Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, which has killed thousands and destroyed many buildings, evangelicals are reporting a desperate need for aid – and glimmers of gospel opportunity.
The 7.7 magnitude quake has prompted an immediate humanitarian crisis in a country which has been gripped by civil conflict for four years, with missionaries in the nation already experiencing a “tenfold increase” in requests for missionary aid even before the earthquake.
Andrew Dudgeon, from Christian mission organisation Platform 67, told en of the already huge need facing the nation before the quake – the United States’ recently implemented sudden freeze of humanitarian aid had had a big impact on both humanitarian and missionary initiatives, including those run by Platform 67 partners on the Thai-Myanmar border. Food provision had stopped overnight, medical facilities had to close, and water systems in refugee camps were disrupted.
