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Redwood Volunteers Helping Pakistani Victims
SANTA ROSA, CA (December 21, 2005) - As winter begins to arrive in Pakistan,
nine members of Redwood Covenant Church are in the beleaguered nation to
help build shelters for those left homeless by the October 8 earthquake
that killed more than 79,000 people.
Another member has traveled with a team to minister to women.
An estimated 2.5 million people were left homeless, many of whom have
been difficult to reach because they lived in remote mountain areas.
News reports quote observers as stating the ground heaved up an
estimated eight to ten feet before dropping back down, reflecting the
intensity of the earthquake.
The nine men from Redwood Covenant were scheduled to remain until
December 20. They have joined with about 130 other volunteers from
around the world to build approximately 40 shelters. The volunteers, who
are being flown by helicopter into remote regions, are being
enthusiastically welcomed by the residents, says Redwood Covenant team
member Brian Lowney, with meals being provided by the residents. The
local military commander has assigned a guard to protect them at night.
The men range in age from 20 to 60. In addition to Lowney, other members
of the team are Michael Chamberlain, Andrew Almile, Francisco
Henningsen, Mark Rechin, Kyle O'Connor, Les Negley, Scott Selberg, and
Dale LePera.
The group raised $35,000 from sources outside the church to fund the
trip, says pastor John Strong. Marmot, a company that manufactures
high-end outdoor equipment, supplied the team with clothing, tents and
sleeping bags that will be left in Pakistan when the team returns home.
Team members also brought additional sums of money to further help their
work.
The men are not the only people from the church to minister in Pakistan.
Julie Caldwell traveled with a different ministry team (not from
Redwood) to China over the summer, and members traveled to Pakistan
following the earthquake. "Nearly every home and business was reduced to
rubble," she wrote in a letter. "Pictures and video footage truly don't
give an accurate picture of the physical destruction."
The emotional toll has been even greater than the physical. The team's
Pakistani van driver lost 29 members of his family. A three-story school
for girls collapsed - reduced to five feet of rubble - killing
approximately 200 girls, one-fourth of the student population. Their
bodies still had not been recovered some five weeks after the quake,
Caldwell says.
The team also provided the survivors with books and book bags so their
education can continue. "Our team spent three days counseling and
playing with these girls," Caldwell says. "From schoolmaster to student,
what began (with some resistance to Americans) turned into incredible
gratitude."
Caldwell and her team also spent a day in a tent camp that 3,000
individuals now call home. The tragedy led to the breakdown of
longstanding social barriers. "At this tent camp, we counseled and
prayed with 250 women in one setting, Caldwell says. "This is unheard of
in this culture, as women are to be in public only with their husbands."
Nearly every woman came forward when they were invited to be prayed for,
Caldwell says. "Women wept as they shared their stories while we held
them in our arms. They held our hands tightly, not wanting to let us leave."
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