From Hungarian Baptist Aid joining intensive search-and-rescue missions to Texas Baptist Men providing them with generators and other supplies, global Baptists have responded to earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that claimed more than 36,000 lives.
A Hungarian Baptist Aid Rescue24 team—19 specialists with seven rescue dogs and two metric tons of equipment—left Budapest within 24 hours of the earthquake. They are working in Turkey to rescue people trapped in the rubble, the European Baptist Federation reported.
TBM is providing financial support to supply generators, blankets, food, bottled water and other items to Hungarian Baptist Aid and other regional ministry partners.
“As our partners distribute the goods, they will be ministering to people, helping them work through the trauma they experienced and take first steps in the recovery process,” TBM Executive Director Mickey Lenamon wrote in a Feb. 8 email.
TBM will send two water ministry workers to Turkey to serve alongside Missouri Baptists in providing clean water for people in areas where the infrastructure has been destroyed.
“The most pressing immediate needs for impacted communities are access to food, clean water, trauma care, temporary shelter, medical care and evacuation,” Jason Cox, vice president of international ministry for the Southern Baptist Send Relief collaborative, told Baptist Press.
Send Relief local partners began distributing water, food and other emergency supplies within hours after the earthquake, BP reported.
“In Acts 11:29, we see that the church at Antioch set the example for the church all through the ages,” said Send Relief President Bryant Wright, who visited southern Turkey. “They took up an offering for the church in Jerusalem that was going through a tough time.
“Now we can respond to their example as Antioch has been devastated by this earthquake, by praying for them and by giving to help them in this time of recovery.”
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How to pray and give
The European Baptist Federation specifically requested prayer for:
- Hungarian Baptist Aid Rescue24 team members who are racing the clock to find survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
- Leaders of the Turkish Baptist Alliance, the Baptist Convention of Syria and their churches.
- Ministry partners in Lebanon who are working with Syrian churches.
- Families who have lost loved ones or whose loved ones remain missing.
- Millions of displaced people in Syria and Lebanon.
To support TBM disaster relief, mail a designated check to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron Drive, Dallas, TX 75227 or click here.
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