May 09, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The situation inside Burma is deteriorating by the day. The military government there is refusing to let any aid come into the country without it passing through its own hands. Of course none of the donors want to do that, no one trusts the dictators – they know full well that most of the aid will not get to the intended people. This is how perverse the present regime is. We have been trying to mobilize the Christians inside the country to help coordinate an effort to get basic food and water to the survivors of the cyclone. The problem is that they themselves don’t have much to give! Prices of food and basic commodities in Burma have skyrocketed to such an extent that people who haven’t even been touched by the latest disaster can hardly keep themselves fed.

The deteriorating economic situation within the country is what sparked the massive protests from the Buddhist monks last year. After they were brutally put down, many of the monasteries in and around the city of Yangon were shut down and the monks sent home to their respective districts. Consequently, most of the monasteries that are located nearest to the present disaster area have had the wind taken out of their sails at a time when they are most needed. Traditionally, monasteries have served as basic caregivers in Buddhist societies – but in this situation they have been effectively crippled and sidelined by the military regime after locking horns with them in an irreconcilable clash.

This situation however has opened up a great opportunity for the Church to step in and help. There is no doubt about it – this is Burma’s greatest hour of need. No disaster of this scale has hit Burma in living memory. We are sending in funds from here as we are able to, but we too are limited in what we can do. Our own purchasing power has been slashed nearly in half by the global economic downturn. Is there any possibility of launching an emergency campaign to raise relief funds for this disaster? If any of you as individuals, or as supporting churches feel led to act on this need, please forward your contributions to Tammy Leatherby, who is our stateside forwarding agent. Mark it BURMA RELIEF. Tammy can be contacted at:

Tammy Leatherby

tleatherby@eastside.com

(714) 871-6844 X106

Your Fellow Servants,

Joni & Nangsar