Cyclone Michaung Damage
December 9, 2023
Dear RHM Friends,
Greetings in the Name of our Precious Lord JESUS.
I don't know how much media attention Cyclone Michaung got here in the US, but this cyclone (same thing as a hurricane, but called a cyclone in India) did a lot of damage in the area where we do ministry in India. You can read the captions that are with the photos below to get an idea of what happened, and how we would like to help if funds are available. Lord willing, we'll still send you a newsletter and one or 2 more updates before Christmas or the end of the year.
We are thinking that $3,000 might be sufficient for the food, hut repairs, and some other home repairs that are needed. For our donors who were thinking to give an end-of-the-year donation, and could possibly do that now, please do so, which would help us in case our goal is not met for the cyclone-affected people. By faith we are starting to feed at least 58 tribal people in 2 different villages who have lost their work due to the cyclone destroying the crops they were working in.
Bless you always for your prayers and support!
Brother Dan
"So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." Galatians 6:10
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ABOVE: This is a field behind the church where I normally stay when in India. I assume this is rice, since that's what usually is growing there, but the crop (along with most of the crops in this region) is ruined. If the field owners are cultivating the land, they have lost their profits. If others are renting the land to cultivate, they still must pay the rent. All the daily wage field workers are simply out of work. Harvest time for many crops is usually during this month of December. These field workers will try to get work in other fields or wherever they can, but for sure some of our families will be struggling.
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ABOVE: Sister Radha is one of our widows, losing her husband in early 2020 in a motorcycle accident. She has 2 teenage girls we are assisting. Radha has a small plot of ground where she grows leaves throughout the year to sell in the market or to individuals (used for cooking and to make curries). As you can see, her crop mostly washed away. At her home, one of her compound walls fell down in the storm, which fell on a motorcycle and water pump neighbors had on the other side of the wall. The pump owners are demanding that she pay for the repair, and definitely at some point the wall needs to be rebuilt. We're presently inquiring about what other needs such as this might exist among the elderly, widows, children and families we work with.
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ABOVE: These are some of the members of 2 families who attend a church we do ministry with, the 2 women here (mother and daughter) both coming to the Lord. There's about 5 to 7 families in this little village near the church; since they often migrate for work, I'm not sure how many families are currently in the village. Thankfully, none of the huts fell down, which is surprising. But most or all were leaking, and the huts were damaged, as well as some of their clothes. The last I heard a couple of days ago is that most of the villagers are staying in another building nearby, and we are helping them with food. We're praying and discussing about the best way to help them, but in the meantime are giving food to 23 people who are part of this community. As funds are available, we will help them with repairing their huts. The adults in this village work in the fields, or are hired to catch rats that try to eat the crops.
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ABOVE: This is the hut of one of our widows, Venkamma. She has a plaster wall, but since the roof is made of leaves we still call it a hut. As you can see, the tarps we put on the roof in July to stop any leaks was torn apart by the cyclone. As far as we know, the tarps of a few elderly are the only damages we know about within our widows & elderly ministry (other than Sister Radha in the photo above).
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ABOVE: The building with the letters on it is the school where we have 22 children attending, grades kindergarten through 10th (the principal gives us a discount). The children and staff have no way to reach the school unless wading through the water. I've heard that they have shifted classes to another facility until they can get this problem resolved.
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ABOVE: This is the condition of the school compound. The water was inside the classrooms, but has receded. We're not planning to spend any ministry funds to help the school with this problem, but since your donations are paying for the school expenses of 22 children, we wanted to show you the situation.
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ABOVE: If any of you have come to India to participate in the ministry the Lord has had me a part of, you have probably met Brother Jebaraj in Chennai (some estimates claim over 10 million people in this city). In 2015 there was major flooding in Chennai, many dying. Jebaraj's property literally had water up to his chest! All you could see was the top of his car, which was ruined. There was also much damage to his church, equipment and home, both on the same property. This time it wasn't as bad, but some building material was ruined (sand and cement for remodeling his family's upstairs home). In the photo above, this is Jebaraj's front gate leading into his property. He told me that the water level ultimately came up about 1 and a half feet higher than this, but because the electricity and internet stopped working, he wasn't able to take any more photos at that time. Thankfully, he has raised the land level of his property since 2015, so his car didn't get submerged!
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ABOVE: From the 2nd to 4th of December, some parts of Chennai recorded 21 inches of rain, which is more than the rain that caused so much damage and deaths in 2015. But much drainage work has been done since 2015, and the city officials were more prepared to deal with this emergency. Still, much of the city of Chennai was under water. This is one of the roads outside of Jebaraj's property, quite some time before the rains finally stopped. We would like to help Jebaraj with a few hundred dollars to help him replace the sand and cement he lost because of the cyclone.
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"Whatever you do, do all things to the glory of GOD." 1 Corinthians 10:31 |
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