A year and a half after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar (Burma), people there are still  recovering from  the effects of the disaster.  However, despite the ongoing hardship, notes of thanks are coming out of the region as it slowly recovers.  American Baptists gave $ 180,000 towards Nargis relief through One Great Hour of Sharing.  This allowed the Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC), an International Ministries partner, to set up an Emergency Relief Taskforce that helped to meet the immediate needs of survivors: clean water, food, shelter and medicine.   The MBC continue  to aid victims by providing seeds to farmers whose crops were wiped out and construction materials to rebuild homes and schools.

Cyclone Nargis affected more than 2¼ million people in May of 2008.  Relief work in the aftermath is still underway. To provide financial assistance for recent Asian tragedies in the Philippines, Indonesia and Samoa, you can make donations to One Great Hour of Sharing, Attention:  Asian Disaster Relief, c/o World Relief Officer, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482.

The following are a sampling of the “thank you notes” from Cyclone Nargis survivors in Myanmar who, despite loss of family members, their homes and livelihoods, have managed to start down the road to recovery.

U Eh Naw and Family
Sar Bo Gyi village, Kyaik Latt
 
Dear MBC and Donors,
With respect, we are writing this letter. May God bless you all. Our prayers to you all.
We know that our God is a living God through Nargis. We give thanks to God. We are also thankful to the project staff whom God has used for His ministry. Because of Nargis last year, we received God's blessings. The Lord is wonderful. We have a plot of land, 5 acres, but no rice seeds left. We were discussing about buying rice seeds at 5000 kyats (about 5 US $) per basket. We will have to pay the interest when harvest time comes. However, we did not forget to pray to the Lord. We kept praying and praying. One morning, God answered our prayers. We learned that MBC and the donors are going to provide us with rice seeds. Oh… we gave thanks to God. We cannot thank the Lord enough and also the project staff. Now we have sowed for 3 acres. We are very happy. We pray that God will richly bless the donor organizations and the project staff more and more with joy, happiness, peace, comfort and gratification with this Nargis ministry. We became acquainted with the project staff. We believe that you will remember us in your prayers. We thank the Lord for preparing such gifts for us.
Yours sincerely,
Father        U Eh Naw

Ma Thida and U Mat Gyi
Sar Bo Gyi Village, Kyaik Latt

We are very grateful to you all. We arrived here at Sar Bo Gyi village and we received blessings from the God of the Christians. We used to live in Kyauk Tine Su village. We came here just one month before Nargis struck. We have only 2 baskets of rice seeds left after Nargis. We did not know what to do and how to sow the seeds as we have 6-acre land. What we had was not enough. Just then we were told by the pastor from Sar Bo Gyi that we were included in the recipients list for rice seeds which were to be donated by the MBC and its partner donors. We were so happy. We had not received anything from other organizations yet, except from the church. We learned that people who worship God are kind and helpful. We also learned that even after death, they will not go to hell as they will be saved. We decided to become Christians. Please remember us in your prayers. Thank you very much.

Naw Shee Lo Paw, 55 years, widow
Church Treasurer, Thar Phyan Gyi Karen Baptist Church, Bogale

After Nargis, only 6 houses remained standing in our village. About 137 people died. My husband died 8 years ago. We are a 6-member family who all survived Nargis but our house was totally destroyed. We lost all we had in the tidal surge. However, since the death of my husband, I totally surrendered myself to God, so I could rest assured that God will provide for us. After Nargis, we received many kinds of relief assistance through Karen Baptist Convention, Christian friends and other well wishers. What God has provided us is much more than what we could earn on our own. Thus, I give thanks to God.

Thra Law Seh, 47, Pastor,
Thar Phyan Karen Baptist Church, Bogale

I have 8 family members. We were spared during Nargis but our house was destroyed. We received food items, clothing and household items as others did. My immediate need is to be able to rebuild the house and school expense for 5 of my children. As I am a pastor, I have no land and thus I do not receive any farm inputs.
Regarding Nargis, there can be many things to reflect and discuss. As for me, based on the scripture, I believe that this is the will of God. This is the sign of the time for His second coming. What we see is just mortal. What we cannot see is immortal. God is reminding us of that point. We should not criticize God for Nargis but we should draw nearer to Him, especially as believers we know that in this world, we will have to go through such trials and testings. We should remember His promise: He told us not to be worried and that He will be with us. We were affected by the cyclone and we faced hardships. However, while we were helpless and we had no one to help us from a human point of view, God prepared and provided us with what we needed. How great is His love for us!

Ma Hnin Wai Oo, 18, Buddhist, orphan
Tha Phyan Gyi, Bogale

We were a 7-member family. During Nargis, I lost my father, my mother and two brothers. So now there are only three sisters left. My sisters survived by holding on to the rain tree near the school. I learned that my 13-year old brother was also holding onto the same tree but was hit by a huge wave, lost his grip and fell into the water and drowned. We did not know what to do. After Nargis, Myanmar Baptist Churches Union (MBCU) rebuilt a house for us. They also provided us with relief items, clothing, food, and household materials. We are very grateful. I want to see my younger sister continue her schooling. Nargis still is haunting me. I lost consciousness and was thrown onto a small lump of trash which was swept away about 5 miles from the village.

U Mar Ga Yet, 35 years, Karen Christian.
Thar Phyan Gyi

We were of an 8-member family. My wife, 2 sons, 4 daughters and myself. I am the only survivor of my family. All the houses in our villages were totally damaged. MBCU rebuilt the houses for us. They also cleaned the ponds and repaired the roads and provided us with relief items such as food, clothing, household items and farm inputs from many donors and organizations. I have 6 acres of land and I usually get 140 baskets of rice annually. Now I get only about 90 baskets. I am still struggling with the loss of 7 family members. But I tend to think that this is the act of God, and I try to be more optimistic and I have surrendered myself to God and to live according to His will.

Naw Sah Lwe Say, 34, School Teacher (also the wife of the pastor)
Thar Phyan Gyi, Bogale

Altogether there were six of us; I lost 2 nieces and 1 nephew during Nargis. Our house collapsed. I survived because I was thrown onto a bush which I held onto the whole time. The only building that remained standing after the cyclone is the church. Almost all who survived in this village did so because they took refuge in the church. MBCU staff and volunteers and the communities worked together to create a healthy environment, rebuilt the houses and temporary schools, cleaned the ponds, and cremated/buried the corpses. They rebuilt a new house for the pastor. All these things were made possible because of the help provided by the donors. We are thankful to them.

Naw Say Hteh, 52, Health worker
Kyet Taung Chaung, Bogale

There's a lot of lessons to be learned from Nargis. I will never forget this disaster. This changed many people, some for worse. From worldly point of view, their hopes and dreams have been shattered. Many felt down and out, not knowing what to do for tomorrow. As for myself, I turned myself to God, and I remembered Him and drew nearer to Him. I saw Nargis as the will of God. When I read Ecclesiastes, I am more convinced that in everything, God is the center. I pray that God will prepare the unforeseen road ahead. The church was damaged heavily but we have not finished repairing it.