Barb Wooler, director of Crisis Response at Encompass World Partners, has announced an opportunity for Grace Brethren congregations to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal. She will be traveling to the region later this week to work with a team from the Evangelical Free Church of America and will have additional details once she arrives. Below are some additional details, which will be updated as information becomes available.
Nepal Earthquake
On April 25 a 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal killing 7912 as of this morning (May 9). Amazingly, within ten days this story of unimaginable loss and suffering has vanished already from the headlines!
Encompass Response and Partners
In response to this crisis in Nepal, Encompass will be partnering with the Evangelical Free Church of America. I will be joining a team of six that will be landing in Kathmandu on Thursday, May 14. EV-Free missionaries have made heavy investments in the past to Grace Brethren ministries, including the Fulani and Bayaka Pygmy ministries, so it is a joy to have the opportunity to work with them in their corner of God’s field.
Opportunity
We will be working with and equipping believers in 13 solid EV-Free church plants so they can reach out and care for the hurting in their communities. Serving in this way, we strengthen the ministry of the gospel and the testimony of these churches. In this country where 97.2 percent of the population do not know Jesus, God will greatly work through these believers, and we can pray expectantly for a spiritual harvest.
How We’ll Help
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- EMOTIONAL: Our team will be training 30+ Nepalese Christians in trauma counseling.
- SPIRITUAL: We are intentionally praying for God to send us people He has prepared for the gospel. We will be actively watching for His answer to this prayer.
- PHYSICAL: We will be helping 300 homeless Nepalese families get shelter from the sun and rain.
Temporary Homes
The bamboo/metal roof homes this project will finance will:
- …provide shelter from the searing sun(last week in mid-90s) and monsoon rains due to return to Nepal in five weeks (mid-June)
- …last for a couple years
- …provide a safe shelter for people terrified to move into permanent homes as long as powerful aftershocks continue
- …cost $125 per house
Goal – 300 homes by June 1
The goal of Reach Global (the Crisis Response branch of the EV-Free church) is to provide funding for 2,000 such homes. I’m asking our global fellowship to pray and to give enough for 300 homes by June 1, before the rains return in mid-June.
More details will be released this coming week, including info on where to send contributions. It is my understanding that Encompass will have a webpage specifically for the Homes for Nepalese Families project.
Lord willing, I’ll be sending regular updates while I am in Nepal (May 14-27th). While in Nepal, Facebook will likely be my the easiest point of connection, but I’ll also try to send info to this recipient list.
Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might want to be in-the-know on Homes for Nepalese Families project.