After the Storm

***report***

The man leans forward like a drunkard in the pew. He buries his face in his palms, as a guest preacher’s voice booms from the pulpit.

Six months after the Nargis Cyclone, Reverend Shane attends the annual Baptist gathering. He can still feel the effects of the cyclone that killed hundreds of thousands in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta. As the village pastor he has had to be strong, encouraging the people while still recovering from his own loss.

But on this morning in November, Reverend Shane can only drown in his pain. Before that fateful day in May, he was a husband and father of three growing children.

Now he and his 11-year-old son are the only ones from his family left.

Shane’s eyes become lost as he recalls the night he and thousands of others lost their families.

“I want to testify that God’s and our plans are sometimes different,” Shane says. On that night in May, Shane planned to rescue his entire family. But his plans failed when his seven-day old son was dropped in the flood and his wife and daughter succumbed to the powerful wind and waves.

Months later, Shane can still taste the salt water in his throat.

While the road to recovery remains long, experts predict that it will take 2-3 years for life in the delta to return back to normal. Currently, relief workers are aiming to rebuild homes and provide water. The rebuilding has proved a long and tedious task, as it requires over a days journey on a boat to reach the infected areas. Many of the villages still live in temporary housing.

Meanwhile, hundreds upon thousands of orphans have been displaced to cities such as Pathein and Myawmya. In these cities, relief work has been organized allowing for the outsourcing of supplies and aid.

Currently relief workers find that the biggest challenge for the affected areas has been the restoring of livelihood. Farming has proved difficult as flooding destroyed the soil. In Shane’s village, farmers have only been able to produce 2 out of 50 acres.

On this morning in November, Reverend Shane buries his face in his palms. There is much work to be done, but for now, he can only mourn for his lost wife, son and daughter. For days following the cyclone, Shane remained in denial, refusing to go out and bury his family. He finally forced himself to go out and recover the bodies. To keep his spirits lifted, he encouraged the children along the road.

“I want to thank God,” he says between his tears.” Because we are not like unbelievers without hope.”
While the cyclone is nine months past, the survivors are still dealing with the devastating affects. Since May, many have faithfully responded financially and prayerfully. May you continue to pray that the villages will receive both physical and spiritual aid. Pray that the people will rebuild their lives on the unwavering rock that is the word of Jesus Christ. Pray that the local churches will be rebuilt with a strong spiritual foundation so that they can serve as a refuge for any future tragedies.

“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” Mark 6:47-68 (NKJV)