Flooded With Generosity: Partnership That Brought Relief

Mud filled homes to the ceiling. The floodwaters that decimated farmland and washed away roads and bridges took hundreds of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.

As Christar workers Ethan and Hailey* learned of this tragedy in a nearby Southeast Asian village, they grieved. And they asked God to show them how they could help.

He answered them through His people—both in their community and around the world. After the floods came, they turned to their friend Kay, a local believer who works in their city and calls this flooded village home. With him, they formed a plan to get supplies to those who desperately needed them. And they invited their support team to give, helping them provide relief in the wake of the disaster.

Without passable roads, bringing food into the village presented a significant challenge. “I looked into buying an ATV or even drones that could carry bags of rice,” Ethan recalls. “Because of the flood, the local economy was wrecked. Many people had no money, so stores didn’t bother opening—or if they did, prices skyrocketed because they weren’t sure when they could restock.”

But eventually, they learned of a store in the village willing to open and do business. Thanks to the gifts they received from their supporters in the United States, they were able to send money to buy food for people in the village. They coordinated with Kay’s aunt, also a believer, to provide relief on three occasions, and through this partnership, they were able to feed 120 starving families.

“The goal was to help until the roads reopened and the economy stabilized so people could return to work in their rice fields—many of which had been completely buried in mud, in some places up to three meters deep,” Ethan explains. “Kay was able to visit his village during Christmas once the road partially reopened, and he reported back that people were able to work again and provide for themselves.”

Through the donations they received, Ethan and Hailey also provided a local orphanage with necessities including rice cookers, blankets, mattresses and food. And they’ve been able to tangibly demonstrate God’s love to their house helper, a Muslim woman who lost everything in her home. “We helped her get new mattresses, and some of our supporters also contributed toward helping her family,” Ethan shares. “We have been noticing subtle changes in her, and are praying that this will move her heart to the Lord and open the door to let us speak into her life more.”

Now, through donations to the Christar Relief and Refugee Fund, Ethan and Hailey are partnering with the director of the local chapter of Food for the Hungry to bring relief to another village—a Muslim community that’s difficult for believers to access. “He and I have been praying together that God would use this situation to open hearts in this place,” Ethan shares.

Through these efforts, 73 more households, totaling nearly 300 people, are receiving funds that enable them to purchase food, medicines and baby supplies. As they do, they’re experiencing the love and care of God, facilitated by His people on the other side of the globe.

Donations to the Relief and Refugee Fund allow workers like Ethan and Hailey to partner with local believers to provide timely aid when disasters strike. We praise God that through these generous gifts, He is not only meeting needs in the wake of conflict and tragedy but also opening opportunities for the gospel to be proclaimed.

Give now.

Participate Through Prayer:

• Praise God for the generosity of His people, which has enabled Ethan and Hailey to meet immediate and pressing needs.
• Thank the Lord for providing means to bring relief to communities that are difficult to reach.
• Ask God to continue to provide for ministries like this through the Relief and Refugee Fund.
• Pray that through these relief efforts in Southeast Asia, God will open hearts to the gospel.