Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year has claimed over 200 lives and displaced more than 200,000 people in Myanmar alone. Photo: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
General Secretary Anne Burghardt’s message to those displaced and mourning loved ones
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has conveyed a pastoral message of peace and reassurance to people and churches in Myanmar that “God is near to those who are brokenhearted and in need of comfort,” following the devastating Typhoon Yagi.
In a letter to leaders of the four LWF member churches in Myanmar, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt expressed “deep sadness” upon learning of “the immense suffering your country is enduring” from the catastrophe that has also struck other countries in Southeast Asia.
“As you navigate the complexities of this disaster, we pray that God grants your country political stability and the governance necessary for humanitarian relief efforts to be carried out swiftly and effectively,” Burghardt said.
As you navigate the complexities of this disaster, we pray that God grants your country political stability and the governance necessary for humanitarian relief efforts to be carried out swiftly and effectively
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt.
The storm is reported to have claimed over 200 lives and displaced more than 200,000 people in Myanmar alone.
Referring to a report from Rev. Martin Lalthangliana, President of the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Myanmar, Burghardt shared LWF’s deep concern over severe flooding in mission areas and communities linked to the member churches. “We hold you and the people of Myanmar in our prayers,” Burghardt wrote, acknowledging the challenges facing those displaced and mourning loved ones.
She expressed hope that the LWF World Service program in the country “can take up its work soon, and that international aid will reach those most in need, providing tangible support during this critical time.”
