“Operation Rebuilding Lives” on the ground in Thailand

The first team of 16 people in “Operation Rebuilding Lives,” an MBMS International initiative, arrived in Thailand January 17. The project will involve over 50 people from North America and the Thai church working together to build houses, give urgent medical care and share the message of Christ’s love. Jake and Margaret Janzen of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. are the team construction coordinator and team leader. They sent this report:

We have completed constructing 12 temporary homes, under the auspices of World Vision. When you see families living in tents and thousands milling around without adequate housing, you begin to feel the impact this disaster has had on people’s lives. Tonight, right after we had almost finished with our part of the construction, families were already moving in, leveling the floors, and working up a real sweat. You can imagine how happy they were to have a roof over their heads, although their living area is only about 10X16, and there is only one layer of plywood between homes.

We have a great team of skilled and willing people who have given their best. Some on our team have dealt with the identification of the dead, and we also have four nurses, who are handling the wounded and sick in a portable medical unit.

We are preparing for our real mission – building ten homes for people whose homes were completely destroyed. On Tuesday, we spent some time surveying the devastated areas, and saw massive areas that had nothing but destroyed homes, cars, and vegetation. One amazing sight was the presence of a fairly large fishing boat that had been hurled about a kilometre across buildings and came to rest against a house. There are so many amazing sights: some buildings were saved intact, while others were totally destroyed. The stench of death is still there.

We have a Thai pastor and two translators who have helped us make contact with the people. The Thai people are so gracious and uncomplaining, and we have enjoyed them a lot. Their food is very tasty and prepared with lots of spices.

We hope to not only rebuild homes, but also rebuild lives, so they will have a hope for time and eternity. We attended the massive Tsunami Memorial Service and the Buddhist presence was very strong. Less than 1% of the population is Christian. Perhaps this disaster has opened a door like nothing else could.

Tonight after work, part of our team (including me) sang worship music over the public address system. We were told that there were people crying and very moved. Praise God! The Buddhists were right after us, but the gospel has great power and we trust God will have a great harvest of souls here. It is awesome for us to be part of this experience on your behalf.

—Global Bridge