Regional Snapshot

Family in Pakistan amid earthquake ruins. [Photos by Muqaddam Zia]

Relief workers distribute cooking items in Pakistan.

By Rod Matthews

VARSITY LAKES, Queensland, Australia—In 2005, the countries of South Asia had to contend with massive natural disasters plus some disasters of human making.

In the countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal, the great tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 caused an estimated 230,000-plus deaths, and hundreds of thousands more were made homeless—primarily in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, but also in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Maldives and in eastern Africa.

Our fellowship has no presence in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh, but in Sri Lanka several members died and many others were affected.

A compassionate response from members around the world raised more than $100,000 for member assistance and humanitarian relief efforts, most of which has been used in Sri Lanka.

In December 2005, I made a second trip to Sri Lanka with Mohan Jayasekera, national pastoral coordinator, to meet with Pastor Lynton Silva and representatives of agencies through whom we had directed funds to assist tsunami victims.

Affected members in our newer congregations in the eastern coastal areas of Batticaloa and Ampara were first assisted with food and water supplies, then with the rebuilding or replacement of homes and contents, and some with bicycles for transportation.

It is here that five members are presumed to have died in the massive wave that swept in around 9:15 on that Sunday morning—estimated at more than 40 feet—swamping productive agricultural land with salt water many kilometers from the sea. The tsunami then wrapped itself around the island and devastated the southwestern coastline as well.

To help with the national emergency, funds were directed through World Vision, the National Christian Council, the National Christian Evangelical Alliance, the Jeevana Diya (Living Water) Church and several other reputable local organizations.

During our December trip, Yu Hwa Li, Sri Lankan national director of World Vision, detailed how our funds had been used.

In the last year or so, the church in Sri Lanka has grown to five congregations with an attendance nearing 300. A new congregation is planned for a more remote location to serve four families who are without pastoral care.

The eastern coastal areas of India were swamped by the tsunami, and more than 12,000 died, but no members were directly affected. However the water came within 100 yards of one family’s home in Chennai.

Mumbai, Chennai and other areas have experienced severe flooding from cyclonic rains in past months, causing massive disruption to millions of people, including our members.

Our fellowship in India consists of more than 120 members scattered over the sub-continent as a result of our past media-based evangelism. Two church-employed pastors and their wives serve this vast area—Danny and Mary Zachariah based in Secunderabad, and Joe and Joanna D’Costa based in Bangalore.

The Secunderabad congregation meets in a hall from which a community counseling service operates, using the skills of members and the pastor. Danny is accredited as a trainer in Christian counseling by the Person to Person Institute for Christian Counselling in Secunderabad.

Joe D’Costa, who pastors the Bangalore and Chennai congregations and groups in several other cities, also prepares and produces Living Light, a small monthly magazine offering articles on Christian living.

In the last year, I have developed a growing relationship with several ministries in northern Pakistan through e-mail correspondence. One, in particular, Dr. Muqaddam Zia of the Pakistan Mission Center, is active in evangelism and in bringing various ministries together. He was elected chairman of the All Pakistan Churches Alliance. Three other area ministries also want to develop a closer working relationship with us.

In October, a devastating earthquake struck Kashmir, parts of which are administered by Pakistan and India. The death toll, estimated at more than 30,000, will probably never be known because many remote villages were destroyed.

Muqaddam Zia immediately initiated a relief operation for the devastated areas, taking in food, clothing, tents and relief supplies by truck, with a focus on villages with Christian populations, which tend to be neglected by the (non-Christian) government-funded relief efforts.

Australian members sent thousands of dollars to aid Muqaddam Zia’s urgent efforts to help as many as he could before the onset of harsh winter conditions in this part of the Himalayas.

I plan to visit Pakistan in March or April to make personal contact with these ministries to see how we might be able to work with them in taking the gospel to a country where less than 1.6 percent of the population of 155 million is Christian.

This part of the world presents many challenges in fulfilling the commission that Jesus gave his disciples.

The nations of South Asia are primarily Hindu, Buddhist or Islamic, and many people of these faiths felt threatened in the past year by the influx and passion of Christian humanitarian and relief organizations.

In some cases, the outpouring of aid from generous overseas donors has resulted in suspicion, antagonism and even persecution of Christians because residents perceive that the tragedies have been used as opportunities to proselytize.

It takes patience, discernment and the wisdom of God to appropriately live and share his love. After all, the parable of Jesus recorded in Matthew 25 clearly shows the primary criteria used by God in the judgment. Sharing the good news that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should be saved cannot be separated from a practical expression of that supreme love by those in whom God lives.