CHENNAI, India (BNC) — Many area Christians have lost all their belongings, but thankfully no deaths have been reported among brethren.
The flooding has caused 280 deaths so far. This exceptionally low number – considering the devastation – is largely due to extensive rescue operations by the police, army, navy and air force, assisted by volunteers.
The building of the Chennai Teacher Training School has remained safe during two more waves of heavy flooding since the previous report, with water rising even higher and flowing swifter than before. The picture above was taken from a window of the CTTS building.
Dennis and Beth Johnson write: “All telephone landlines are dead in our area, and the wireless modems are frustrating at best. We didn’t realize how much work we do on the Internet! Then most of the time, the electricity has been off, refrigerators are useless, and we can’t charge our computers, telephones, etc. At this moment the electricity is on!”
A. Job family
CTTS teacher A. Job from the Saidapet area reported that 14 families in the congregation where he preaches were under water up to the light fixtures (about 6 feet). These 14 families are now all living with brother Job’s family on the second floor of their house because their ground floor is also flooded. He said they need money to feed these 14 families. Those families will all have to start over except for things that can withstand the water.
If you want to help financially, work through a congregation that has regular contact with Christians in India and is able to get funds to those who need them in a reliable way.
Sister Johnson comments: “Our family has been in three bad floods in India, and if you had asked me, I would have said I was up to another one. However, I do not remember anything of this magnitude. Even the inconvenience of not being able to travel, either by plane or by car, has been more than a little depressing. But Sunday was a boost to our morale when more than 70 dripping wet people attended the assembly to worship the Lord!”
Continued flooding in Chennai has been so severe that the International Airport was closed from 2 to 7 December 2015. Prayers are still needed because three more lakes may have their damns opened to prevent them from collapsing.
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