Displaying items by tag: Sulawesi

On 11 May four Christian farmers from the remote village of Kalimago, Poso regency, were murdered by five sword-wielding attackers. The terrorists ambushed a group of farmers who were harvesting their coffee plantation. The victims were aged between 42 and 61. A fellow-farmer saw the suspects carrying firearms and sharp weapons approach the victims before he fled and informed the police, who later said the witness identified one attacker as a fugitive and a member of the IS-linked Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) terrorist group. The attack was motivated by robbery and to terrorise local residents. One of the victims was decapitated in this particularly brutal attack. In November, the same Sulawesi-based terrorist group burned down a Salvation Army church and Christian homes, and hacked four Christians to death and beheaded one. The authorities have not been able to capture the fugitives despite months of efforts.

The earthquake that hit Sulawesi on Friday 15 January destroyed many Christian homes and church buildings. Survivors are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Desperate Indonesian pastors are pleading with Barnabas Fund for suitable tents, blankets, food and baby milk for their homeless church members. The government’s emergency response and aid for the survivors is inadequate and will end altogether on 8th February. The makeshift camps are in the middle of the rainy season - humid days punctuated by intense downpours. Pray for all the hungry, homeless survivors sheltering in crude camps. May they know the peace of the Lord and hope for the future. Pray for the desperate Indonesian pastors to have the resources and support needed to look after their homeless church members.