Many of you have already heard that Nepal was hit by a major earthquake about twelve hours ago near the Kathmandu area. It was Saturday in Nepal, the day that Christians gather for worship in that country. Perhaps you have seen pictures of the devastation and numbers for the death toll (over 1000 according to the BBC news). The numbers for the dead, missing and injured are likely to increase in the coming hours and days. In the meantime people are outside their homes in the wind and the rain experiencing the strong aftershocks that accompany such earthquakes. There is great concern that another strong quake could happen right about now (around midnight in Nepal). Just try to imagine the fear and uncertainty as well as grief that people are experiencing.
John Williams, Ron Stansell, and I have been in touch with our missionaries and they are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. The missionaries have been hearing from many of the people that they work with and there seems to be no loss of life among Friends at this point in time. Some homes and church buildings have been damaged, but what is that compared to life?
While the internet and cell phone service seem to be functioning, there will likely be shortages of various kinds in the coming days (like water and electricity). Please keep everyone affected by this situation in your prayers. It’s not unusual for there to be a greater openness to the gospel during times like these, so please keep the spiritual condition of Nepal in your prayers as well.
EFM is blessed to have funds available for emergencies like this. We’ll let you know in the days ahead if more is needed. For now your prayers are what is needed most.
Thank you for praying.
– Dan Cammack
**For security purposes please do not post this information to any website (including Facebook and Twitter), and please do not send it to anyone in Nepal. Thank you.**
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