Gafkjen Tsunami Letter

From Bishop James Stuck...

Dear Disciples of Christ,

One of the themes of the Epiphany season that we just celebrated is the call of Jesus to follow him. We heard once again how Peter, Andrew, James and John left everything to respond to Jesus' call. What astounds me is that they didn't know where they were going. They simply followed. That's often the way it is for a disciple of the Lord. We feel called to do something. But we just don't know why.

A little over two years ago, five of us from the Indiana-Kentucky Synod (Pastor Bill Gafjken, Assistant to the Bishop; Chris Carson and Lyman Hitchcock, members of the Global Mission Committee and me, along with Pastor Paul Harder, who was already there doing graduate study) traveled to the other side of the world to visit the people in one of our companion synods, the HKBP, the Lutheran Church of Indonesia. I knew we needed to do this, but I didn't know for sure why. In light of 9/11 it seemed like a dangerous thing to do. We were traveling to a country that had a history of political unrest during a time of global unrest.

What we found was a beautiful group of Lutherans in a beautiful country witnessing to their faith in Jesus. It was a powerful and enriching experience. But it wasn't until December 26th when the Tsunami hit that the full importance of that trip became evident to me. Because we had been there and because many of them had come to visit us, we had a relationship by which we could respond to this great tragedy.

Below you can read what Pastor Gafjken wrote concerning our early response in partnership with our brothers and sisters of the HKBP:

	A letter from the Indiana-Kentucky Synod's Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Global Mission, Pastor Bill Gafkjen

Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA
911 E. 86th St., Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 253-3522

EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI, AND OUR COMPANIONS IN INDONESIA

Updated January 28, 2005

Our sisters and brothers in Indonesia continue their relief work in Aceh, the province of Indonesia hit hardest by the earthquake and tsunami. To date, news sources report that 144,000 are confirmed to have died throughout South Asia and another 143,000 are still missing. Indonesia alone reports nearly 98,000 dead and more than 132,000 people still missing, most of them from the province of Aceh.

Our companion Lutheran church, the HKBP (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan), has congregations in that area, including two of the communities hardest hit, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. The depth of the tragedy is captured in email correspondence we received from our friends and contacts in the HKBP. In Banda Aceh, for example, the earthquake and tsunami hit while Sunday school was in session. The waves of water flooded the church with 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet) of mud. Nearly 100 members died. Among them were all 15 members of the pastor's family (wife, children, and extended family); he was away for continuing education when the tsunami hit. 300 members of this congregation are now homeless and about 70 have been evacuated to the HKBP hospital in an inland town called Balige. By mid-January some of the bodies of those who died had still not been recovered.

Read first-person accounts of HKBP members who survived the Tsunami:

"God's Miracle Saved My Husband"

"Both of My Parent Lost with Tsunami"

"From 7 of My Family Members, only 3 survived"

" Even Water Threw My Son and My Pregnant Wife, Finally We Saved"

The HKBP quickly established a relief effort of its own, focused primarily on HKBP members, but also reaching out to others in need. While money and resources have been pouring into Indonesia from around the world, we hear through Lutheran sources that some of it is still not getting where it needs to because infrastructures are debilitated and, in some cases, non-church related resources are not made available to indigenous churches. Nevertheless, the HKBP, as an incarnation of the compassion of Christ, is plowing ahead and has invited our assistance in their effort.

Since the day after the tsunami struck the HKBP relief effort has focused on:

(1) helping to find, identify, and remove dead bodies;
(2) finding and attending to the needs of orphaned children;
(3) evacuating HKBP members who need medical or psychiatric care from Banda Aceh and Meulaboh to Medan (largest city on Sumatra and about 280 miles from Aceh) and Balige, where the HKBP has a hospital;
(4) providing financial assistance for survivors, especially for medical care and counseling;
(5) providing immediately and desperately needed medical supplies, food, drink, tents, and clothing for survivors.

Recent reports from the HKBP tell us that 276 children have been evacuated from Aceh to the HKBP's Elim Home in Siantar and to Medan. The HKBP is concerned about care, education, and trauma recovery for these children. Some are being educated and looked after until their parents can reestablish, homes, jobs and something like a normal life again. Others, who were orphaned by the disaster, are being placed in "foster homes" and will be cared for and educated under the oversight of the HKBP. In addition, 200 adults were evacuated to Medan and are staying with HKBP church members there. Another 200 HKBP families remain in Aceh, homeless and without resources. According to HKBP reports, many of the HKBP members directly affected by the disaster worked as "petty traders in the informal sector," for example, plying wares on a cart at the street market, and lost their means of making a living. The HKBP is doing what it can to help them resume normal life and to get access to relief and reconstruction programs.

In correspondence sent the day after the tsunami hit, the Presiding Bishop ("Ephorus") of the HKBP, Rev. Dr. Bonar Napitupulu, invited friends of the HKBP around the world to assist the HKBP in this relief work. "Remember the words of Paul the apostle," he wrote, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Heeding that cry, we are supporting the HKBP relief effort directly as a synod. Contributions can be made to the synod ("Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA"), must be marked "HKBP Love Offering," and sent to the synod office. In order to assure that the money can be forwarded to the HKBP quickly and effectively, gifts for this fund should be in a separate check, not included as part of a congregation's regular benevolence.

100% of these funds will go to the HKBP.

It may be helpful to know that many members of our synod know some of those who lead the HKBP's relief work. Pastor Nelson Siregar, who was Bishop of the Sumatra Timur District when he visited our synod and synod assembly in May 2004, is now Director of the HKBP's Department of Diakonia (Service Ministries). Pastor Siregar is coordinator of the relief work and spends his nights sleeping in a temporary "command post" in Medan. Pastor Balosan Rajagukguk, who visited us along with Pastor Siregar, is now Bishop of the Dairi District of the HKBP, which borders on Aceh, and is, consequently, closely involved in relief work as well. Pastor Rajagukguk reports, for example, that teams of HKBP youth have been doing much of the heavy lifting involved in the relief effort.

Pastor Bonar Napitupulu, who, with his wife Rhea, was part of the HKBP delegation that toured our synod in August 2002, became Ephorus (Presiding Bishop) of the HKBP this fall. Ephorus Napitupulu is providing inspirational leadership for the entire church as it seeks to comprehend the depth and breadth of this tragedy, provide relief for those who need it, and move toward the years of restoration and healing that lie ahead. For example, in an address to HKBP leaders on January 17, Ephorus Napitupulu suggested that:

this "devastating disaster" can become something that draws the HKBP itself together, while also uniting the HKBP in "common cause with Lutherans worldwide, as well as the church in the middle of the Indonesian nation, that hopefully can be a momentum of reconciliation in the Love taught by Jesus."

Individuals and congregations interested in supporting tsunami relief in a more general way can also give to ELCA Disaster Relief or Lutheran World Relief (LWR). Both organizations work with ecumenical partners in the South Asia region to provide the resources and services needed. Giving can be done via their web sites: http://www.elca.org/disaster/sasiatsunami.html or www.lwr.org. Thrivent will match dollar for dollar Thrivent members' gifts to LWR. Thrivent members should check with Thrivent representatives for details.

Liturgical resources and other information about the ELCA's relief work in South Asia can be found on the ELCA's web site: http://www.elca.org/disaster/tsunami-prayer.html and http://www.elca.org/disaster/sasiatsunami.html. Updates on the situation in South Asia and relief efforts can be found on the Lutheran World Relief web site mentioned in the above paragraph and at the web site of the Lutheran World Federation, http://www.lutheranworld.org. The Indiana-Kentucky Synod web site also contains helpful information, especially as it relates to the HKBP (www.iksynod.org).

Finally, we are beginning to attend to long-term needs the HKBP will have as a result of this tragedy. In the coming months we will work with the leadership of the HKBP and ELCA Global Mission staff to identify long term needs and concerns that emerge for the HKBP. With them, we will begin to establish priorities, projects, and perspectives that will move our companionship forward and assist in the church's rebuilding and healing. Interested folks will have to "stay tuned" (to our web page, resource packets, and other communications from the synod office) for more information regarding on-going engagement with the HKBP in assisting them in addressing long-term concerns.

Standing 300 feet high, at the spot where Ludwig Nommenson is said to have knelt in prayerful commitment in 1862 before descending into the valley to share the gospel and his own life with the Batak people, across the valley from where the HKBP headquarters now stand, illuminated at night so it can be seen for miles, is the "salib kasih," the cross of love. This cross of love - the cross of Christ - stands tall over the people of Indonesia, shining with Christmas and Epiphany light, leading them through the night toward the promised dawn of abundant life. May God grant our sisters and brothers strength, courage, hope, faith, and healing. And may God grant us commitment like Nommenson's, to accompany our sisters and brothers in Indonesia in fervent prayer and with generous hearts, today and through the long days ahead.

Pastor Bill Gafkjen
Assistant to the Bishop