Shelter for the Oppressed

The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 9:9 (NLT)

Recently, ServeNow Nepal gave over 1,500 corrugated zinc roofing sheets to people in need of shelter. The people were very grateful to receive this means of protection from the early monsoon rains.

One eighty-year-old woman, “Riea,” lost all of her family members to the earthquake, including her husband. Her poverty is so great that she is unable to afford sandals and is forced to walk barefoot. When provided with a metal sheet to protect her from the rain, “Riea” was overwhelmed with joy and expressed her gratitude with tears in her eyes.  

In the words of our national director of Nepal, “God is using ServeNow to provide hope to the hopeless people, help to the helpless people and encouragement to the discouraged people.”

Please Pray:

• For “Riea” to find comfort and support from the Lord.
• In thanksgiving for God’s faithful provision of hope, help, and encouragement to the people who ServeNow has been able to help.
• For future distributions of food supplies, tarps, and zinc roofing sheets.

Please leave your prayers in the comments below for “Riea” and all who live with devastating loss due to the earthquake.

A Light on My Path

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105

Efforts persist in Nepal to meet the needs of the hurting people through supplies and prayer. There are fewer aftershocks as each day passes, but because of all of the structural damage to buildings, thousands of people continue to live under tarps and many remain traumatized.

A pastor from one village told our volunteers,

“The situation was horrifying. ServeNow Nepal provided immediate help at the perfect time. Badly affected people were provided tarps, food, water purifiers, mattresses and blankets. Thank you for being there to help us while we were in great need.”

And now we have a wonderful opportunity to share with you. Publisher David C Cook has offered a $50,000 matching grant in the month of June to print and distribute 700,000 copies of The Story of Jesus comic book for children. Since each child will share that with at least 4 additional kids, the Gospel could reach 3.5 million Nepali children with the message of God’s love and hope! Thus far, $25,000 has been raised and we ask for your prayers to bring in the additional $25,000.

Please Pray:

• For God to comfort those traumatized by the earthquakes.
• For people of Nepal to openly receive both the supplies which help their physical needs, and the prayers to help their spiritual and eternal needs.
• That the remaining $25,000 needed to meet the matching grant challenge comes in before the June 30^th deadline, and that with the receipt of those funds, we freely give the glory back to the Lord for his faithfulness.

Leave your prayers as a comment in the box below for Pastor Arjun and his volunteers as they daily meet the needs of the traumatized people of Nepal.

India Heatwave Update

Some areas of India continue to suffer under an historic heatwave. Two weeks ago, four of our students from the ServeNow Kolkata Lighthouse Center were hospitalized and last week seven more became ill. Since hospitals in India do not provide food or other basic supplies, family members are expected to pick up the responsibility. Rev. Chowdhuri asks us, “The staff from Kolkata Lighthouse Center visited them in the hospital with fruit and Oral Rehydration Solution. Please pray for health and safety for the children during this time.”

Aid Provided in Nepal: The Lord says, “Here Am I”

“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
Isaiah 58:9 (NIV)

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This is an update to the communication from last week. Due to the urgent nature of the earthquake, these posts have been longer than usual. If you would like to continue to receive a weekly email like this about ServeNow projects, please sign up for this blog’s RSS feed.

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Will you post your prayers in the comment box below for Salina, the ServeNow team, and the victims of the earthquake? Your kind words, prayers, and scriptures will be relayed by the team to relief aid and medical clinic recipients.

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Thank you for your prayers for Nepal. Through the devastation and destruction, the ServeNow team has also observed countless situations where the Lord provided and showed that he is faithful.

ServeNow Nepal Director, Arjun Dhakal, tells us the team is consistently told that this is the first relief aid they’ve seen since the earthquake on April 25^th. Each day the team loads up with food, bottled water, and tents for distribution in remote villages of the districts most impacted by the quake, mainly Gorkha, Dhading, and Sindhupalchock.

As they returned from their main distribution sites on Sunday, the team came across a village where a local school teacher told them that 95% of the homes had been damaged. Then he asked the team if they could help a young girl.

“Eight year old Salina was in the courtyard of her house when the earthquake happened. The house fell on top of her, and a stone fell directly on her head. The family dug her out from under the rubble and rushed her to the local ‘health post’, where they gave her medication. But after days of living outside in the rain, Salina lost consciousness and her condition grew worse. Salina’s mother wanted to find a way to get her to a hospital just as we arrived. We distributed what supplies were left for the day and then loaded Salina in the truck and took her to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment. Please pray for the recovery of her injury.”

As of Sunday, ServeNow distributed approximately 2,500 kilos (over 5,500 pounds) of rice, hundreds of kilos of noodles and other food items, 100 tents, and thousands of bottles of water to remote villages. In addition, the team from India arrived over the weekend and provided medical clinics in villages in addition to the food and temporary shelters. The ServeNow medical team is unique in that it is comprised of members who speak Nepali.

Please Pray:

• That Salina doesn’t join the death toll statistic which has risen to over 7,300.
• For the medical team to be able to see and help hundreds of people every day and for the injured to be treated efficiently and effectively so that they may go on to lead purpose filled lives. (The number of injured has been estimated over 14,000)
• Continue to pray for the ServeNow staff, as we organize and mobilize efforts to provide clean water, food, tents, and medical supplies to those in need.
• For more funding. Our friends have been quite generous, and still the need is great. Please share this email, or click here and share the fundraising site with everyone you know.

Please post your prayers for Salina, the ServeNow team, and the victims of the earthquake in the comment box below. Your kind words and prayers will be relayed by the team to relief aid recipients.

Would you like to help? Every dollar counts! Click here to make a donation online (type “Nepal Earthquake” in the comment box). If you prefer to send a check, mail it to:

ServeNow
5550 Tech Center Drive, Suite 302
Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Where Can I Find Refuge in the Middle of Disaster?

 

The structural damage to buildings is extensive throughout Nepal.

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 57:1 (NIV)

With the death toll from the earthquake exceeding 4,000 and continuing to climb, and the estimates of injured surpassing 7,000, the situation in Nepal seems bleak to many who have lost family members, their home, their business, and some their entire village. In addition to the original 7.9 magnitude earthquake, there have been well over 100 after-shocks, one registered with a magnitude of 6.7—an earthquake in its own right.

People have been told by the government to stay out of buildings because they are structurally unsound. And to compound their plight, it has rained heavily since the initial quake, meaning that people must live and sleep outside in the rain and cold.

Tens of thousands camp out in parks, golf courses, and the streets in order to avoid falling debris during after-shocks.

ServeNow National Director of Nepal, Arjun Dhakal tells us,

“The scene is very scary; people are frightened and have lost hope. Many buildings have collapsed, the situation is devastating.”

Immediately upon hearing of the quake, ServeNow staff around the world began relief efforts. Within a few hours, the ServeNow headquarters of India mobilized a medical team, and purchased bottled water, food, and medical supplies to truck into Nepal through Siliguri, a town on the border. Those supplies are expected to arrive later this week, and the medical team this weekend.

Though it will be a few days until the outside resources are available, Arjun and his team of volunteers acquired tents, food, and water on Monday and took them to outlying villages and more remote areas of the country.

ServeNow volunteers prepare large tents to provide shelter to earthquake victims in the village of Sindhupalchwok.

“Monday we visited Sindhupalchwok, where the largest number of people lost their lives, and those who survived lost their relatives, their homes, and their belongings. No other organizations had yet arrived in the village. ServeNow provided tents for shelter, food and water to people who exclaimed that these things were more valuable than millions of rupees.” ~Arjun

Happy faces greeted ServeNow volunteers who distributed food.

Please Pray:

• Isaiah 58:9 over Nepal,
  “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
• For the ServeNow staff, as we organize and mobilize efforts to provide clean water, food, tents, and medical supplies to those in need.
• In thanksgiving that God kept safe Arjun and his family, and all of the recent tailoring school graduates.
• For the funding to cover the costs of getting supplies into areas of need.

Leave your prayers as a comment below for Arjun, the tailoring students, and ServeNow volunteers.

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Would you like to help? Every dollar counts!

Click here to make a donation online
(type “Nepal Earthquake” in the comment box).
If you prefer to send a check, mail it to:
ServeNow
5550 Tech Center Drive, Suite 302
Colorado Springs, CO 80919

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For more information on the Nepal Earthquake, ServeNow aid efforts, and a short video message from our President, visit our website here.