Joshua and the church in Kakinada had already given out some relief packets to victims in the days immediately after the tragedy. By the time we arrived, the period of early response was over, but Joshua had been told by various preaching brethren of Christians in their congregations who had suffered losses. Besides giving one brother (M. Prasad) money to replace a bullock cart and bullocks (his “truck” and means of making a living), helping with the construction of a house and a monthly stipend for two years for a woman (Mary Narayana, who had been widowed by the storm) and her three young children, providing a monthly stipend for a nearly-blind widower (C.H. Reddy) and his daughter whose son, wife and two grandchildren were killed on the Andaman Islands, we left $10,000 with Joshua to be used for other victims, and gave $5,000 to another preaching brother (A. Visivesuwara Rao) as instructed by the Trenton, MI church that had given part of that money. We were particularly happy to be able to help Christians who had been affected in the Kakinada area, since most of those of whom we knew in other areas were not Christians.

Traveling by train to Bangalore, we spent 3 weeks with brother and sister P.R. Swamy and their son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Sheela. While there, we conducted seminars in Mettupalayam and in Madurai. We visited the coastal areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu which were badly hit by the tsunami. More than eight thousand were killed on the mainland of India, with the destruction of homes, boats, and livelihoods. Those who survived are now living in temporary shelters. It was a sad scene to behold, but many government and non-government agencies had moved in quickly to take care of the initial emergency. The challenge to be faced now is the rebuilding of lives and houses, as well as the means of making a living.

On the southern tip of India, in Kanyakumari, we saw a house the brethren have rented to be used as a child-care center for 15 of the children who lost their families in the tsunami. A Christian man has been chosen to mange the home. Douglas and the brethren are looking for a Christian man/wife and two widow ladies to move into the house to care for the children. We worked out a budget to cover five years of care, believing that funds can be raised at that time to continue the work. We have had word from Douglas that they have now met the children who will be living in the home, and that the official opening will be in May.

In the large city of Madurai we had an all-day seminar with emphasis on helping the tsunami victims. Through one of the preachers in the church, eleven families had been contacted who had lost their homes and all their possessions on the Andaman Islands, east of mainland India, in the Bay of Bengal. The Indian government had brought them over by ship to Tamil Nadu, along with many others, and these families were present for our meeting. Douglas introduced them and asked that the attendees go over and meet and hug them, to let them know of our concern for them in their suffering. It was a very moving scene, as there were tears in many eyes. In the afternoon one of the men told of the horror they had experienced when the tsunami hit the islands. It was heart-rending, just to hear him tell their story. On Thursday morning, again, we met with them to discuss the ways we hoped to be able to help them. First, we gave them money for their immediate needs, and then we told them that through contributions given by churches of Christ in America, we would buy a plot of land in Ramanathapuram, near where they are presently living with friends and relatives, and will construct a small colony of houses for them to live in. As of now we are planning to build 12 cement block houses, including one for the preacher so that he can continue to work with them. Douglas and others had already bought cooking utensils, blankets and other essentials from funds they had received. The families were greatly touched with all of the help that was being offered.

The damage in the whole area of Nagapattinam was bad. Hundreds of boats had been wrecked and piled up along the beach. Houses had been swept from their slab floors. There was wreckage and litter everywhere. A large area had been set aside for temporary housing, and people were inside in the miserable heat. It is near Nagapattinam that we hope to build the little “colony” for the survivors from the Andaman Islands. We plan also to set up a counseling center there (and in three other major centers that were affected) and to help in that way, with the hope that some can be taught and converted. The area is largely Catholic, with huge church buildings in each little town. And now several new mosques are being built as close to the Catholic buildings as possible. We couldn’t help but wonder if the money that is being donated by the Middle Eastern countries is being used primarily to build big mosques instead of helping the people directly.

Friday morning we wound up having a meeting with some members of the church and some contacts the preacher had been teaching, in a nearby town. That lasted all morning, with seven being baptized. In the afternoon we headed toward Bangalore, stopping in Namacol to see an AIDS Awareness center operated by the church as a social service. We were struck by the smiles the women wore, even though they are HIV positive, their husbands are dead, and some of their children also tested positive. (Their husbands were truck drivers. Most AIDS in India is contracted through prostitutes, rather than through homosexual contact.) Four or five women run the center, visiting schools and other community situations, to talk about the dangers and to give out literature about it. Though none were Christians when the center was opened, most have now been converted and seem really at peace and happy about what they are doing.

We also stopped at a blind center where three blind and three sighted people work each day typing Braille articles from The Voice of Truth International. They send literature (postage is free, so the only cost is the paper and the salaries) to about 4000 blind people each month. This also is a social service program used by the church for good and for being able to bring in money without problems.

We then returned to Bangalore by the way of Kangayam where we visited with brother and sister S. Rajanayagam and brother and sister Charlie DiPalma.

L. D. Willis was visiting Bangalore at the time and participated in the seminars. Later Wayne and Janet Barrier came to Bangalore where they participated in a seminar in Namacol.

Both L. D. and Wayne and Janet later left for Colombo and then brother George Jenson and family came in to spend three weeks with Swamy and Sarojah. The Jensons were also due to conduct some seminars.

Going to Colombo we visited with brother Reggie Gnanasundaram and family. Wayne and Janet had already left, but L.D. was still there. Reggie was deeply involved in working with the Government and Health Department in receiving medical supplies and other forms of help from our American brethren. We also are helping some of our Philippine brethren to return to Colombo to follow up on an earlier trip that they had made.

Having done all that we could, and having committed the money that had been entrusted to us, we left for home. Since getting back we have been in contact with Joshua Gootam who has sent pictures of those for whom money was given. Swamy and Douglas will also be in contact with us about the work they are doing for the tsunami victims in South India and those from the Andaman Islands. Finally, the Philippine brethren, and the Sri Lankan brethren will be sending reports on the work they have been able to do.

I must confess that this was one of the most difficult responsibilities we have undertaken in that part of the world. Just knowing of the great needs and of all the brethren who put their confidence in us ttake funds to India and Sri Lanka to help as many as we could put a lot of pressure on us. I am thankful, however, for all who made contributions, and for the programs of work that were set up to accomplish the very things we went to do. Maybe housing for twelve families, a child-care center for 15 children, and four counseling centers doesn’t sound like much in comparison to the great needs of thousands, but we cut every corner possible, and we believe that not only physical good but also eternal good will come from the group decisions that were very prayerfully made. Of course, this means that not all of the money will be spent immediately, but in order to develop projects of lasting good, we must look further down the road than just today or tomorrow. And we couldn’t afford to begin on so many commitments that we would over-commit and then not have enough funds to see them through to the finish. We prayed for wisdom in all our decisions, discussed them at length among all involved, and feel comfortable with the decisions that were made. We commit the future to God.

As we receive on-going reports of the things being accomplished as a result of your help and encouragement, we will send them to you. We will likewise try to visit as many of you this summer as we can. Right now we are trying to get caught up on all of our work here at home and to get out Vol. 46 of our magazine, THE VOICE OF TRUTH INTERNATIONAL. We are also working on the next issue of GLOBAL HARVEST.

God bless you. Please pray for us and for all of the efforts that have been made in India and Sri Lanka to help the tsunami victims and to show them Christianity at work. We pray that out of this will come many new brothers and sisters in Christ.

We will be sending more information later.