When eight local missionaries set out to help victims of the devastating earthquake that rocked Myanmar in March, they had no idea of the human misery they would soon encounter. They knew the disaster had crippled their war-torn country, but their own ministry buildings had survived with minimal damage and their fellow missionaries were safe.
Now, however, the team fell into silence as the ministry van approached the first stop: a railway station. Here, more than 300 families huddled on the platforms, the only shelter they could find after their homes were destroyed. “The cries of the earthquake victims are so loud,” the ministry leader said. “Their lives were so miserable and pitiful.”
Helping as Much as Possible
The missionaries had hired a truck to carry all the supplies they planned to distribute. At the train station, grateful families received rice, drinking water, mosquito nets and repellant, canned fish, instant noodles, sanitary pads, toilet paper, and gospel tracts.
“We helped there and left because we had other people who are extremely in need of help.”
But the missionaries could not linger. “We helped there and left because we had other people who are extremely in need of help,” the ministry leader said.
Their next stop was an orphanage. Prior to the earthquake, the orphanage’s building had been destroyed in the country’s ongoing civil war. When that occurred, the caretakers and their 21 children fled to another village and found a new home. But the earthquake destroyed that too. When the missionaries arrived, they found the orphans and their caregivers living in a building on a bee farm. “When they saw us, they were so happy,” the ministry leader said. “It made me cry for these orphans. We prayed for them and helped them and left.”
At the next village, the missionaries found people sleeping on the ground. During this visit, not only did an aftershock rattle the land, but it began to rain, drenching all the belongings of those who had already lost so much. “We could not do anything, which made me feel very bad,” the ministry leader said. “We just shared what we had for them, prayed for them, and left.”
An Earthquake Seen From Space
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake was so powerful it appeared on satellite imagery and has been labeled a “supershear rupture,” by scientists, meaning the rupture moved faster than the waves of energy it produced. When this happens, the waves pile up and form a Mach wave, similar to a sonic boom from a supersonic jet, according to one scientist.
Supershear ruptures also cause longer-than-usual earthquakes and greater damage. In Myanmar, it killed 3,700 people and flattened entire communities. Nearly 200,000 people were displaced, and it caused an estimated $1.9 billion worth of losses, including damage to hundreds of roads, hospitals and clinics, bridges, schools, and houses.
“Conditions on the ground continue to be very challenging.”
“Conditions on the ground continue to be very challenging,” said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). And to make matters worse, the country’s cyclone season began in May, which puts already struggling people in even more danger. “Myanmar’s cyclone season starts within days, exposing coastal populations to strong winds and rains—leaving families to face the risk of floods and landslides,” the IFRC said.
You Can Help Missionaries on the Ground
Please consider a donation today to help missionaries in Myanmar assist earthquake victims. “God willing, and if we have financial support, we plan to target one place [with help] so we have enough time to share the gospel with them,” the ministry leader said. “We left them, but our hearts are still with them.”
The ministry leader also requests your prayers. “Please kindly pray for those people who are extremely in need of help and the gospel,” he said. “I appreciate your prayers and support.”
*Name changed for security.
