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Dear Friends,
A small Alliance church in Palu, Indonesia rattled in the deadly earthquake on September 28. Twelve days later, the winds of Hurricane Michael battered two Alliance churches in Panama City, Florida.
The church buildings and the homes of nearly every family from these three churches were damaged. Still, the Palu church and Heritage Bible Church in Panama City opened their doors to serve. They are now a center for Alliance disaster response in their communities.
Let me share what’s been happening so far.
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With the help of MAF, five Indonesian Alliance workers and one U.S. Alliance worker flew into Palu a week after the earthquake and tsunami. In this area, 70,000 people are now homeless.
The team of relief workers began clearing out the Alliance church and adding blue tarps to the damaged roof. They removed rubble from the tile floor and brought in water, rice, eggs, and more.
“Doing church looks a little different than it did a couple weeks ago,” a worker said.
In the first days, the team distributed 200 tarps, two tons of rice, two tons of water, and hundreds of tools. In total, they distributed supplies to 820 families. And that’s just the start.
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“Who are you?” one community leader asked. “What is your group? The others bring in little supplies with lots of banners. You bring in lots of supplies with little banners.”
He asked the team to stay for tea before sending them home with a truck full of coconuts—one of the few things the community could offer in gratitude. The team continues to distribute supplies to this area, as well as five other overlooked communities, showing compassion to hundreds of displaced families.
For an update on Lombok, watch our latest video.
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Hurricane Michael hit Panama City with unprecedented force. When Phil Lohmeyer, a representative of CAMA Services, arrived in the city with Alliance district superintendent Phil Hagar, both were shocked by the devastation. “It looks like a war zone,” they said.
Virtually every tree is bent or uprooted, some crushing cars and others crushing roofs. Many homes and businesses are a total loss and every roof in the city looks damaged.
With your support, CAMA was able to quickly send funds to assist in buying fuel for generators, food, and other needed supplies. And even before we responded, members from the Alliance Church of Port Charlotte traveled 500 miles to deliver a 26-foot truck full of generators, tarps, plywood, and chainsaws.
“Is not our God Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides?” Phil Hagar said.
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We will continue to support the two Panama City churches as they help their community rebuild. You can help significantly by giving, but we’re also looking for skilled laborers to volunteer their time. The Heritage Bible Church is willing to host work crews of 3-5 people. Send our office an email, if interested.
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The gospel is often most clearly seen when we reach out to help those in need. This is one of those opportunities.
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Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability
 CAMA, through the Alliance, is a registered non-profit in the State of Colorado and is an exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
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