Desperate need spurs response
MONTREAL, QC—At least two Montreal churches are accepting money for the tsunami relief efforts, and sending it directly to people on the ground who were affected by the December 26 disaster.
The congregations of Full Gospel Mission and New Life Fellowship Church are made up of Sri Lankan Tamils, and the pastors have ongoing contact with churches and relatives in Sri Lanka.
Five days after the tsunami disaster, Joseph Jayaratnam, pastor of New Life Fellowship, told ChristianWeek about his friend who pastors a church back home. "He lost his wife. And he has buried hundreds of other people."
Samuel Sothiraj, pastor of Full Gospel, tells of one man who operated an orphanage. He thought he had lost his son, until somebody found him hanging in a tree, still alive.
Most of Sothiraj's congregation is dealing with the loss of family members back home. One boy knows of 32 relatives who have been lost. Another family confirmed 75 deaths. Thousands of people are still unaccounted for and communication lines are down in many parts of the country, so people continue to wait and pray. "I think my mother is alive. I still haven't heard."
It has been a difficult season for the church in Sri Lanka. According to Jayaratnam, there has been active persecution of Christians over the past 18 months. "Some 250 churches have been destroyed. We don't know why."
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