STRATEGIC WORLD IMPACT
ASSISTS INDONESIAN CHURCH
TO AID
TSUNAMI-DISPLACED MUSLIMS
STRATEGIC WORLD IMPACT
BARTLESVILLE, OK (ANS) --
Strategic World Impact is moving in to join the
Church in the Banda Aceh (pronounced Ahchay) Province on Indonesia’s
Sumatra Island to assist those who have been most affected by the
earthquake and Tsunami disaster.
SWI President Kevin Turner will be on the ground and available via
satellite phone to give the most up to date information as he and SWI
DART (Disaster Assistance Response Teams) Team leaders assess the
situation and help those in need.
This Muslim region has been the site of ongoing civil conflict,
religious infighting and self-imposed fundamentalist Islamic isolation.
The Christian Church has been oppressed and the people have been ruled
with an iron Islamic fist.
As a result of the disaster, at least two Christian churches have been
burned – Muslims believe the disaster happened around Christmas as an
example of Allah’s wrath against them for allowing Christian ‘infidels’
among them.
SWI will strategically work alongside the Church to take the Gospel to
those who are suffering in the wake of this disaster and searching for
comfort, as well as, take the physical needs. The SWI team will be
working with a senior leader of the Indonesian Church in that region.
The Banda Aceh Province is the hardest-hit region – it took several
days for anyone to realize the extent of its condition as the
isolationist Islamic leaders resisted media coverage and aid.
“There is no power, little fresh water, dwindling fuel and the risk of
a serious disease epidemic is growing exponentially,” SWI’s Vice
President of Operations David Vermeesch said.
The leaders of the Aceh province resisted help for three days but now
it appears that God has opened doors for assistance and the Gospel to
be taken in. SWI is taking the opportunity by sending in their DART
Teams.
Strategic World Impact specializes in complex humanitarian emergencies
where a strategic response can be the key to unlock the door of closed,
restricted and war torn nations. They work in areas where the body of
Christ is persecuted, the Gospel restricted and areas where, due to
hostile situations, the people face eternity each day.
For more information contact:
Strategic World Impact - David Vermeesch or Kim Harris
P.O. Box 3037 - Bartlesville, OK 74006
Telephone: (918) 336-8400 - Fax: (918) 336-8011
E-mail: team@swi.org -
Website: www.swi.org
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