Since the end of October, more than 200 people have died and more than 200,000 have been evacuated in Indonesia following the repeated eruptions of Mt. Merapi, the "Mountain of Fire." WELS members have responded by granting $10,000 from WELS Christian Aid and Relief to Gereja Lutheran Indonesia (GLI), or the Lutheran Church of Indonesia. This sister church body of WELS has used this grant to distribute 24,000 face masks, blankets, food, bathing items, feminine supplies, and clothes.

"These gifts of love from WELS members," says Pieter Reid, national church advisor to the Indonesian church body, "provided much needed help to GLI members and many other people who were forced to flee their homes." Reid also notes that many people could not afford the face masks, which sell for about 35 cents, so they were extremely grateful to receive the donations from the GLI to protect them from respiratory problems caused by volcanic ash in the air.

Some GLI members lived three miles from the volcano and were evacuated and relocated repeatedly as the danger zone widened. One of the GLI families in Yogyakarta, 19 miles from the volcano, has a five-month old daughter who has been hospitalized for the past week because of respiratory problems caused by the amount of ash in the air. The GLI congregation in Karangmojo is providing temporary shelter and food for about 40 evacuees. The GLI members in Boyolali have been distributing needed items to residents and to the many evacuees now sheltered in their community.

While more than half of the WELS relief funds have been used to purchase and distribute needed items, now that so many agencies from around the world have responded, the GLI will suspend its distribution of aid until other relief agencies leave. Then the GLI members will step forward again and use the remaining relief funds to provide help to those who are still in need.

Reid notes, "In the midst of the suffering caused by this disaster, WELS funds are enabling members of the Lutheran Church of Indonesia to do good to all people, to let their light shine, and to show the love of Christ."