SANTA ROSA, CA (December 21, 2005) – As winter begins to arrive in Pakistan, nine members of Redwood Covenant Church are in the beleaguered nation to help build shelters for those left homeless by the October 8 earthquake that killed more than 79,000 people.
Another member has traveled with a team to minister to women.
An estimated 2.5 million people were left homeless, many of whom have been difficult to reach because they lived in remote mountain areas. News reports quote observers as stating the ground heaved up an estimated eight to ten feet before dropping back down, reflecting the intensity of the earthquake.
The nine men from Redwood Covenant were scheduled to remain until December 20. They have joined with about 130 other volunteers from around the world to build approximately 40 shelters. The volunteers, who are being flown by helicopter into remote regions, are being enthusiastically welcomed by the residents, says Redwood Covenant team member Brian Lowney, with meals being provided by the residents. The local military commander has assigned a guard to protect them at night.
The men range in age from 20 to 60. In addition to Lowney, other members of the team are Michael Chamberlain, Andrew Almile, Francisco Henningsen, Mark Rechin, Kyle O’Connor, Les Negley, Scott Selberg, and Dale LePera.
The group raised $35,000 from sources outside the church to fund the trip, says pastor John Strong. Marmot, a company that manufactures high-end outdoor equipment, supplied the team with clothing, tents and sleeping bags that will be left in Pakistan when the team returns home. Team members also brought additional sums of money to further help their work.
The men are not the only people from the church to minister in Pakistan. Julie Caldwell traveled with a different ministry team (not from Redwood) to China over the summer, and members traveled to Pakistan following the earthquake. “Nearly every home and business was reduced to rubble,” she wrote in a letter. “Pictures and video footage truly don’t give an accurate picture of the physical destruction.”
The emotional toll has been even greater than the physical. The team’s Pakistani van driver lost 29 members of his family. A three-story school for girls collapsed – reduced to five feet of rubble – killing approximately 200 girls, one-fourth of the student population. Their bodies still had not been recovered some five weeks after the quake, Caldwell says.
The team also provided the survivors with books and book bags so their education can continue. “Our team spent three days counseling and playing with these girls,” Caldwell says. “From schoolmaster to student, what began (with some resistance to Americans) turned into incredible gratitude.”
Caldwell and her team also spent a day in a tent camp that 3,000 individuals now call home. The tragedy led to the breakdown of longstanding social barriers. “At this tent camp, we counseled and prayed with 250 women in one setting, Caldwell says. “This is unheard of in this culture, as women are to be in public only with their husbands.”
Nearly every woman came forward when they were invited to be prayed for, Caldwell says. “Women wept as they shared their stories while we held them in our arms. They held our hands tightly, not wanting to let us leave.”
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.