ATLANTA – Early Dec. 26 a woman named Sampra left her house in Pudupakkam, India, to sell some fish her husband, Sabapathi, had spent all night catching. As she walked along selling fish, a tsunami that would devastate the region approached the shoreline. Caught up in a 30-foot wall of waves, Sampra was hit by two of the dozens of fishing boats being slung through the sea water. Sabapathi, awoken by the thundering waves and screams in the village, attempted to save his wife but drowned trying. Soundary, their frightened 12-year-old daughter, ran – returning several days later to find her house destroyed, her father dead and her mother severely injured.
Ten days later, Sam Bandela, one of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions field personnel, saw two groups of men sitting at the shore amid broken fishing boats and motors. "Handicapped by language differences, they were not getting anywhere," Bandela said.
Since Bandela knew the local language, he approached the group. Three of the men had their businesses destroyed by the tsunami, and the other men were Christians from a different state in India. "They wanted to help some people," Bandela said.
Amid conversation with the two groups, another member of the Fellowship’s relief team came to Bandela with the news of a severely wounded woman – Sampra – who needed immediate help. Bandela relayed the information to the group, and the men rushed to Sampra’s house. "They learned that she was badly hurt, suffering from broken bones with painkillers being her sole treatment," he said. "With or without the needed operation, her chances were slim to make it through."
But the men wouldn’t give up. They rushed Sampra to the nearest hospital, where the out-of-state visitors paid for her operation. Because her chances of survival were slim, the men also deposited an equivalent of $20,000 in a bank account for Soundary’s future college education or her marriage dowry, which she would have to provide in order to be married.
Although Sampra is still alive, her long-term survival is questionable, Bandela said. But through partnership efforts, Soundary has a secure future. "Christians working together in partnership sent the message that we are united in this effort to reach all who are in need regardless of caste, color or creed. This was vividly demonstrated through our partnership efforts not just with this group but others also working in the area," Bandela said.
For more on the Fellowship’s Asian Response, visit www.thefellowship.info/AsianResponse.icm.
CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.