In The Faith – A Chronicle of the Christian Faith

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Pakistan (MNN) — Thousands of Pakistani Christians who are victims of catastrophic flooding are being denied aid because of their faith. Open Doors is responding to requests from partner organizations on the ground in Pakistan to provide emergency aid packages for desperate families who have lost everything.

Pakistan's worst natural disaster in its history is being described as a "slow-motion tsunami" that is expected to worsen. The catastrophe has rendered 5 million Pakistanis homeless and over 1600 dead. Over 20 million need humanitarian assistance: food, shelter and emergency care. Outbreaks of cholera and dysentery have heightened fears of deadly waterborne diseases. The number of people reported to be suffering from acute diarrhea has reportedly reached 200,000.

One third of the country is under water says Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA. He says, "This is their bread basket. This is where all of the food and all of the resources the country produce for itself are grown. With all the seed crop destroyed and all of the coming disease, this is going to be a human disaster of epic proportions."

Many of the suffering Christian families in the region are being denied any assistance because they are Christians. For some, the sole place of refuge is a local mosque, where extremist strongholds are strongest and Christians are, in fact, most vulnerable.

Moeller says Open Doors is providing emergency packs to help Christians provide aid. "It is a terrible disaster, but it's also an opportunity for the love of Jesus to be a way for us to bring people to know Him through providing this relief — medical and food assistance."

For Muslim-Background Believers who have been in hiding, the situation is particularly dire as they are now more exposed than ever. News sources have reported increasing extremist violence against Christians, including demands either to vacate the region or convert to Islam.

"Our brothers and sisters in Christ in Pakistan who have long suffered for their faith are now suffering doubly," said Moeller. "Many have lost everything, but not their faith. They are looking to you and me for help in their moment of dire need. Open Doors' goal is to provide relief through our partners in the short term in order to strengthen and equip the Christian community in the long term."

You can help! For $180, you can purchase emergency aid packs which will
provide a family of six with essential items, including food, medicines,
pillows, blankets, cooking utensils, forks and spoons. To provide an
emergency pack, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or visit
the Open Doors Web site at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org. 

Pakistan is ranked No. 14 on the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians.

Prayer Points:
• Clean drinking water, food, shelter and medicine will get to the affected areas as soon as possible
• Pakistani Christians will reach out to their neighbors in love in the affected areas
• Peace will come to Pakistan, which is in the midst of unrest and widespread violence
• Christians will be granted freedom to worship without violence or harassment
• The persecutors of Christians will be brought to justice.
• Download the Ramadan Prayer Calendar
• Download the State of the Church Update
• Learn More about the 2010 World Watch List and why it matters
• Share your prayers for the Muslim World on Facebook

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest, and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535), or go to their Web site at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

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(Photos by Food for the Hungry)

Pakistan (MNN) — Dozens of Pakistani villages are being vacated
ahead of another surge of water threatening more areas south of the current
flood zone.

20 million people are already
affected by the water, and the threat of disease hangs over the most vulnerable
survivors.

Leena
Samuel with
Food For the Hungry spoke to us from Islamabad after surveying several villages in Rahim
Yarkhan, in the worst hit part of Punjab. "As the flooding is moving
further south, we're looking to respond in Punjab province with similar sort of
things. Right now, it's still the emergency phase where just the basic necessities
need to be met. Being able to provide food and non-food items and shelter is really critical at the
moment."  

News images put the extent of the
disaster in a framework through satellite pictures, but being there in person
was different. Samuel was struck by the
images of houses that represented interrupted lives. "You
could see maybe the tops of the houses, most of them already flattened. And
then in one area, [you could see] seeing the top of the fencing that was clearly for a
school, and an arch that said the name of the school on it. But the rest of it was
completely underwater–at least five to seven feet of water."

River levels are still rising in
some areas, and rescue teams are struggling to reach those in need.

Samuel says many of the flood victims are still waiting
for food, shelter and clean water. "We
went to a few communities that haven't been reached with aid at all. They just
set up camp right on the river bank, with whatever they've been able to
salvage–which was hardly anything. There's overwhelming
need, and I just saw a small part of that… It really was quite overwhelming."  

As soon as the flooding began,
Food for the Hungry's partner, the Interfaith League
Against Poverty (I-LAP), began working
in the northwest part of the country. The scale of the wreckage means they are
expanding their project. "They've
already been responding to the needs of about 8000 families through the support
of food for the hungry and other international partners. They've set up two
camps made up of 250 families each, providing them with tents, hygiene kits (which include soap, towels and toothbrushes and toothpaste), and kitchen kits with
pots, pans and dishes."

The amount of response flooding
into Haiti was heartening to agencies like FH. However, it's a different story
for Pakistan, and it could be related to the problems with the insurgents. "I think the humanitarian community was slow
to respond. I think a lot of that hesitation is due to security incidents
that organizations have already faced in the past and the fear of that. I think
the insecurity is causing many humanitarian groups to pause before coming in."

Waters will be slow to
recede. The fields that would contain
food are under water. It could be up to
a year before residents are able to sow and harvest new crops and feed themselves
again. Samuel says, "The one hope
we have is the fact that we serve a God who is sovereign. And as we walk together
with these communities and show them Christ's love through action, we trust
that they will see the hope in that, and trust that He will guide and guard the
response."

Pray for the relief teams as they will
stretch themselves to the limit in reaching out as the hands and feet of
Christ. Pray that those who can help would respond
with generosity, showing the love of Christ in a tangible way. Click here for details.

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