink, giving us an
opportunity to receive their hospitality and to talk with them.”
Team member Brad Waggoner says he anticipated some
anti-Western and anti-Christian hostility – but he never sensed it.
“Most people smiled at us and treated us with great
respect,” says Waggoner, dean of Southern Seminary’s school of
leadership and church ministry.
One student who participated in the trip says
serving tsunami victims opened doors to speak a message of hope to
people in the region.
“Every person we met had stories of family members
and friends who died in the earthquake or the tsunami, and I am so
thankful that we were able to go there for such a time as this,” the
student notes.
“God opened the door a couple of times for us to
share truth in love with people that we befriended, and they were very
open and curious about what we believed. Being able to meet some of
their physical needs also allowed us the opportunity to demonstrate his
love for them in a very practical way.”
The student team member emphasizes that needs remain
great in the area – “bigger than I imagined before seeing this area
with my own eyes.”
Waggoner acknowledges that rebuilding efforts lag
far behind what he expected before arriving in southeast Indonesia.
“We saw some temporary housing shelters, but I was expecting to see a lot more,” he says.
Magnuson says the trip opened his eyes to the need
for continuing relief efforts in the region for years to come.
“The devastation that remains is almost
incomprehensible and is pretty close to the devastation immediately
after the tsunami,” he notes.
“Some work has been done, and medical clinics have
helped a lot of people, and survivors have begun to rebuild their lives
and pick up the pieces. But the rebuilding work is not something that
will be completed in a month. This is going to be years, and even
decades.” (BP)