Sunday’s earthquake was felt by a number of our field personnel across several areas, territories, and countries. That’s how far-reaching it was. You’ve seen footage of the destruction caused in the epicenter, and the collapse of innumerable buildings across Turkey and Syria—the latter a country already destroyed by war over the last twelve years.
The immediate needs are obvious; we are one of many organizations and aid agencies mobilizing to meet them. The mid-and long-term needs will last for weeks, months, and years. While the gut-wrenching death toll accounts for lives lost in the initial collapse, it will not account for collateral deaths: the chronically ill who just lost access to medicine and ongoing care. The elderly who lost their homes in the middle of a brutal winter. The already impaired food supply now choked to an abrupt halt will starve out families in untold numbers.
Our commitment now and in the years to come is the same it’s been for over a decade since our founding: to bear faithful witness of the Gospel of the Kingdom in crises, wars, and conflict zones. Jesus is the only Name that can redeem such devastation in the grit and grime of rescue efforts and relief distribution with eternal opportunities.
We’re already working in affected areas we cannot disclose, and we are preparing for new deployments.
Pray with us that the God of comfort will reveal Himself to the grieving, that the word of the Lord would run swiftly and be glorified, and that the Lord of the Harvest will mobilize laborers into these ready fields.
What we need today is money to bring immediate aid to those in need and assessment of the long-term recovery. In time we will need qualified persons to help with recovery.
