- International YWAMer

“1 642. Care to take a guess at the significance of that number? A few days ago, a young man whom I have known for many years began working with me. 1 642 is the number of corpses he personally stuffed into body bags during the months of January and February 2005.”

“After a dead body has been lying out in the open for two months, the job is…well, I am just not sure how to properly describe it. I have also seen it, handled it and smelled it, but am at a loss for words as to how to describe it. My friend volunteered to work with the military in a program to find dead bodies and remove them from the rubble. When they would find one; they would put it into a body bag and haul it off to a mass grave.”

“What type of counsel can you give to someone like this? What kind of long-term effects will such an experience have on this generation? I certainly don’t have any answers, but we are working with him and trying our best to help him. There are many, many people here just like him.”

So begins the May 2005 newsletter of an aid worker in Indonesia.

Five years ago this month, on December 26, 2004 an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that killed more than 240,000 people and left more than 600 000 without home or livelihood, and hundreds of thousands more facing the traumatic memories and relentless challenge of redevelopment.

As the fifth anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters in history approaches, it is clear that what the tsunami took minutes to destroy will take many, many more years to rebuild.

Youth With A Mission has partnered with Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) working in Southeast Asia for many years, and we have staff resident throughout the region. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, YWAM teams responded with typical diversity, offering help with everything from translation and counseling to medical care and burying the dead, working alongside hundreds of other agencies. (Read archived articles about YWAM’s tsunami response at: http://www.ywam.org/articles/article.asp?AID=224.) Enormous amounts of money and effort and determination have accomplished a great deal since 2005 in restoring what was lost. Was it enough?

An Uncertain Future

Five years after the tsunami in Aceh, the most devastated part of Indonesia, the few volunteers who remain report that almost every agency has gone home, and the money raised for development has been spent. Thousands of people here are still living in refugee camps and have little hope of receiving a new home, as the funding for reconstruction has dried up. Thousands more who were employed in reconstruction projects are now without jobs, adding to already high unemployment rates. Education and medical facilities were a priority for reconstruction, with the result that there are more schools and hospitals in this area than before the tsunami – more, in fact, than are needed as there are no teachers, doctors, students or patients to use them.

The tsunami changed more than the landscape of Aceh. With its remote location, poor educational opportunities and years of bloody civil war, the people of this region were very isolated, resulting in a narrow worldview. Since the tsunami, contact with international workers and a vastly improved telecommunications infrastructure have opened their minds to new ideas and new ways of thinking. But where will this take them?

One possibility is towards a more orthodox form of Islam, the dominant religion, say some –laws have recently been passed in this direction, including those which restrict the freedom of women. Another concern is that the slow advancement of redevelopment and continued economic hardship will lead to further political unrest and conflict, which could undo much of the progress. Indonesia was further shaken by earthquakes in Sumatra this September, adding to the burden of need.

Who is My Neighbour?

Christians in Indonesia face overwhelming odds and uncertain progress in their efforts to live out the mandate of Christ to assist the victims of the tsunami. One worker, resident for many years, explains how they cope: “Sometimes, as I stand there in the middle of it all, I wonder – what if I were in this person’s position? What would I want people to do to help me? I ask myself, what does ‘loving my neighbor’ look like in this situation?”

Loving their neighbors often means small steps for the NGOs that remain to complete the task of rebuilding. They tenaciously continue fundraising to complete homes that were built without water, and schools that were built without toilets; offering training and loans for micro-enterprise, enabling victims to move beyond their dependence on aid. These are small efforts that make an enormous difference in the lives of those who have lost everything.

This focus on loving your neighbor has borne fruit in other parts of the region. In Thailand, an alliance of 2,600 Thai Churches and more than 20 Christian relief and development agencies, including YWAM, came together under the banner of “We Love Thailand (WLT).” WLT volunteers responded immediately with much needed relief items. But Christians then did something that many governments and larger organizations find difficulty doing – they listened.

Steve Goode, Vice-President of YWAM, Mercy Ministries/ Relief and Development, was on the steering group for WLT. His observation a year after the tsunami was this: ”After people had their basic needs met, victims had an incredible need to tell their stories. A Christian witness occurred by taking time with people, listening to their stories…People wept together. They prayed together. They remembered losses together. Christians have loved their neighbors by being there and walking with them through each phase of relief, reconstruction and longer term recovery, earning trust all along the way.”

Frozen in Time

The love demonstrated by Christians who continue to serve the victims of the tsunami has not been diminished by time. Today, Steve says, “The believers in Thailand will listen to these stories as long as they have friends who went through the tsunami and lost people they loved.” He shares this example:

It’s not hard to find friends like this in Thailand. In February, Steve was with a group of 50 YWAM Thailand leaders who were considering how they could love the city of Bangkok more effectively. Steve went with a group to a large park where over 500 homeless people sleep every night. The first person they spoke to was Waa, a young man from southern Thailand. He had no fingers on his right hand.

Steve explains, “I asked, ‘Waa, what happened to your hand?’ Waa replied, ‘I ran a tour company with my wife. We were with our daughter and my parents when the tsunami hit. All of them died except me. My fingers got infected as I was holding on to a tree and the doctors finally had to cut them all off to prevent more serious infection.’”

“Waa has been living in the park for the last year. Frozen in time, not able to find himself, he has not returned to his home. He cannot handle the pain, which he tries to stifle with alcohol. We asked if we could pray with him and we all cried together. I held his hand with no fingers – probably the first time anyone has done that. I asked him how old he was. He said, ‘On Valentines day, in two weeks, I will be 27 years old.’”

“A group of us returned on Valentines Day and surprised Waa with his first birthday party in a long time, with cake, presents and singing Happy Birthday at least a dozen times. There was much laughter and some tears.” Steve concludes, “We are keeping in touch with Waa and praying that somehow God will show him His love, His heart and His comfort for a man who has lost everything.”

Back in Indonesia, the writer of our opening story meets survivors like this all the time. “Last week in a mall 1,800 miles away from Aceh while waiting for my wife and kids I began to talk to a couple who had lost everything – home, children, family, business – in the tsunami,” he says. “Just the mention of Aceh brought tears to their eyes. He turned away not wanting to talk; she, I think, would still be talking if I had not excused myself. On one hand they have run away, thousands of miles to a different life, trying to escape the thoughts and memories of the reality of that day, vowing never to go back to Aceh. On the other hand they cannot stop thinking about it – it is in the forefront of their mind all day, every day.”

He reflects on the perseverance required to stay in a disaster zone long after it stops making headlines: “Sometimes it seems like the tsunami just happened yesterday, sometimes it seems like a bad dream from a long, long time ago. I simply move forward to the best of my ability, with the resources I have, believing for the grace that is needed and pray for God’s blessing. There are many seeds that have been planted and a few who have found peace and comfort, which gives us tremendous faith and sense of determination for the future.”

The sense of urgency created in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy of this scale stirs our natural human sympathies, causes us to react, to give – even to sacrifice – to relieve the suffering. As time passes, most of us are occupied with more personal or local needs and we move on. Five years later, with Christmas coming and a string of more current disasters demanding attention around the world, why remember the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004?

Because God has not forgotten. The volunteers who remain long-term to serve the victims of such a catastrophe are an inspiration to those serving in other hard areas to persevere, even for the sake of a little fruit. They give perspective to new mission workers who are wondering just how long it takes to make God known. And they are a reminder to all believers of the faithfulness and enduring goodness of the God who entered humanity.

For the survivors, frozen in the pain of loss, they are simply a testimony to the Love that knows no end.

This Christmas, give hope to victims of the 2004 tsunami!

People who have lost everything should not go another year without hope when the resources exist to help. Please give.

YWAM is partnering with organizations in Indonesia that work with local residents to complete the re-construction of communities and help thousands of victims rebuild their lives with micro-financing and vocational training programs. These provide individuals and families with a source of income, independence and hope. 100% of your donation will go directly to projects that are designed to advance the long-term regeneration of the area hit hardest by the tsunami.

Donations can be made online at https://www.ywam.org/secure/donations/donate.asp?project=9
Or, send a US dollar check made out to ‘Youth With A Mission’ with a note designating it for “Indonesia (Aceh) relief” and send to :

Youth With A Mission
PO Box 26479
Colorado Springs CO 80936, USA

Or call to donate at : 00–1–719–380-0505