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Pastor Todd Ohlmann, a member of the CLC Mission Board, travelled to India to show our personal support for the people of the CLCI and BELC who were effected by the Tsunami Tidal waves of December 26. His reports are below, beginning with the most recent.
REPORT #4 -- 1/20/05 Greetings, Today is a day of rest before the 38 hour journey home. My flight leaves at 12 midnight tonight (Thursday night, Friday morning). I thought that there would be more effected congregations in Tamil Nadu since this is where the most lives were lost and damage was done, but thankfully, all but two of the BELC congregations in this area of India far enough away from the Bay of Bengal that they were un-effected. The two congregations that were effected are actually located on a coastal island a ways North of Chennai. This small island is home to a light house and two small fishing villages. The island is only about a 1/2 mile from the Indian coast but accessible only by boat. It is a long island, maybe 5 miles long, but only about 3/4 mile wide. The waves came over the island, I'm told, and raised the inter-coastal waterway by 10 t0 15 feet and flooded parts of the mainland village. The two villages on this island both received severe damaged and many lives were lost. The larger village, Nakkthoor, was the least effected and no one died there. This village has had a BELC congregation for many years and is served by a pastor named Menoah. The other village, which sits at the opposite end of the island, has a population of only 105 after the tsunami. Many of the residents have packed up and left in search of a new life far away from the sea. The only thing that remains in this small village is a Hindu temple which is now serving as a makeshift hospital, there is a concrete school building that managed to survive, a few brick homes still intact, and a newly constructed line of 15 palm branch shelters that were quickly built by the government to provide shelter for the survivors. After walking through the village in search of the remaining BELC members we stopped at the school building and asked the school master where they might be found. He led us to one of the temporary shelters where there were a few women, children and men gathered. They were talking to a government social worker. I was introduced to three named Pushea and Uma. I didn't write down the name of the third. These women were the only BELC members in the village at the time. There are only three families who have decided to stay and rebuild. The third woman was working with the government to organize the relief effort for the village. When I was introduced to Pushea and Uma I could see the sorrow in their eyes but I didn't know for sure if was something that the social worker had told them or if it was something else. I soon found out that they had both lost children in the tsunami. Pushea was the older of the two and she lost three children. Uma was young, perhaps only 18 years old, she had lost her only child, a baby. They led me to the place where their homes and stood. The one was a mud and stick wall type construction with a thatched roof that was nearly all but washed away. The other home was brick construction, but the walls had been pushed over and the roof collapsed. I can't really describe the emotion that came over me as I stood looking at the places where four children lost their lives.
When we returned to the temporary shelter where Pushea was staying I was told that their husbands were out trying to find nets that could be repaired so they could not be there. We said prayers for each of the mothers and then for the whole village. The school master was there too, along with the government social worker, and two men, one who had lost his wife, his name is Abibullah, and the other man, named Shakdhayuth, who had lost his mother. They were all Hindus. I had a short devotion, reminding them of God's enduring promises to never leave us or forsake us and reminding them that our God is so full of love that He did not spare His own Son but offered Him up for the sins of all people. As you would expect, there were tears in the eyes of the mothers. Just when we were ready to go back the boat to return to the mainland, both of the Hindu men who had lost wife and mother, came up to me and knelt down on their knees and asked for prayers. I prayed that the Lord would give them the comfort and encouragement of faith in the one true God, our Savior Jesus. I am also praying that the Lord will bless the efforts of Pastors Menoa and Theangavel as they bring the Gospel to 500 or so people who live in the two villages on this island. There is no other Christian influence on the island. Currently there are only 9 Christian families living on this island, a total of member between the congregations of 41. Remarkably, these are the only BELC families in Tamil Nadu who were effected. Sadly, these 9 families witnessed the death of four of their youngest members. Please pray for their parents, they have been baptized and are in a much better place. Praise the Lord for this!
The current needs here are food and simple home supplies. The men need boats and nets so they again provide for their families. Money was given to provide rice, kitchen utensils, blankets, and clothing. Enough was given to provide some limited help for everyone in the smaller village of the two. It was thought that if we did not help the other 85 residents in the village it might cause resentment to the Christians. It is hard enough to be a Christian in this Hindu dominated land. Also, what an opportunity to show the love of Christ. The assistance will be distributed through the local pastor so he will have the opportunity to shine forth the light of Christ with each gift. Pray, pray, pray that the Gospel will shine on their unbelief and give them the hope of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life with the Lord. I will be heading to airport in a few hours. If all goes as scheduled, my plane will land in St. Louis on Friday at 5:30 PM. Thank you for your prayers for my safety and for my family. The Lord has kept me safe and perfectly healthy the whole time.
In Christ, Pastor O. REPORT #3 -- 1/18/05 Greetings from Chennai, South India. Tomorrow I will visit the coastal congregations of the BELC in Tamil Nadu. If you have been watching the news reports, this is where most of the people in India perished. It is located on the southern and eastern most section of India, just North of island of the Sri Lanka. The past couple of days have been spent in the Northern districts of the BELC with Pastor Moses Raghu. Moses speaks very good English but feels that his English isn't good enough to translate for me when I speak to the congregations so we bring a translator along. He translates my words from English to Telegu and translates the words of Moses and the local pastor to English so I can understand what is being said. It was really driven home for me yesterday as to why the Lord worked out the details and provided the means for me to come here at such short notice. Moses told the people of each congregation we visited that many people are talking about helping the tsunami victims with their property and the government was promising money. But that the members of the CLC sent brother Todd to bring something more important than money and something that couldn't be sent in the mail. He told them that brother Todd came to bring the Word of God and to share in their burden personally. This, he reminded them, has eternal and lasting effects for the people of God. He told them that this could not be sent in any package but it was brought personally to the brothers and sisters and it would be long remembered, long after their homes were repaired and they had gotten their lives together again. He spoke of the bond shared that is stronger than family relations. It is the bond of brothers and sisters in Christ that can not be divided by the oceans. He said more that was the gist of his message. I am so thankful that I am able to be here in this time of sorrow and loss. I have met so many people over the past few days and heard so many stories. I can't remember them all and couldn't possibly recount them to you but I wanted to share one rather dramatic story from the small fishing village called Kolimattapalem. This village is located very near the ocean and is about 5 KM from the village of Mypadu where Pastor Titus serves a BELC congregation. Kolimattapalem has a population of about 1000. There are only three Christian families in the village. They do not hold worship services there because the local Hindus have given them trouble so they walk the 5 Km twice a week for worship and Bible study. The three men of these families have been fishermen for many years and have built up the most successfull fishing business in the village. They pooled their resources and bought a boat that they could take further out to sea and all three could fish from. They also corporately own four different sized nets to catch different types of fish. They had been very successfull by the standards of this village. They lived in brick built homes instead of the common thatched homes that most in the village called home. On the day of the Tsunami they had been out early, around 4:00 AM to fish. They had been out about 3-4 Km from shore and were heading in with their catch for the morning. The first tsunami wave came in around 6:30 AM and rolled their boat over. All three men were tossed overboard but managed to climb onto the top of the boat. This happened two more times as the 2nd and 3rd waves came in. Amazingly enough, they all managed to climb on to the upside down boat and hang onto ropes. This is not big fishing boat but rather more like an over sized canoe, perhaps 8ft wide and 25ft long. The boat rode the final wave past the shore and into the line of trees some 500 or more yards past the current shore line. Witnesses from the village said the wave was more than 25ft high. All three men were bruised and scared but alive. Their nets and boat motor were destroyed. One of the men's wives told her side of the story. She and one other wife and two young children had been waiting on the shore to help unload the daily catch of fish when they saw the wave coming in. In a very frantic and emotional voice she told how they ran as fast as they could with water coming up to their waste as they ran into the village. She said they ran and ran until they could run no more and then they knelt down and cried and prayed to God to protect their husbands. The Lord heard and answered her prayers! The men have become somewhat celebrities in the community. People from the village followed us down to the beach where we saw the boat and the other wreckage of other boats that were strewn in the trees and bushes. You could tell they were excited as Probaka retold the story. After we finished at the beach we walked to the home of Rameaiah and his wife Maria. We held a short service and offered prayers of thanks and praise to God for His blessings and protection.
I took a lot of notes as I talked to these families so that I could maybe put a face on the situation here in India. This is just one story of 100's of thousands that could be told I am sure. Here are the names of these three families of God's precious children: Paul, his wife Sanntha and their three sons: Yesup, Paul Raj, and Abraham. Probaka, his wife Saroja and their one son: Prodasu. Rameaiah, his wife Maria and their one daughter: Ramulu and son: Gonda Babu. I also inquired what their financial loss was from the tsunami. They were all fortunate that their homes where brick construction and far enough from the ocean that they only suffered minor flooding from the waves that sent water into the streets of the village. Their boat, amazingly enough, only suffered minor surface damage that they have already managed to repair with fiberglass patching. Their motor will need to be replaced at a cost of around $1,200 and their four nets vary in price due to the types of nets for various sizes and types of fish but average to around $600.00 each. This comes to a total amount of around $3,600. This, remember is the source of livelihood for three (what used to be anyway) prosperous fishermen families. They have no insurance, so they will have to start from scratch and rebuild. I asked them how they would begin to fish again and they said for the time being they would only be able to go out as far as they could safely row the boat with paddles and they would try to salvage one of the 100's of the ruined and tangled nets that litter the beaches and tree line. Pray for them and all the others around this part of the world who are suffering much greater losses. Rejoice with them too that the Lord has spared their lives and protected their families. Pray also that their Gospel witness in their Hindu dominated community will bear much fruit.
I have lists of names from other villages and families who have suffered losses equal to, less than and greater than this story retells. But I hope this helps you to put names and images to the trials that so many are enduring. I am here in India for two more days. I will try to e-mail one more time before I come home to let you know what I have seen and experienced in Tamil Nadu.
In Christ,
REPORT #2 -- 1/16/05 Greetings, After three days, 100's of miles traveled and 8 coastal congregations of the CLCI visited, I spent most of today meeting with the Benjamins to discuss their longer term relief plans and traveling the 6 hours from Guntur to Nellore. After a short meeting with Pastor Moses I took a much needed nap, called Beth and now I am e-mailing at 9:00 PM Sunday evening (9:30 AM Sunday in the US). I haven't really seen much tsunami damage since the first village we visited. As Jyothi put it "we don't want to be thronged again!" So we have been meeting with the congregations that were effected in make-shift, thrown together, type shelters away from the destruction. This was all arranged so that the other people in the village didn't know we were bringing relief supplies. The first village we visited turned into a "thronging" with 100's of people clamoring around preventing us from getting to our vehicles so we could leave. It was sad, but there is only so much you can provide. The decision was made by the CLCI that they couldn't help everyone in every village. This would entail some 50,000 people just in the 21 tsunami villages where the CLCI has congregations. It's overwhelming and sad to say the least. The Indian government has yet to bring any relief to these areas. The areas that I visited are called "tribal" areas because the people that live in these villages are very poor and uneducated. These are the lowest of the caste. In fact they are called tribal because they do not even belong to a caste. There will be 100's of thousands of these types of people homeless for years to come. Most of them are day-laborers who work in the near-by farms. But I read in a local paper today that most of the farmland near these areas will not be able to produce for some 3-4 years due to the salinazation of the soil from the sea water. What all of this means is not work for most of these people for the next 4 years. Most, I am told, will migrate to somewhere else. It's hard to even put into words the sorrow and hopelessness I see in the eyes of so many. There was one man at a service yesterday near Baptula on the coast, who looked to be young, healthy, and strong. All but his eyes. He just sat there sort of blank faced through the service. It seemed almost silly to be handing this man a blanket, towel, cup, and plate. I asked and was told that he had been a fisherman but everything he owned was lost to the tsunami. I'm sure he has a family to support and nothing much more than the closes on his back to his name. He was holding a little girl through the service along side his wife. I can't imagine what desperate thoughts must have been going through his minds. I pray that the Lord will comfort him with the words of encouragement spoken and sung during the service.
Tomorrow I will visit four more coastal congregations. There were only four congregations effected in the Nellore dist. of the BELC. The BELC has yet to offer any assistance due to the fact that they do not have the resources or the ability to borrow as the CLCI does. So they have been working with the local pastors to asses the needs. I will bring back a full report on the losses and needs of the BELC so that the Mission Board can determine how we can best assist them through the India Relief Fund. From my initial conversation with pastor Moses it would appear that there is just one church building that has been destroyed but several member homes that have been destroyed. That's all for now. I will e-mail again from Chennai after I have met with pastor D. Paul and visited the effected congregations in the BELC districts in Tamil Nadu. In Christ, Pastor O.
REPORT #1 -- 1/13/05 Greetings from Guntur, After enduring two longs days of travel I made it to Guntur. I met with Jyothi, Neerikshana, and V.S. Benjamin for a couple of hours then went to bed. Today (Thursday) we drove about three hours to a coastal village in one of the tribal areas where the CLCI is active in the ministry. When we arrived we drove into a village of grass type huts that had clearly been through what appeared to be a flood. The bottoms of the huts were water damaged and several of the huts were collapsed. You could see the effects of the rushing water on the ground and in the trash washed up into the shrubs and brushes. At first glance the damage didn't look too extensive. We began to walk toward the sea where we could see several boats on the beach in various degrees of disrepair and damage. But still the damage didn't look to severe. I wondered how it could be that over 50 had died in this small village. Then as we began to get closer to the ocean, perhaps 500 yards away, it became apparent that we were walking through the remains of what used to be a village. There were no structures to be found but you could see the faint outline of where the brick and clay foundations of the huts used to be situated. Then the local pastor pointed to a vacant concrete slab, there was nothing there, this was all that remained of their prayer shed. A whole village of fishermen's homes had been swept away. The whole village was gone, I would roughly estimate that 50 to 100 small thatch roof type homes were completely gone. After our brief tour of the damage we went to the local pastor's home where the members of the congregation had assembled for a service. V.S. Benjamin and myself were able to offer them words of comfort from the Scriptures and prayers. There were tears rolling down the faces of many of the women as we spoke. The local pastor closed the service with a few comments of thanks and had to stop speaking several times as he was overtaken with emotion. Even though I didn't understand a word the pastor was saying I couldn't help but shed a few tears as I looked out at the swollen eyes of the those women and heard the quaking voice of their pastor. What a blessing is to be here to help share the burden the of our brothers and sisters. After the service we distributed one blanket, one towel, one cup, and one plate to each person or family that lost their homes in the tsunami. We also brought bags of rice that the pastor will ration out on a daily basis to those in the congregation. The pastor had a list of everyone in the congregation who had suffered loss and they were each given a slip of paper with a number on it. When the number was called they came up to recieve their items. This was necessary because in other villages (and would have been the case here) that many more people gathered for the gifts than the CLCI is able to provide for. The government has told them that they are not to show partiality to their own members. But since they don't have the resources to provide assistance to the 1200 who live in the village they have to limit it only to their own church members. This is certainly difficult to do when you see the faces of those in need. The Indian government has yet to bring any assistance to the families living in this village. Many of them, I am sure, will end up homeless for years to come.
Well, this is what I have seen and experienced on my first full day in India. Please continue to pray for these people who have lost so much. It is always heart-wrenching to see the poverty in this land of a billion people, but to see those who have so little lose everything they own has my heart aching beyond what words can express. I talked to Beth yesterday and she and the kids are doing fine and missing daddy. I miss them too. Thank you for your prayers. The Lord has kept me safe and healthy. The next two days are a big Hindu festival here in Guntur so I am told that all shops will be closed. So that means no e-mail for a few days. In Christ, Pastor Todd Ohlmann
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