Christians in Post-Tsunami Asia: A Time to Tell?
by Rebecca Grace
March 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - For Scott and Susan Sweat, of Alexandria, Virginia, what began as a second wedding anniversary getaway to Thailand turned into a story of surviving the devastating Southeast Asian tsunami.Although the couple was not in the direct path of the tidal wave, "we were certainly close enough [for it] to give us some chills and to see the aftermath of it," Scott said.
"The evidence is so huge that Someone greater than us was controlling our schedule over there and placing us in the exact place that we needed to be," Susan added.
"We trust in God's plan, and we take comfort in that," Scott said. "And if it had been our time to go, if He had taken us to be with Him, we know that He would use that in awesome ways [too]."
But for now, God is choosing to use Susan and Scott as spokespersons for His Kingdom. Being tsunami survivors is providing them with numerous opportunities to share their faith and their belief in God's sovereignty with others. (Read feature article on Scott and Susan Sweat)
"It's just blowing doors wide open to speak God's name to them," Susan explained.
"And it is just really encouraging to see all of these doors being opened," Scott added -- not just for the Sweats in the United States but for others in the devastated countries that are predominantly Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim.
A Spectrum of Views and Needs
As explained by Kenneth Woodward in the January 10, 2005, issue of Newsweek, Hindus view the tsunami as a destructive act of whimsical deities. For Buddhists, it's a time of appropriating individual and collective blame in an attempt to justify the wrath of the weather gods, and for Muslims, it's Allah's way of testing their faith.
But for Christians, it's a time to hold firm to the belief that God is in control while being the hands and feet of Jesus.
"... Most of those who survived to weep and mourn -- like most of those who died -- had never heard of Noah or the biblical God of Wrath ...," Woodward wrote.
So the question abounds among both believers and nonbelievers as aid rushes to these countries: Is this the time for Christians to share their faith or simply meet the physical needs of the tsunami victims? Or both?
"I believe Jesus always met physical needs as well as spiritual needs," said David Huey. Huey is a youth minister who recently spent two years living in Indonesia befriending and ministering to the Indonesians.
"If you truly care about people as a Christian, it would be time to do both," he said. "It hurt me inside to learn that so many of the Indonesians perished without knowing the love of Christ."
Having lived in Indonesia for an extended period of time, Huey has an understanding of the people and a feel for the religious structure of the country.
"The Indonesians that I lived with were a beautiful people who had a tremendous amount of respect for people and relationships," he explained. Therefore, the people were "more nominal in their religious beliefs, meaning that not everyone held to the strict law of their religion," although they would claim it was important.
However, the area impacted by the tsunami is populated with strict Muslim groups who were fighting for their independence from Indonesia. "They desired a full Muslim state instead of being part of a country that allowed for other religious tolerance," Huey explained.
This area is known as Banda Aceh and is presently in a state of mass devastation due to the tsunami. Yet, spiritually, there appears to be hope for these people, among others, who are now opening doors to tsunami relief efforts.
The Spiritual vs. the Physical
"Since the tsunami, one of the only positive things has been that it has allowed for aid to return to the province of Aceh," Huey said. "Though this is a difficult and touchy ordeal, it has opened doors for people to come in and meet physical needs and through that, hopefully open doors to share the love of Christ with them."
K. P. Yohannon, president of Gospel for Asia (GFA), a missionary training ministry helping tsunami victims in the name of Jesus, agrees Christian tsunami relief efforts should include meeting both physical and spiritual needs because the disaster has made people "more receptive to the Gospel."
However, both Huey and Yohannon believe it is very important to share the Gospel in a way that is not overbearing. "We must remember that a person is not a product," Huey explained. "We should not treat them with the attitude that because I am here helping you physically, that you should convert to my beliefs."
"Jesus never did that; He went out doing good, it says in the Bible," Yohannon added. "He healed the sick; He fed the hungry: He cried with them -- but He never told them 'You have to follow Me.'"
Therefore, Yohannon is clear that his ministry's provision of food, clothing, medicine, and housing for the victims is not a means of coercing them into Christianity.
Regardless, William Headley, deputy executive director for Catholic Relief Services, strictly believes that sharing the Gospel should have no part in the tsunami relief efforts. "This is not the time for evangelization," Headley said.
Although the Sweats are grateful for increased ministry opportunities, they somewhat agree with Headley when it comes to evangelizing victims on a short-term basis. "I think that we both feel that this is the time and the opportunity to seize to form relationships, not to convert a sector of the community or the world," Susan said.
She believes the victims need to see that Christians have a genuine interest in them, and in time the victims will understand that their physical needs are being met out of a love for Christ.
"I think that this is the time to send those long-term missionaries who are going to stay there and who are going to build community -- build a cloud of believers there," she explained.
Jerry Dykstra, a spokesman for Open Doors, an international non-profit ministry that serves and strengthens persecuted Christians, also believes it is very significant to provide assistance over the long haul. "These people are going to need help spiritually and physically for months and years to come ...," Dykstra said.
A Tsunami of Prayer
While Susan and Scott were able to assist in some cleanup efforts during the remainder of their stay in Thailand, they are back at home now wishing they could have stayed longer and helped more.
However, neither of the Sweats feels called to long-term missions. Susan is a senior legislative assistant for Congressman Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Scott is a major in the Air Force and executive officer for the Air National Guard's chief information office -- both in Washington, DC. Therefore, they channel their passion for serving people through mission endeavors as the Lord leads them.
But that doesn't keep them from daily being a part of God's overall plan of bringing people to Christ.
"We all need to take advantage of the opportunity to lay on prayer and bring a 'prayer tsunami' to the [devastated] regions .... That's the most important thing we can do," Scott said, based on what a missionary told him.
"For us, at least, it's so evident that our God is bigger than a tsunami ...," Susan added. "He is just using this -- what we perceive as such a huge thing -- as just a small step in His greater plan of bringing Himself glory and bringing us closer to Him."
Rebecca Grace, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is staff writer for AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This article appeared in the March 2005 issue.
