GFA Responds to Deadly Tsunami

Dear Aalie,

CARROLLTON, Texas, Dec. 27, 2004 - Gospel for Asia workers are rushing
food, clothing, medical supplies-and the love of God-to millions of
Asians still in deep shock from a disaster spawned by the most powerful
earthquake in 40 years.

GFA President K.P. Yohannan, who returned from India the day after the
powerful tsunami hurled devastating walls of water from Thailand to
Africa, said GFA workers are already ministering among the estimated three
million survivors huddled in massive refugee camps in India.  Others
are serving in Sri Lanka and other hard-hit countries.

In Sri Lanka, where 12,000 deaths have been reported, 17 villages in
the rebel-controlled north of the island have been especially hard hit,
and an entire train with 1,000 people on board was washed away along a
coastal rail line.

Amid the death and destruction, however, Brother K.P. reported this
morning on how God's hand protected one Believer's Church congregation.

"In one of our churches in Sri Lanka, our believers were spared even
though their entire village was washed away," Brother K.P. explained. "At
the time the wave hit, they were all in church, and their church
building is located up in the mountains."

But Christians have suffered alongside their countrymen throughout
South Asia's devastated coastal regions. One pastor in Sri Lanka, Brother
Logidasan, lost his wife, son, and mother when the waves crashed in on
them. The leader of GFA work in Sri Lanka, Lal Vanderwall, has called
for prayer for the pastor and his coworkers as they try to minister to
others in the midst of their own grief.

In India, the confirmed death toll has hit 11,000, but thousands more
are still listed as missing. It may be weeks before a final number is
known, as thousands of men, women, and children were swept out to sea as
the killer waves retreated. Some were out for a Sunday morning stroll
on the beach when the tsunami hit. More than 5,000 fishermen are
missing, their small boats swamped and crushed by the awesome power of the
rushing water.

Hundreds and perhaps thousands lost their lives in the Indian coastal
states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, where GFA has its
Asian headquarters. Most of the victims knew nothing of the earthquake or
the tsunami until the huge waves began rising up from the ocean in front
of them. Most South Asian countries lack warning systems to alert the
people to such imminent dangers.

As of this morning, reports were still coming in from GFA offices
across Asia.

In the Andaman Islands a reported 6,000 people have been killed. In
another miracle, however, all 26 GFA missionaries serving on the low-lying
island chain are reported safe.

"We thank God for these miracles," Brother K.P. said, "and pray that He
will use these believers to share His love and compassion with the
millions who are suffering so terribly."

In the wake of this disaster, GFA's 1.5 million-member Believers Church
in India is rallying support and deploying its leadership and members
to minister to those suffering so horribly-both physically and
spiritually.

"In times like these, we know that God opens the hearts of those who
suffer, and we pray that as our workers demonstrate God's love to them,
many of them will come to know for the first time that real security
comes only through Him," Brother K.P. said. "We ask that our brothers and
sisters in the West take the time today to pray for these millions of
victims, that they will feel God's presence and grace in a special way. 
And please pray for our workers, that they will be given strength to
serve in these horribly difficult circumstances."

"This is the most widespread disaster to hit Asia in decades," added
Brother K.P., "and it is our prayer that in the face of such massive
suffering, with your help we can become a shining beacon of God's love and
compassion."

To help GFA bring help and hope to the tsunami victims, please go to
http://www.gfa.org/donate?DESIG=2520&motiv=WA4C-G1ER And to help you
pray for these suffering men, women, and children, we will be posting
updates and photos from the disaster areas as they become available at
http://www.gfa.org/urgent?motiv=WA4C-G1ER

_______________________

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