India (MNN) — Mass flooding has caused people to flee their homes once again in northeast India. The monsoon rains, which typically fall from June to September, have already been unforgiving.
Danny Punnose with Gospel for Asia says their ministry has been directly affected by the floods.
"One of our Bible colleges is completely underwater," says Punnose. "The students had to move out of the buildings and dormitories because there is no place for them to sleep right now."
Punnose describes the scene, explaining that villages are completely inaccessible except by boat. Some people have fled from their homes, and some have watched their mud huts dissolve in the heavy rains.
GFA is most concerned with helping the homeless at this time. The college students are in need of prayer to return to their buildings, but they are safe thus far. Punnose says GFA's real focus right now is getting aid to those who have suffered the blows of the disaster and have been left with nothing.
"The Lord uses this as an opportunity for us to be able to distribute rice, cooking vessels, blankets, and shelters for people who are in the most need," says Punnose. "So it's not necessarily our Bible school students that are in the most needs– it's the poorest of the poor."
As GFA has distributed aid, the roads have proven to be a problem. With roads and public transportation virtually eliminated in most areas, food and other necessities are difficult to transport. This transportation halt also makes it difficult to go into villages to share the Gospel, as many GFA missionaries do. Still, these faithful servants won't be stopped.
"[The flooding] just slows things down a little bit, it doesn't stop everything," reassures Punnose. "These national missionaries are committed is to share the love of Christ with people. So whether there's a flood or not a flood, they're willing to go all out to show people how much Jesus loves them."
In light of all of this devastation, the final nagging question is: "Why is this the first we're hearing of these floods?" The damage is widespread, and yet it seems as though hardly any news networks are covering the disaster. The unfortunate reality is that, especially in a country where this sort of thing happens annually, the devastation is not striking enough to trump international news spots. And yet, numerous lives have been affected.
"Most of us are just not aware of it because, compared to some of the other things, it's just not big enough news," explains Punnose. "But as believers, all of us should be praying and keeping our eyes on what is happening around the world so that we can uphold these things in our prayers."
Please pray that the Bible college students would be safe and would be able to return to their school soon. Pray for all of those families who are now homeless due to an uncontrollable disaster. Pray that the love of Christ would be evident as GFA seeks to provide aid and safety for the poorest of the poor.
You can help individuals in their recovery process after the floods. Go to winasia.org to help by buying an animal for someone who has lost their livestock, by supporting a national missionary, or by sponsoring a child, all in the name of the Lord.
