“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jeremiah 32:17
We are blessed with a fruitful harvest in 2014. 18 new churches were started in remote villages located mostly in the Western region. Also in the year, 8 plots of land were purchased for the growing church works and financial assistance were provided to help 6 congregations to complete their church building. To-date a total of 173 churches have come forth from our training centre to the praise and glory of God!
Thank God for providing a deep water source, 3-phase power supply and new gravel road with side drains on our land. Excavation for the buildings’ foundation is now complete and work is in progress for the laying of steel rebars and concrete for the footers. Our new orphanage is taking form and shape this year! Each progress report encourages our children to pray with excitement for their new home. Together with the hotel, it inspires a sense of hope for a bright future. This hope helps them build their trust and faith in God. Looking forward to a better future motivates them to study hard and do their best in school.
DISASTER RELIEF
This nation faced a particularly challenging year. In April when the annual season for mountain expeditions began, 16 professional guides perished in an avalanche. In October, at the start of the trekking season, nearly 30 foreign trekkers and their guides died in an unexpected blizzard in a popular mountain range. This tragedy came on the heels of the country’s worst monsoon in 50 years.
In August 2014, 3 days and nights of continuous rains triggered a huge landslide that blocked a river. This caused the water level to rise and when the river finally broke through, it became a formidable force that brought massive flooding and damage to many communities downstream.
Ground Zero — Houses and fields of our pastors and their members covered with mud and stones
We went to ground zero where the landslide occurred. In that area alone, 21 houses were destroyed and huge strips of arable land were either washed away or filled with rocks and sand. Numerous farmers lost houses, land and entire crop harvests for the year.
Thankfully, there weren’t many deaths but over 1,000 families are now living in 34 relief camps. We visited 4 of these camps where some our church planters and families of believers have been taking shelter since September. Right away we resumed their monthly support to help tide them through this difficult period. They are currently waiting for the government to allocate land for their relocation. In the meantime, government officials and local communities are doing a commendable job in providing daily relief for survivors living in these makeshift camps.
The budget to build a single storey tin roof house with two rooms is S$2,000. We hope to raise S$400,000 to rebuild 200 houses for affected families. In one location we have obtained official permission from the local authorities to rebuild 62 houses for both Christian and non-Christian needy households. To date we have raised almost S$100,000 or a quarter of the total budget required. Please pray that the Lord will move more willing hearts to give generously towards this disaster rebuilding work.
If you would like to contribute, you can make a cheque payable to
“X-BORDER MISSIONS”
and mail it to the address below. Indicate behind it that it’s for “South Asia Flood Rebuild.”
X-BORDER MISSIONS
30 Purvis Street, #02-02,
Singapore 188607
All gifts are receipted. Just include your email address or a return address.
