Global Issue #1 2015 - web extract

global operation mobilisation magazine 2015 • Issue No.1

Special Focus on Nepal

PLUS

Boxing Day Tsunami: 10 years on

transforming lives and communities

Contents

Dear

3 World News

Friends

4 OM Nepal 6 Arab World Series 7 OM Mercy Appeal 8 Bigger Picture 10 OM Romania 13 OM Israel 14 OM India Front Cover: An old Nepalese lady carries baskets on her head, Nepal.

Credit: Jonathan Lait Editor: Kris Johnstone Stories and images: OM International ©2014 OM International Designed and produced by: Sovereign Creative Marketing Tel: 0161 485 4488 www.sovereign.uk.com © Global magazine 2015. No part of this magazine may be copied or reproduced in any form without written approval from the publishers. Country file information taken from Operation World, 21st Century edition.

transforming lives and communities

Operation Mobilisation The Quinta, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry Shropshire SY10 7LT Telephone: 01691 773388 Email: info.uk@om.org Website: www.uk.om.org Operation Mobilisation. Registered office: The Quinta, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 7LT. Registered as a company limited by guarantee no.

2564320 and charity no. 1008196 (England & Wales) and SCO40988 (Scotland)

- Mobilising and supporting this generation for local and global missions in partnership with the UK Church.

transforming lives and communities

One of the privileges of my role in OM is hearing daily reports from ministry teams across the world. It’s hard not to be encouraged when you hear what unimaginable things God has done, and almost always in the most magnificent of ways. Good News brings much joy!

Yet, my heart still breaks each time we hear reports of disaster and woeful circumstances.

I still remember the morning of 26th December 2004. Christmas celebrations halted, and sombre faces surrounded the television as we watched the path of destruction caused by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake.

What an encouragement it is, though, to read in this Global, that God is evident in the midst of a seemingly dire situation 10 years on. How did our supporters know what the impact of their praying and generous giving would be? The truth is, they didn’t know – they were just being obedient to the desire God put on their heart to bring Good News to the poor, and help the helpless.

It makes me think, what will we be praising God for in 10 years time? What fruit of ministry will we see God grow through OM in Romania, Nepal or in the Middle East?

Again, we don’t know. But that concept of a ‘decade of difference’ has challenged me as 2015 begins, what has God laid on my heart to see develop in the next 10 years?

What will our giving and prayers for OM ministries see changed in the next 10 years?

Gary Sloan, UK Director

STAFF PICKS Here are some videos from the field that we’ve loved at the OM UK office.

View them at www.vimeo.com/omunitedkingdom TeenStreet Promo Discover the benefits of TeenStreet for your youth group.

- Training and placing international teams with churches around the UK, partnering with them to bring life and hope to their communities, reaching and discipling people from many nations.

- OM’s outreach, church planting and training ministry amongst the UK’s Arabic, Turkic and Iranic speaking communities, which are people groups from North Africa to India; based in London.

Learning Arabic Hear one man’s experience of learning a new language in a new culture.

Get in touch

UK Offices

01691 773388 OM UK National Office The Quinta Weston Rhyn Oswestry Shropshire SY10 7LT

info.uk@om.org Scotland

210 Kennedy Street Glasgow G4 0BQ

Northern Ireland 218 York Street Belfast Northern Ireland BT15 1GY

worldnews TURKEY....LOGOS HOPE…...SOUTH SUDAN......www.uk.om.org

Arson at Bible Correspondence Course OM Turkey On Sunday, 7 December, the second floor of the Bible Correspondence Course office in Kadıköy, Istanbul was forcibly entered by someone with the intent to damage its ministry and materials.

Due to alert neighbours, firemen and police answered the emergency call and were able to douse the fire. Though many books as a result were more damaged by water than by fire, we are grateful that no one was hurt and that a good deal of our materials were able to be saved.

Amazingly, the arsonist was arrested and charged on Tuesday, 9 December.

latest Browse OM’s ideos stories and v m.org www.news.o However, we were saddened to find more than 8,000 Christian books that are unable to be salvaged.

In addition, most of the soft furnishings have had to be disposed of. Many of the books are published by the BCC and not available elsewhere. They would

need to be reprinted, at exceptional cost.

Would you consider sending a gift to help cover the cost of these materials and to support the continuing cost of the BCC ministry?

OM Turkey would especially covet your prayers as they negotiate the legal and financial implications of this situation.

Power Up Logos Hope OM Ships After 4 years of planning and fundraising, in October we began the Power Up Logos Hope Project in Singapore. A small number of crew have stayed on board to work alongside the shipyard workers to replace two generators, the main electrical switchboard, boiler, bow thruster motor and a number of other key technical jobs. The work has been going very well and by the end of March 2015 we will be ready to sail again with a whole new lease of life.

Logos Hope will be more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly as she sails west and heads out of Asia for the first time in over 4 years.

We are very excited about the opportunities that God is giving us in 2015 to bring Knowledge Help and Hope to South East Asia, South Asia, the Indian Ocean Islands and then Africa.

To follow the progress of the Power Up Logos Hope project and our worldwide Outbound teams, visit www.omships.org

Serving in South Sudan OM MENA After 45 years of operating namelessly through churches in Sudan, OM now openly shares its mission in the three-year-old country of South Sudan—but continuing war constricts ministry. Despite difficulties, OM has opened a Christian bookshop, ministers to women in prison, and is seeing people turn to the Lord.

The church is growing and increasing in numbers. The Field Leader’s wife leads a women’s prison ministry that is seeing significant fruit. The team is distributing the story of the Prodigal Son and New Testaments in a new ministry to Somalis.

Pray for health and for God’s protection. Moreover, pray for all children who have been affected by the trauma of war.

Remember the Good News Buffalo?

Since Christmas 2013, we’ve been able to buy 347 buffalo for India. Thank you!

Don’t forget, the project will continue into 2015 – for fundraising ideas, visit www.uk.om.org/buffalo

EVANGELISM

nepal OM Focus:

It is hard to believe that 65 years ago there were only five known Christian believers in Nepal. The birthplace of Buddhism, and 80% Hindu, Nepal has fluctuated on its stance in religious freedom – bringing many years of persecution to the Christian Church.

The country is now in a period of calm and estimates suggest that there could be as many as 1 million Christians, making Nepal the fastest growing Church in all of Asia.

To find out more about the challenges and opportunities that Nepali Christians face, Global Editor, Kris, spoke to OM Field Leader, Michael.

14

Kris: First of all, Michael, let’s hear a bit about you.

Can you share with us some of your testimony.

Michael: I became a Christian in the USA when I was 30 years old. I immediately had the drive to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, of Jesus opening my eyes – the feeling of the freedom, incredible peace and all of a sudden, the lack of confusion.

I’ve been in Nepal since 1998, I met my wife here, we’ve had our 4 children here and I’ve been the Field Leader for the past 9 years.

K: So what’s the vision for OM Nepal?

M: Our focus of ministry is to see healthy reproducible fellowships being established in the least reached areas of the country. Second to that is to mobilise the local church to see spiritual and physical transformation to the country.

K: How do you see this being achieved?

M: We’ve recently reviewed exactly how this looks – part of which was getting to grips with what we read in the Gospels and in Acts. Our western idea that someone needs a 4-8 year theological education to go out and plant a church is not necessarily Biblical. It’s not wrong, but the 70,000 Nepali villages will never be reached if we waited for everyone to have that kind of training.

To equip our Nepali brothers and sisters, so they can start a fellowship in their village and see people discipled, we need to teach them what we have been taught, then send them out to replicate it. It’s not rocket science, it’s what Jesus did! *laughs*

“We need to teach them what we have been taught, then send them out to replicate it. It’s not rocket science, it’s what Jesus did!”

K: How does that work on a day-to-day basis?

M: Training. Focusing on the 8 least-reached districts, we start with the 3-month training programme, which attracts about 130 Nepalis. After the 3-month training, we take 35-40 of those graduates and enrol them into a 1-year course. We equip these students with various evangelistic, discipleship, and church-planting tools that they can then pass on.

Summit. Our international long-term workers join us for 1-2 years and they are trained with the same tools and purpose of passing their training on to others.

Community Mobilisation Teams. I would say one of our most exciting projects is our ‘Community Mobilisation Teams’. These teams go out in pairs, living for 5 months in a village and working directly amongst the community. The purpose is to see someone come to faith (if there are no known believers) and then form a community group around that person, teaching them what they can do to reach out to their community. Living in the area for 5 months, teams witness a great deal of impact.

K: What are the challenges facing ministry in Nepal?

M: One of the key challenges is the remoteness of villages.

I recently visited an area called the Bajura District – this was after a 28-hour drive and then a 7-day walk to get there! These are the least reached areas for a reason!

K: Conversely, what are the delights of ministry in Nepal?

M: I always tell people that when we go to heaven, Nepalese will be in charge of worship. It’s just incredible. I think they bring a passion to the body of Christ and a zeal and a perseverance that I’ve learnt so much about and it’s been a blessing serve with them and alongside them.

K: How does the Nepalese Church sit in the world of Mission?

M: Most Nepalese know more than two languages – there are over 126 different languages spoken. They are generally good at picking up different languages. They blend in so well with other people groups and I believe for the Great Commission to be fulfilled the Nepali Church has to be involved.

Kris: How can the UK Church support the work in Nepal?

Michael:

Pray. If we truly believe it is the

Holy Spirit and Jesus that draws men and women to Himself, then it’s a Spiritual Battle. It’s not a physical battle.

Buddhism and Hinduism might seem a cultural thing, but it’s a spiritually dark thing. We need prayer to break through.

Give. As we aim to train nationals,

we need financial support. Our purpose is not to train a Nepali who will then go West for ministry, but to equip a Nepali from the remote areas of the country to go back to his village to see churches planted and growing.

Go. We need people to join our team who have a passion to serve the Lord in support roles such as finance, communications, management or training – these people are key. Short term workers are essential too. Visit www.uk.om.org/nepal to discover our upcoming opportunities.

ARAB WORLD SERIES

living as a city on a hill in

Oman In the final installment of Greg Kernahan’s Arab World Series, we take a look at life as an OM Worker in Oman. This extract considers the experience from many different perspectives. To read the full article, visit www.uk.om.org/ArabWorldSeries Whether you are single, married, have a family or are retired, you might wonder how you could do anything meaningful in the Arab World. The fact is that all types of people are needed to reach all types of local people.

There’s great joy and peace in being where God wants you to be. This takes you through the challenges you will face.

Don’t ‘play it safe’, because safety comes from obeying and depending on God. So, put on your shoes, pray and hit the streets in faith that God will provide the right people. Many people you meet want to know about you. There’s an intrigue: Why are you here? What do you do? Why do you not have children?

The first step is simple; obey and come!

Secondly, get over your fears, because God is greater than all of them. Fear of Islam, fear of a strange culture, fear about human rights for women; these are labels that impede our ability to see people who have been made in the image of God. Work with the gifts you have. Not everyone is a natural at sharing their faith across cultures, or is able to spend most evenings out late socialising. You may have gifts in networking and resourcing others, so work out of your strengths. Above all, you need to be authentic and make connections with Arabs regardless of personal cost – that’s why we are here, after all. Everything else is secondary.

A single woman’s perspective When I arrived here as a single woman, I wondered how effective I could be for Jesus. What a wonderful discovery awaited: Muslim girls are very easy to relate to. They have high moral aspirations, they want to know God, honour their parents, go to university and succeed.

“How can someone not believe in God?” they ask me. Actually, as a Christian, I find it much harder to relate to young girls in my home country. There are so many roles and opportunities here for a single woman. Local women are curious about my life and impressed by my desire to live a life pleasing God.

A single man’s perspective As a single man, I can easily connect with other single men aged 16-30; beyond that they are usually married and move in a different circle. As anywhere, different age-groups face different issues. That’s why we also need older couples to befriend their peers, because as a single man I may or may not ever earn the respect and trust from an older man.

While people of every age can succeed in ministry here, because of the language and social structure, it is an advantage to begin as young as possible.

A couple’s perspective It can actually be harder to make friends as a couple in Oman, because men and women move in different social circles. Linking with other families can take a long time. If a couple is prepared to separately build friendships along gender lines, it can work. Yet whether or not there are many regular opportunities to befriend people or even see spiritual breakthroughs, God has commanded us to come and live transparent lives, as a city on a hill.

Muslims A Christian Response

Interested in discovering more about how to share the Good News with your Muslim neighbours? Perhaps your church can host one of our events entitled ‘Muslims: A Christian Response’, which will include a panel of OM workers with a vast experience of working in Muslim countries. For more information, email goglobal.uk@om.org or call 01691 773388.

Ukraine Last year’s crisis in Ukraine has changed the nation. The once peaceful country is now fragile, divided and facing great uncertainty. Throughout the past year we witnessed the situation unfold, as it flooded our news channels with initial scenes of protests that ultimately led to the Russian invasion of Crimea. In that time, more than a hundred thousand fled their homes and thousands lost their lives.

Now, Ukraine is fighting for its very survival.

While the political situation, in recent months, has not been as prevalent in the media, the needs remain great. Thousands of internally displaced persons faced the harsh reality of winter in makeshift, uninsulated shelters. Moreover, there continues to be a vast number of people still coming to terms with the loss of loved ones and feelings of loneliness, despair, confusion and anger.

The OM team in Ukraine quickly responded to the crisis and became actively involved in providing help, relief and support to those in desperate and needy situations. OM UK’s Mercy Appeal provided an instant source of finance, enabling the OM team to distribute food packages, clothing, bedding, hygiene packs and New Testaments to refugees fleeing Crimea, as well as military families forced to evacuate and relocate elsewhere.

Furthermore, the OM Ukraine team worked alongside local churches to place refugees with Christian host families. Speaking to one OM worker, a family was grateful for various avenues of support, “Our family came from the warzone. Travelling during the fighting, we arrived here with only summer clothes, and without money. Our family has a child with a disability. We turned to you for help. You greeted us warmly and supported us morally.

You dressed our family, helped with medicines and diapers for my

by Grace Beattie

son. We are very grateful to you and your fund for the support and for your help to people. Thank you that you are not indifferent to the misfortunes of others, for having responded to our request for help.” Their story and plight is the same as for thousands in Ukraine.

Ministering in a warzone As our teams reach out with practical help, they are passionate to give lasting hope to people beyond their immediate circumstances.

“Ministering within a country at war is not fun” shares one team member, “but it is a privilege to be called here at this time. Ukraine is going through intense emotions and change, and people are open to Kingdom conversations.”

Sofija* was one such person who gave her time and energy to reach out to people with the Good News of Jesus. Based at Independence Square in Central Kiev, her initial reaction to seeing the battlefield of barricades, smoke haze, fire-damaged buildings, street rubble and thousands of people in mourning shocked her to the core: “For the first month, I cried constantly; so many atrocities, so many deaths, and so much evil.” Sofija began to see that beneath the defensiveness of the protestors, they were a deeply hurting people. It was a time of unprecedented openness. She counselled protestors as she listened to their fears and prayed with them, as well as handing out thousands of New Testaments. Thankfully, there are many more people like Sofija ministering to this broken country.

OM UK’s Mercy Appeal donors have enabled the OM teams in Ukraine to reach out with greater capacity. It provided a quick response to a critical and urgent need. Thank you for continuing to work alongside us to bring Good News in the most difficult of circumstances. *Name changed

To donate to the Mercy Appeal, ensuring a swift response from OM teams across the globe in times of crisis, visit www.uk.om.org/mercy or use the stitched response card.

10

MERCY APPEAL

crisis in

bigger picture

Throughout 2014, OM has generated numerous opportunities to bring the Good News to people in over 110 countries.

From emergency Relief and Development in the Philippines to trekking through some of the toughest terrain in Africa – it’s a blessing to have many of these encounters captured on camera. Here are some of our ministry highlights from 2014:

Travelling teams distribute Gospels in hard to reach places, North Africa Main photo: Gospel literature distribution in Bazaars, Pakistan.

Boys playing in the Phillipines.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.” Luke 4:18 (NLT)

Teenstreet Europe 2014

Quiet reflection in the midst of of earthquake destruction, Chile

pray

give

go

If you’ve been inspired by any of these ministries, and would like to get involved with the work of OM, find out more at www.uk.om.org

Logos Hope welcomes a record breaking 28,931 people in one day.

Anping, Taiwan

PARTNERSHIP/EUROPE

God’s precision

planning “God can be so precise. He can work in people’s hearts in one part of the world and then use that to satisfy a need on the other side of the world,” praises Jaco Beukes, Pastor of Loving by Giving, a South African congregation based in Norwich, UK.

During summer 2014, OM UK’s Head of Financial Development, Nick Fletcher, witnessed the coming together of three churches to form an unusual partnership with OM Romania.

For more than a decade, OM Romania has been working alongside Pastor Marian and his church to build a flourishing Roma community outreach programme in the village of Padureni, near Bucharest. Together, OM and the church hoped to see the construction of a church-plant in the nearby Roma village, Buçsani, a project that required both finance and personnel to complete.

Personnel was quickly provided by Loving by Giving, who approached OM UK’s Short Term Missions department looking for a project their fellowship could attend in Romania. Loving

by Giving had been on outreaches with OM Romania before, working with the church in Padureni and its previous church plants. However, unlike previous years, the South African group were only able to raise finance for the trip itself, and not for the actual project. For OM Romania and Loving by Giving, having finance for the project became a matter for prayer.

Unknown to the Loving by Giving fellowship, Lindfield United Reformed Church in West Sussex were looking for a project to support. “Lindfield are long term supporters of OM, and approached us for a focus or project for their May and June offerings. After presenting a series of ministry options to Lindfield URC, they prayerfully settled on supporting the church build in Romania,” confirms Nick.

“I love this as a story of partnership,” shared Nick. “Each church is bringing and sharing the resources they have available and working together to fulfill God’s purposes. It’s amazing to witness how God answers our prayers!”

Led by Pastor Jaco and Architectural Designer, Mark, in as little as a week the near derelict building was transformed into Buçsani’s first evangelical church. “The building was pretty rundown, it had a 6-foot hole in the floor and asbestos in the roof. So we needed to replace the roof, plaster all the walls, reset the floor and build an extension for the children’s ministry.

It was a big job!” explains Raluca Cardos, part of the OM Romania team.

With barely an hour to spare before the church commissioning service, the building work was complete.

“The church looked amazing,” assures Raluca. “Thanks to Pastor Marian’s efforts on the opening day and the effort he puts into building relationships with villagers, the building was packed – practically standing room only! Children, families and even local tradesmen who had helped with the building work were all there!”

However, the most excited attendee, was Andrei*, a local 17 year-old boy from the area. Earlier that day, Andrei was en route to meet friends and go drinking by the local river. Instead, he bumped into Pastor Marian, who was busy inviting villagers to the new evangelical church’s first service. Andrei soon opened up his heart to the pastor, sharing how he had tried to commit suicide only the year before. After hearing about the Good News of Jesus, Andrei became one of Buçsani’s first believers.

Loving by Giving Pastor Jaco When we were first thinking about where to go on mission as a church, I actually felt God speaking very clearly to me that we were to go to Romania. It was essential for us to go with a mission organisation like OM, who already have people working on the ground and have solid infrastructures in place. That means you can be sure the work will continue once you leave.

Our first year we were part of an evangelistic kids programme, but we returned the second year to do practical projects around the village. We just went into the village and fixed fences, chopped wood, made bricks from clay and just got alongside the villagers, getting to know them. With the guys from our church in Norwich there are quite a few practical people, so all this made absolute sense.

Since then, we’ve been involved in building two churches with Pastor Marian in Padureni and Sterea, and now a third church in Buçsani. One of the people in our team, Mark, is an Architectural Designer, and he’s been key in developing the church building side of things. Guys like myself, I have two left hands, I’m not very practical but it’s about the passion – God just wants a willing heart and people! We’ve had quite a few people on our building teams over the years who aren’t practical, and it’s been amazing to see what God does in their lives too.

When I look back over the last six years, the one thing that has made a difference in the spiritual growth of our church as a whole, was our trips to Romania. For instance, there is one guy, Sean (who we baptised this year in Romania) who is so committed to the church, and has even started a men’s ministry on returning! It is absolutely incredible to see the journey people go on through this. They don’t come back the same, they come back changed.

*Name changed

PARTNER WITH OM Partnering with OM can look different to each church that approaches us. If your fellowship is interested in a partnering with an OM project through giving or going, please get in touch with our Partnership department to find out more. development.uk@om.org 0141 552 7716

s d i A B k L L

Ch

G

SHIPS PACK

re li d

on i s s r mi o l a f s i r w e t i t t r h a a a e h m n’s

E C R U O S E R OL O H C S s ’ d Y o A G D f o s SUN w e N od .o rg Go m o e . h s t d g i n k i l a b o Shar l g . w w w e lov

£15

ource nd res ission a e v r e m re to s . stand s is he ren under young age id k L d A a il B h O m c L o lp r, G he ing ve fr eache roduc ls, we of God’s lo hool T ed materia e of p les of c c s S n w y e ie r mp unda Bible bas expe ood N fe exa ears’ ’re a S the G real-li r r 10 y If you urch. Using ut sharing e e v v o o as o h disc kids h y will your c ite them ab s OBAL urney. The e. c L x id G ALkid e , w d an GLOB world M UK en on a jo w O M e f O n o f o ra our childr inistry work ble fo ne of As a m es that take rough the rder o ck is availa ksheets, o d h c n t r rg a , wor ch pa resou d is doing .om.os ministry. Ea lesson plans Go s d i k l what 8 oba OM’s Ship d features ww.gl on an Visit w ith a focus tion of £15 w a . n s e o k r c d o pa m ed much mend recom es CD, and rc resou

Operation Mobilisation Registered office: The Quinta, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 7LT. 01691 773388 • info.uk@om.org • www.uk.om.org

Registered as a company limited by guarantee no. 2564320 and charity no.1008196 (England and Wales), and SCO40988 (Scotland).

Will you teach me the

EVANGELISM

Bible?

Adrien Lewis – OM Israel

Sometimes evangelism is as easy as being a good friend.

Kate*, an OM worker in Israel, has certainly found this to be true, as the Lord has given her an opportunity to explain the truths of the Bible within the context of a close friendship.

Kate met Sydney* at school, and the two of them got along well and helped each other with classwork. Sydney is a fairly typical young European student: a carefree woman who is involved in some of the things of the world. She needs Jesus no more or less than anyone else.

“As we started to get to know one another, she was genuinely shocked by me,” remarks Kate. “She had never met anyone her age who believes in Jesus sincerely, someone who knows what her faith means, someone who would actively obey Jesus and seek Him and love Him.” God provided an opportunity for Kate to share with another classmate about some of the miracles she has experienced in her own life. When she finished the stories, her classmate, who is not a believer, remarked, “If you tell everyone these stories, they will all believe in Jesus!”

Later that week, Kate’s classmate asked her to tell Sydney about the stories. Kate was nervous about how Sydney would react. The opportunity was too good to miss, however, “So I bit the bullet and told her. She got really quiet, and then we left it at that,” Kate said.

A week later, Sydney confessed to Kate, “I’ve still been thinking about your stories.” She then started asking more questions, which opened the door for more spiritually in-depth conversations.

A few months later, while the two of them were eating together, Sydney abruptly looked at Kate and asked, “Will you teach me the Bible?”

Since then, Kate and Sydney have met weekly to discuss the Scriptures. In fact, Sydney has even gone so far as to say, “I believe, but I want to know what I am believing in.”

But there is another layer to this story: Joshua*, Sydney’s boyfriend, is a religious Jew, and Sydney is also studying his faith in case they decide to marry. “Joshua was getting nervous about what I was teaching her,” says Kate, “so he sat in on a few of our lessons.” He was shocked to discover that Kate understood his faith even better than he. “I was teaching him about Judaism and Christianity and the Tanakh, and he loved it,” laughs Kate. The author of Hebrews tells us, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12 ESV).

Pray that this verse will prove true in the lives of Sydney and her boyfriend – that the Word of God will bring them new life.

This story is an excerpt from OM Israel’s annual magazine, Hope of Israel. If you’d like to receive a copy of their latest edition, please email info.uk@ om.org, or call 01691 773388.

*Name changed

INDIA

a decade after

disaster

Medical clinics provided

Revisiting the Boxing Day Tsunami

New fishing boats supplied

Over 200,000 people were killed on a single day in 2004.

We haven’t forgotten the victims of the worst tsunami in living memory.

It’s been a decade since Boxing Day celebrations ceased and the world watched in horror as coastlines around the Indian Ocean were devastated. It’s been a decade since an 8.9 magnitude earthquake shook the lives of millions.

With help from OM UK and partners, GSI/OMI (Good Shepherd/OM India) was able to respond immediately – supplying emergency relief and long term recovery for some of

those worst affected in India. On the tenth anniversary of this catastrophe, we wanted to report back to you, our partners, what a difference your donations made, and to hear the long lasting impact they continue to have today.

India’s south east coast was ravaged by the tsunami.

Thousands of people died there and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. “A lot of people who lost their lives lived in huts close to the sea shore,” says Ravin, India Partner Development Manager for OM UK, based in India until 2008.

“Their houses just washed away, like a pack of cards.”

One of our partners, BMS World Mission, gifted GS/OMI over £230,000 to provide emergency relief to some of the thousands whose lives had been shattered by the waves.

With that money we were able to rehabilitate several coastal communities including Velankanni, a village of 600 families – providing counselling, restoring livelihoods, building brighter futures.

“In my opinion the partnership with BMS was absolutely critical,” says Kumar Swamy, Development Director for GS/ OMI. “BMS stood with us, expressed their solidarity, support and partnership.”

In India, the efforts of Christian relief workers also had a deep impact. Caste-based discrimination continues to exist in modern India, and Dalits, at the bottom of India’s caste

Tailoring class for women

“I spent more than two weeks in the affected area immediately after the tsunami. For me it was a devastating experience. Even now I sometimes really tremble when I think of those days among the tsunami devastation.

Walking through the dead bodies and the houses which were demolished by the anger of the waves was a devastating experience.

I don’t want to even think of it sometimes now. It was horrific.”

EMERGENCY FOOD

trauma counselling

EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE

housing

LIVELIHOOD RESTORATION

Your gifts restored hope.

Development Director for GS/OMI

7 SCHOOLS

FISHING BOATS AND NETS

Kumar Swamy

Your gifts funded...

HOUSEHOLD PROVISIONS

system, are traditionally regarded as untouchable. For others to show such sacrificial love to them, both through giving and through serving, had a profound effect.

“I know people who shed tears when doctors treated them,” says Ravin. “Our Christian doctors showed a lot of humility, and for many of the Dalits the gesture was huge. You were an untouchable but these doctors and nurses came and treated you and showed love in action.”

We will never know the stories or even the names of all of the thousands of people UK Christians helped through OM and BMS after the tsunami. But we do know that your gifts changed lives.

“I would like to salute the unsung people who stood with us, whose names may never come up in the media, but who have sacrificially and silently given,” says Kumar Swamy.

“The last time I met one of the elders of a Dalit village near Velankanni, he said to me, ‘Sir, because of you, we are still living as human beings’.

“Because of what we did, people can very proudly declare ‘we are alive, and we live with dignity’.”

Thank you.

Arthi’s Story

You may recall we met Arthi in her hometown of Velankanni, south east India, in 2005. She featured in Rising, BMS’ DVD featuring tsunami recovery work in India.

On the morning of the tsunami, Arthi was playing outside. She would have died had her neighbour not lifted her onto a wall to escape the waves. Arthi is from a very poor family and was the youngest of seven children. When we met her, neither she nor her brothers and sisters went to school. In partnership with BMS, GS/OMI built the Good Shepherd School in Velankanni, and Arthi received a scholarship to attend.

Ten years on, Arthi now has a job in Chennai, working for an IT company. “She got a good education and now has a good job,” says Kumar Swamy. “This is a great encouragement for us to hear!” Without your gifts, Arthi would probably never have got to go to school. She would never have broken out of poverty.

Thank you!

Main photo: Pupils from one of the seven GS schools built.

15

TRANSFORM LIVES AND COMMUNITIES A Short Term Trip with OM means just one thing – bringing Good News. From individuals to church groups, OM has a multitude of outreach options with no formal training required.

Usually from 1 - 3 weeks, you can stay in the UK, go to Europe or even further afield.

Outreach types include: - Children’s Activities - Sports - Creative Arts - Construction - Medical - And more...

OMUnitedKingdom @OMUnitedKingdom vimeo.com/OMUnitedKingdom

www.Uk.OM.ORg/SHORTS Operation Mobilisation. Registered office The Quinta, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY10 7LT. Registered as a company limited by guarantee no. 2564320 and charity no.1008196 (England and Wales), and SCO40988 (Scotland).