Thursday, September 29, 2005

Vijayawada floodwaters receding

About 60% of Vijayawada was flooded. Thankfully it is surrounded by mountains and homes and streets built on the mountainsides did not sit in standing water.

The waters are filled with dead animals and live cobras from the farmlands that were flooded upriver.

Streets in Vijayawada looked much like pictures of Venice, but without the gondolas. People walked and pushed carts where they were able to reach dry areas where they could buy food and other necessities if they had money.
Homes like this one on the left

Please pray for these families whose homes are not liveable right now and especially for those whose homes cannot be repaired. Also please pray against the spread of disease and mold. Many will not be able to purchase bleach and cleaning supplies to disinfect their homes as they return to them.

Also the likelihood of the spread of waterborne diseases is greatly increased. The donations we have received have already arrived in Vijayawada and are in the process of being used to help these families, especially those who were hit first with fire and then with the flood. We are also grateful for the thoughtful $25 donation to help our preschools at this time.

You may donate easily online at our website: http://www.fullcirclemin.org/ . FCMI is a tax deductable ministry.

Checks or cash are also welcome at our Madison office: Full Circle Ministries Int'l, 1603 Monroe St., Suite B-One, Madison, WI 53711. If you have questions or want more information please feel free to contact us by email by clicking on the envelope icon below.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Prayer changes things!
Sherry

Pray and keep on praying!

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Flood map - Andhra Pradesh Sept 05

Please click on the following link to see a map of Andhra Pradesh showing the huge area that is flooded.
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/mapinnews/2005/andhrapradesh-cyclone.html

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Vijayawada, from Fire to Flood

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005
While most of us here in the States are watching to see what will happen next with hurricane Rita another crisis is underway halfway around the world in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Pastor Daniel called this morning to ask urgently for our prayers. He opened his main church which will seat about 500 as a shelter for families who lost their homes in the RajuNagar fire Sunday morning (410 homes burned). The monsoons this year have poured out record amounts of rainfall and the Godavari and Krishna Rivers are overflowing their banks and may soon overflow or possibly break the dams upriver.

I could hear the pleading in his voice as I read the email he sent following the phone call: "Nearly all our church members houses totally spoiled. We all resting with our children on roof. Please pray. If rain comes its very hard to face flood victims. Government totally left us (without help)."

Water has risen to an unprescedented high. Pastor Daniel's home and the church are both elevatated 4-5' off the ground as protection against flooding. But that is not enough this year. Flood waters have never come close to their door before. There is no drinkable water, no toilet facilities, no gas or stoves for cooking, no more food, and no shelter. If the rains hit again as predicted for Friday and Saturday, they will have no place to get out of the rain. Please pray that the buildings hold up in the rain and flooding. Nearly all other homes and businesses were flooded before the church was flooded.

The city of Vijayawada is mostly submerged (2.5 million people). There is no bus service, no trains, the airport is flooded. And Vijayawada is only a small portion of the area of Andhra Pradesh (state) that is flooded.

Also flooded is Yellandu where Pastor Timothy and Pastor John Mullar minister. Eluru is also under water. Hyderabad is struggling with flooding. Nearly half of the roads in Hyderabad (6.5 million population) are reported as being washed out.

Pastor Daniel especially asked that we pray for their protection from snakes. Much of the area in Maharashtra (state that is up-river) is farmland and the waters are full of swimming cobras.
Along with the cobras are floating bodies of dead cows, pigs and dogs. Doctors are very concerned about the potential for spreading diseases, especially waterborne diseases.

Pastor Daniel is still planning to go to North India as scheduled, even though he will be sorely missed at home now. He is determined not to let the enemy's plans prevent the harvest of souls that the Lord has planned for the North. He has parked his motorcycle on high ground and has his bag all packed. He will have to ride his motorcycle all the way to Hyderabad (normally 5 1/2 hour drive) and then is expecting to fly out from there up to New Delhi to begin his 2 week tour in the North through 5 states where there is much persecution of Christians and even martyrdom. Please pray for his safety and success and for the strength of his family and those left behind to cope with the results of the fire and the flooding.

It was reported as of last night that 56 people had died in the flooding, most of those from electrocution, the others from building collapses.

One bright spot in this is the response from Christian brothers and sisters that we helped with Tsunami relief earlier this year. They are cooking up huge boilers of yellow rice and planning to come by boat and deliver it to the families on top of the church roof and Pastor Daniel's familiy.

Pastor Daniel has been out with crews on rescue boats helping to save people stranded or trapped in the water.

I discovered an article in a trade magazine for dam and power plant builders, that the earth quake last March significantly damaged the Royna Dam which is upriver in Maharashtra leaving cracks that have weakened it. Dam managers wanted to release more water but were unable to do so without flooding the next dam downriver. If the dam should break there would be flooding on a much greater scale and it would likely come as a wall of water with much force. Please pray for mercy and that the Hindus and Muslims alike would cry out to God and surrender their lives to Jesus before it is too late.

These people have no FEMA to help them. Croplands have been washed out along with homes and cities flooded. Livestock has drowned. Please have mercy on them and send whatver you can to help our Christian friends there and enable them to share food, water, tents or tarps in the Name of Jesus as they share the gospel. Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples." John 13-33-34. Whatever you can can sacrifice for their sakes will make a difference.

You may send a check to: Full Circle Ministries International, 1603 Monroe St., Suite B-One, Madison, WI 53711

or you may donate online at http://www.fullcirclemin.org/donations.asp

Please feel free to call if you have questions.
Sherry 608-577-3264.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Valuable Volunteers


Sandi showing Roger around our new website www.fullcirclemin.org

Both have been such a wonderful help and encouragement. They are the Lord's touch in my life right now. Come meet them for yourselves!

If you need website development or are interested in purchasing African hand drums you can contact Sandi at through a link on our website.

Help for the homeless in Madison

I've taken a step of faith and am opening our new office/prayer center/day center for the homeless. I recognize that I cannot do this alone. I need help. I'm fighting discouragement and at the same time I am excited about what God is going to do in Madison in this next year. Please pray that the Lord will supply all the help that is needed.

Roger will be volunteering mornings from 8 or 9am til noon 5 days a week, keeping the office open for people to come pick up their mail (in Madison you can't have a post office box if you don't have a street address), have coffee, read the want ads, pick up needed items like clothing, shoes, toiletries, back packs, etc. We also offer a place where they are welcomed to come and sit, think, read, converse and where they may receive prayer for their needs. A friendly face and a willing ear are often hard for the homeless to find. We also like to keep snacks and cans of soup on hand. We have a microwave where they can heat the soup.

We're still waiting on God's provision for phone and internet at our new office location. Please pray that the Lord will provide this service either as a donation from the provider or in the form of monthly pledges committed to making these services available to the homeless and poor who are job hunting and needing to connect with their families and rebuild their lives. We offer a sense of home and belonging. We do not give out financial assistance, but we give Jesus love, respect, friendship and the tools to help the poor, lonely, sick and homeless go forward, grow and change in the face of their difficulties. We bring hope to the hopeless and light to those in darkness.

Our current expenses for local ministry are about $600 a month for rent and utilities and including $150/month for my college loan for the education that helped prepare me for ministry. Internet and phone would add about $90/mo. This does not include the gas I spend in ministry, the donations my husband and I make to cover my expenses and food donations we make. Our income over the summer averaged about $390/month. The savings we had going into the summer is depleated. I praise and thank God that we are not in the red. Please pray with me for increased income. We cannot continue like this. Also, the phone and internet and postage are integral in enabling us to help others. We are not able to offer these now. Some days I feel like giving up on offering a place of warmth, love and shelter and prayer, mainly because I don't want to spend my time fund raising. I want to be working with people and spending time in prayer and worship that will bring lasting change. I know from experience that it is hard for me to do these things out of my home -- it disrupts family too much. So, here I am, plodding along and hoping that we will be enabled to continue.

Things we could use:
If your heart is moved we can always use new or clean unstained underwear for men and women, toiletries of a size that can be carried around all day in a backpack, snacks (home made is wonderful), fruit, microwave popcorn, sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, razors, feminine supplies, back packs (clean and in good shape), envelopes, stamps, resume paper, 9x12 manilla envelopes, file folders, 24lb bond inkjet paper and money for photocopying. (I'm praying for a photocopy machine in good repair.) Good quality coffee, and specialty creamers also help create an environment of care. All of these things are needed as we go through the process of helping them in applying for jobs or medical disability and advocating for those who don't have the needed social skills or understanding of the forms and processes.

We are also looking for a few warm hearted volunteers to host or hostess. All you need is a willing ear, a heart to pray, and a desire to give of whatever the Lord has invested in you. It's easier than you think. And it challenges us daily to grow in our faith as we connect heart to heart with the Lord in His compassion for them. Come and meet Jesus in the faces of the homeless and lonely. Let your heart be broken with the things that break our Heavenly Father's heart. I dare you to do something that will make a difference!

Love in Jesus,
Sherry

Monday, September 19, 2005

India - Church Burned


Pastor John Prasad's family looks through the site where the RajuNagar church stood just a day ago. Everything was lost: the sound system, drums and instruments, pulpit, mats for sitting on.... About 200 families attend this church. Now they will have no place to meet out of the rain. I am guessing that it would take about $8,000 to rebuild the church walls, floor and roof. It would take about another $200 to replace the equipment. Please pray for them. This is in a very poor area of Vijayawada. Please pray that they will not give in to discouragement. Also please pray for income for Pastor John Prasad and his family. The congregation will be trying to rebuild their homes and their lives now.

Fire Disaster - Vijayawada, India


I received a call from Pastor Daniel in Vijayawada, India early Sunday morning India time. He called to ask us to pray. The area surrounding the RajuNagar church went up in flames with 412 homes and the church burned out completely. Pastor John Prasad (Daniel's brother) leads this congregation. Over 600 people died in the fire including 22 children. Only two church members died in the fire but 13 church familes lost their homes. Pastor Daniel's main church is in walking distance from RajuNagar. He planned to have only a 30 minute worship and prayer service Sunday morning and then everyone would walk over to help the people in RajuNagar. In the photo you see families and friends who have come to mourn with them as they survey the damage and remember loved ones lost in the fire.

Please pray for these poor families who will have no home, no clothing, no shelter..... About 2 years ago there was a fire that destroyed 100 homes in another neighborhood. The government came in to help people by giving each family 2 cooking pots, 1 plate per person and a bag of rice. That was all.

We may think FEMA didn't do their job very well, but our displaced families will have much in comparison. So please pray and if you feel led you may also donate to help the affected families through Full Circle Ministries Int'l. You may send a check or donate online at our new web site (still in progress). http://www.fullcirclemin.org/ (The donation currently will come through Sunshine Valley Ranch to Full Circle. Please designate it for FCMI - fire. We'll soon complete the PayPal process to bring the donations in directly to Full Circle so it will be less confusing for donors. )

BTW Sandi Beckoe of LadySword Productions (and Sunshine Valley Ranch), is doing a wonderful job creating our website. She has pulled info from our previous newsletters, photos, and gleaned info from conversations with me and put together the basics. I need to go in and update some of the articles and we could use some help getting pictures uploaded to the site. It isn't difficult, just time consuming. Let me know if you might be interested in helping. It is fun to see the site grow.
Love in Jesus,
Sherry