Indonesia Earthquake Update

Canadians have generously responded to the earthquake that hit Indonesia, near Yogyakarta, on May 26. Our local partners, the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Indonesia (ETSI), are helping the thousands affected by this tragedy.

ETSI now has 80 church planters in Indonesia, each pastoring congregations in other parts of the country. When the earthquake hit, these churches went into action. Church leaders and church members freely volunteered their time, and teams went to work, clearing rubble and getting to know the people. They had long wanted to get a foothold for church planting in some of the tough Muslim villages in the Bantul area, south of Jogjakarta, and now was the chance, as the earthquake hit Bantul hardest of all.

They worked in 8 villages and decided to focus on 4 villages long term. With relief funds provided by Partners International, they were able to bring food, tarps, cooking pots to the 1,100 families in these 8 villages. About 16 of their workers are working full time in the earthquake work, and many church members are also helping nearly full time.

The response of Christians has made an impact on these Muslim villages. One village elder said, "I never thought about Jesus. But then these people came to help us, they were different than all the others. I like learning about Jesus now."

Thank you for empowering our local partners meet immediate needs. Your gifts have made it possible to continue ministering in these villages, which were previously resistant to the gospel.

Our longer term plan is to work in these 4 villages through a microenterprise project. Each family will receive start up funds of about $100. We are also helping with two used motorbikes (or one used car) to help ETSI staff get around to the sites, and we helped them rent a house for a base and to get a computer and camera.

Looking forward, some significant needs still remain in the four villages our local partners are working in. The big need expressed by all the people in these villages is semi-permanent houses before the monsoons start in September. The type of house they want to build costs about $250.

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