YWAM SAMOA TSUNAMI RELIEF & REBUIDLING
It has been over a month since the day the Tsunami devastated Samoa. The first phase has passed and we are already in the second phase of this tragic disaster.
YWAM Has been very involved since it happened on September 29th, 2009. We had the Rescue Net and Marine Reach during the first phase. What a wonderful job they did in Samoa. They really served well and really opened the eyes of the medical professionals people here in Samoa on how to be thorough in doing medical help.
After these two teams left, more teams and individuals arrived to help out. It has been not only a great blessing to Samoa but also a great encouragement to us here in YWAM knowing that you, our family and friends are behind us as we help Samoa recover well. We have a DTS team from Adelaid Australia, a team of counsellors from YWAM Fiji, Claire from Family Ministry at Matamata, We have more people arriving on Friday and Saturday this week and later on this month, and others coming later this year and also 2010.
THANK YOU SALVATION ARMY
While we are working at the Tsunami affected locations, Salvation Army NZ Director Bryant Richards and the Salvation Army Director for International Relief from USA, George, purchased a Toyota Dyna Truck for YWAM to help our people with the relief and rebuilding work at the Tsunami affected locations and use for other YWAM work. Salvation Army also donated 2 chain saws to help with the clearing of lands for victims to build their houses. Thank you Salvations Army.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
We also like to thank all of you who gave financially to help with the relief and rebuilding. Individuals like Tielu & Helen Petaia, Mark Tillman, David Skeat, Celona & Naomi, just to mention a few. Also organisations lie ARMS, Tasmania community represented by Jannelle and Shari, individuals represented by Isabel Betts, to mention a few.
Our friends Andy & Leone Forsgren and their families who donated 4 chain saws, and all of you who have given in all kinds of ways including prayer etc. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STANDING WITH US AND SHOWING YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT TO OUR SAMOAN PEOPLE AS WELL AS YWAM SAMOA.
We pray that God will remember you and make His face shine on you all the time.
YWAM'S APPROACH TO THE REBUILDING
We are forming a more or less a Holistic type approach to the affected areas. The rebuilding is not only a physical one but all areas of live inclusive of the spiritual, emotional, mental, etc.
So as we go to the affected locations, the whole team consist of a medical team, Team to minister to the kids, Team to visit with adults, and a team of strong and weak men and women to play with chain saws, axes, machettes, hammers, etc., to clear big trees and help build shelter for families to await the government promised building for the all the victims. The truck and the pick up truck would drop off the teams for their specific roles and then the truck is then used to transport material from the people 's ruined houses (timber and iron roofing) to where they are now building new homes.
All of us who go to minister to these people wish we have the strength of a thousand people to help these people and millions of dollars to get these people on their feet. But with what we have we will serve these and bring glory to our Lord.
THE LORD HEARS PRAYERS AND DELIVER THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM.
Here is A great story to encourage you, told by a young man who was also a victim of the Tsunami Samoa.
When the earthquake happened, his grandmother immediately got up and start singing a popular hymn in Samoan. This hymn has 5 verses. The first verse goes like this : "When the sea of this life becomes rough, and we fail because we get discouraged and lack faith, but think of all the blessings God has blessed us with, we would only be amazed..." The family saw the wave while this old woman still sings all 5 verses of the hymn, and the family started to worry. The grandma's sister and her husband ran for their lives at the site of the great wave before the grandmother finished praying. The grandchildren kept bugging grandma saying, "nana the wave the wave" but grandma did not care. She finished all 5 verses of the hymn, and after that she prayed. By then the wave was getting closer and closer but she kept praying commiting everyone of her family to the Lord naming them one by one. When she finished praying with the AMEN, this young man got up grab her and the children by the arms, rush them into the car, close all the windows and when he was about to open the door to drive away, the wave hit him and washed him up to the hills. As he was hanging there by a tree on the hill, he was wondering what had become of grandma and the children. He thought he lost them, when all of a sudden, he saw the car floating and riding the wave and grandma and the children were sticking their heads into the top of the car where there was space for them to breath some air. The car floated onto a tree where the front was leaning and the tail rested on dry ground. The young man ran over, quickly opened the car and water spilled out while grandma and all the children were all safe without any injury.
The sad thing though was that the grandma's sister who ran before the prayer was finsihed was killed by the wave and her husband was fighting for his life in the hospital.
The young man said in his testimony that never in his life did he really believe in the power of prayer and faith but now, he knows that God hears prayer and will never be the same again.
