| AIMS
Partners Continue to Minister to Villages Destroyed
by Tsunami
AIMS
News: Posted 12/1/2005
 INDONESIA:
When the water began to pour into one Muslim village
on December 26, 2004, the people ran for the nearby
mountains. One hundred villagers who returned to rescue
their belongings were swept into the sea. Those who
survived the Asian Tsunami were left homeless and in
shock. Within several days, relief arrived in the most
unexpected manner - through the Christian church.
Earilier
that year, an AIMS partner church network in Indonesia
had decided to adopt the Aceh people at an AIMS conference.
They began to pray for God to provide a way to reach
them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the earthquake
hit right off the coast of Aceh and the tsunami destroyed
the province, the church was ready for action.
"When
we arrived, the people were still in shock," said
"Pastor Micah," founder of the church network.
The first team brought food, clothes and medical supplies
to the hurting village. "Later, they told us: 'We
formerly hated you, but you came to wipe away our tears.'"
 Every
week, the church sent new teams to bring specific supplies
that the people requested. Within a few months, the
church sent twelve members to Aceh to work for one year.
The team will continue to help local villages rebuild,
provide medical care, and teach the men and women specific
skills that will help them begin local businesses.
As
a result of relief efforts in Aceh, Muslims in the region
have changed their attitudes towards Christians. When
militant Islamacists have tried to expel Christian relief
workers from the region, villagers have stood up, defending
the Christians and asking them to stay.
One
of AIMS' ongoing projects is to raise money for a Mobile
Medical Clinic to enable our church partners in Indonesia
to better provide medical care to the thousands of villagers
still recovering from the tsunami. For more information,
contact the AIMS home office or make a donation online
at www.aims.org.
 INDIA:
After the tsunami last December, Hindustan Bible Institute
(HBI), our partner in India, used funds from the AIMS
Tsunami Fund to purchase boats and nets to help two
fishing villages redevelop their industries. But they
didn't stop there.
HBI
missionaries are currently working in five villages
devastated by the tsunami. They have distributed school
uniforms to two villages and plan to provide uniforms
for three more villages. Throughout September and October,
they planned to train more than 100 young men how to
weld and rebuild their homes and industries.
But
these missionaries are not only concerned with the physical
needs of the victims. HBI planted one church in a village
along the eastern coast of India to minister to the
spiritual needs of that village. Believers in this church
are actively visiting neighboring villages regularly
and have ministered to many of the children through
a Vacation Bible School. According to the most recent
report from HBI, that church has now grown to 30 new
believers.
"God
is continuously working in the hearts of the people
affected by tsunami," wrote the president of HBI
in a recent report. "Every time we start a class
or training, we have a devotion time and a prayer time
so that we continue to disciple them for Christ. Our
desire is to see a church in each of these villages
before the end of this year."
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