Nearly a year has passed since the tsunami ravaged countries bordering the Indian Ocean. The survivors have been greatly encouraged by the international outpouring of support. You are part of this support: EMM has directed your gifts to Indonesia, India, and Somalia to aid local and international partners in their work. The following stories highlight a small part of what they are accomplishing.

Restoration in Indonesian communities
EMM’s partner church in Indonesia has been hard at work sharing God’s love in Aceh, the Muslim province hit hardest by the tsunami. On May 8, a boat workshop finished its first batch of 5 boats and handed them over to the local fishermen.

Yan was one of the recipients of the first batch of boats. When asked how he felt after receiving his boat, Yan replied:

For the four months after the tsunami, I lived my life with no hope. As the head of my household, I had no job and was unable to provide for my wife and nine children. Since my youth, I have only worked as a fisherman. I have no skills to that would help me make a living on land. When I heard that boats were being provided for those in our village, I thought it was a dream – thinking, "There is no way anyone is going to do that for us." I was afraid that if I got my hopes up, I would only later be disappointed. When I told the good news to my wife, she immediately burst into tears of joy.

Today I have received my boat. My heart is overjoyed knowing that my hope was not in vain. We want to express our gratitude to those who we view as our saviors from the disaster that has come upon us.

That night Yan and his son went out fishing for the first time in four months. They caught an expensive fish which they were able to sell for $120, four times the usual price of a whole day’s catch!

Read more about what's happening. >