Hello,
Many thanks to everyone for their concern
over the last two weeks since the earthquake.
I am pleased to say that we are all safe – Pastor Min Raj and family,
the bible school students and the children from Angels. Thanks, also, for practical support given to
Pastor Min Raj’s appeal fund – I know he very much appreciates everyone’s
help.
The quake struck during the Saturday
service – the whole building started shaking and continued to shake. Everyone moved towards the door and I remember
falling over and having difficulty getting up again due to the moving
floor. The building was safely evacuated
(the church meets on the first floor of the four storey bible school
building). I met up with Min Raj’s
family outside another building nearby, which serves as a community centre and
waited as the aftershocks kept coming - the ground would shake and telegraph
wires swing. Most buildings in the
immediate neighbourhood remained standing, even if damaged (the bible school
included). This is because they are
mostly new and built to be earthquake resistant. Two buildings did collapse. One belonged to a church family and I accompanied
Min Raj when he went to visit them later that day. The scene, sadly, resembled something out of
a war zone.
On Saturday night, it was considered unwise
to sleep in the bible school because of the aftershocks, so they brought out
blankets and mattresses and we (the students, warden and myself) all bedded
down in the courtyard for the night.
This worked, sort of, until around 12.30 in the morning, when it started
to rain. We all moved to the floor of
the canteen opposite, which being single storey, was a compromise between
safety and dryness – we just rushed outside whenever an aftershock
occurred. The following day, we built a
shelter on the adjacent hillside, using bamboo poles and a tarpaulin which the
warden had acquired. This was safer, but
proved too small for everyone, so some of us continued to use the canteen. Whilst building the shelter on the hillside,
we noticed the big military transports flying in and out of Kathmandu
bringing aid – it was a real joy to see them.
It is areas with older, traditional
buildings which have suffered most. In
one nearby village, another church family lost their home. When we visited
them, we reported to the relief control point at the centre of the village and
were allocated a guide – we could not get down the street due to collapsed
buildings, but had to be escorted through gardens and forest to meet up with
them, encamped in the back garden. I had
preached at a House Fellowship in their home not long ago. This family were safe – but in that village,
nine people lost their lives due to collapsing buildings. I have heard of other villages where all
houses have been destroyed.
Schools in Nepal India
Pastor Min Raj has been very busy
co-ordinating some of the relief work, via local pastors - sending out tents
and rice supplies. Rice is very much the
staple food here and is usually eaten three times a day, with it forming the
bulk of the meal. He is also involved
with supporting the members of the congregation, many of whom have been
affected in different ways.
I was asked to preach the message in church
on the Saturday after the quake – a difficult balance between dealing with what
has happened and giving encouragement for the future.
Please remember:-
Families who
have lost loved ones – family ties are very strong here, so the loss of family,
or extended family members will strike especially hard.
People trying to
re-build or repair homes – resources are often scarce, especially finance, so
this will be a real challenge for many.
Pastors and
churches seeking to help and support their communities at this time.
With best wishes and many thanks to everyone
for their prayers,
Kev
 |
| In good spirits regardless – students at “The Shelter” |
 |
| House destroyed at Chandanpur village – This is further away from Kathmandu, but I was able to visit the hilly region this week |
 |
Safe
and well – the children from Angels, with another shelter (their building is in
the centre background behind the trees – it survived the quake, but couldn’t be
used until the danger from aftershocks had passed.
|
This update was sent before the more recent earthquake on Tues 12 May, however, we have heard since that Kev remains safe and well!
