Myanmar was devastated by Cyclone Nargis on May 2 that killed at least 80,000 people with 56,000 still missing and over 1 million homeless, the country's worst natural disaster ever. Erica Kim relays a report from Ken Chau on our church and relief efforts there. Click here to see how you can help through HOPE worldwide.

Just a couple of days after the devastating cyclone, Ken Chau, a missionary in Bangkok, Thailand, was able to acquire a visa which he had applied for last fall! God had his hands on His people to help them and to save them even in a time of disaster when we least expect it. As a result, Ken was able to fly out and bring money and supplies immediately to the disciples; just days after the cyclone hit the city of Yangon.

According to Ken, the church is doing well. They all came together with their friends for church service Sunday, May 18 and, with 75 disciples, they had 110 people in attendance. The Sunday before, which was immediately following the storm, a few disciples walked over 10 miles to reach the meeting place. All the Christians are incredibly grateful for all the prayers and the support from Christians all around the world. They were extremely touched by their concern.

After an initial assessment of the situation, Ken was able to find out that some jobs will be lost due to the damages to factories and the lack of power to run them. They are not sure how long it will take for them to recover. They are hoping that most of the damage will be temporary. Meanwhile, the money donated will help the brothers and sisters to get by for a few months.

The diameter of the Nagris Cyclone was 150 miles with winds upwards of 140 MPH. Seventy percent of Yangon's trees felled. A majority of their homes were damaged in one way or another but will be able to be repaired for a few hundred dollars each. The city, for the most part, is still without electricity, and many parts do not have an adequate water supply. For this reason, prices have also gone up as there is a genuine shortage of supplies heightening their fear. There are hardly any foreigners in the country at this time.

The Christians, after taking care of their own needs, are putting together teams to go around the neighborhoods to pump up water with a generator. Afterwards, they are also organizing a system to reach the outlying towns of Yangon to help their friends. Ken was very impressed by the disciples’ ability to live with very little. He says, “I really feel for the Christians there, that this is the environment they have to live with everyday: the fear; the darkness; the lack of freedom. I am really inspired and have a deep respect for them.”

Ken Chau was equally astounded by the people of Myanmar. He says, “These people are really amazing, pulling themselves together and sharing whatever they have. They live with very little under unbearable circumstances of oppression. On our way back from the province, when our truck had a flat, three cars stopped to offer to let us borrow their spares.”

Although the city is coming back together, the situation is still very fragile. The US and other embassies have issued orders for non-essential personnel to leave the country for at least a month. They are fearful of the possible outbreaks of civil unrest and disease. There is a sister in the church from the US who has decided to stay as long as she can but will evacuate if the situation should deteriorate.

Presently, the government is not allowing many people to come in and appear to be resolute in controlling the pace of relief, distribution of supplies, and the accessibility to the affected delta region. Ken says, “J (the leader of the church and changed name for his protection) and I went down 30 miles out of the city towards the delta region and encountered 3 police check points where they were looking for foreigners. I'm glad I look Burmese, albeit a very healthy looking one. It was actually kind of funny, because the police sat down and asked J to inform him of any foreigners in the area. I, an American, was sitting right next to him while the police spoke with him. I think the government is losing rapidly whatever legitimacy they had left.”

God really blessed Ken’s trip as he was able to deliver aid to the Christians and to a small town where they still have thousands missing and presumed dead. They interviewed some people who are neighborhood leaders and realized how much suffering they were going through. Those who had lost friends and relatives seem deeply wounded and, yet, were surrendered to the reality of never seeing their love ones again, dead or alive. During their visit, they were led to a field where, supposedly, the military had buried over 700 corpses. Those are the ones they found right away while many more are still undetermined. It made the disciples all realize how much God had protected each Christian. And, now, all of them can help the people around them. This will be a great opportunity for the church to really shine.

Ken was able to connect with other NGO's and, in the process, solidify pipelines to donate and distribute much needed medical supplies and food to the people. "All this is from God...." 2 Cor 5:17. They were also able to establish a connection with a regional air line that will fly in some of our relief goods for free. They contacted World Vision and the Myanmar Deputy Director of Social Welfare and discussed how they can collaborate in the efforts of receiving and distributing goods to the people. With a very limited admittance of Aid relief workers, there is still so much to do. Ken says that the death toll is probably more than is stated as they were able to visit a town just outside of Yangon, with 7000 dead and many more still missing, according to local estimates.

Though there is still much more work to do to help the victims of this horrible calamity, let us all continue to pray for the people of Myanmar and for the government to lift their restrictions in order that many more people may be helped and saved after such a sad tragedy.

Erica Kim

Denver, Colorado