On Wednesday, ice, rock and other debris surged down the Lhende Khola River, roughly 100 miles from Mount Everest. Hundreds of people are still missing from the neighboring regions in the Himalayas, including about 65 Americans, and the death toll, which is already in the hundreds, is expected to climb into the thousands.
But Julie McGowan of the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) International Mission Board (IMB) says any SBC missionaries who might be in the area are safe.
"While we can't discuss specific locations of many of our personnel, in light of various challenges unfolding globally, we're grateful to God that we can confirm our personnel are unharmed and safe," she relayed.
Send Relief's Scott Knuteson says concerned Christians from local churches are moving into the disaster zone.
"They're already in the streets and walking over the piles of mud to get to their neighbors and give them things like rice and cooking oil and salt, first-aid bags, and even tents for families, many of whom their homes have been entirely swept away," he details.
He says the Body of Christ is equipped for this, and SCB partner churches in Tibet are in it for the long haul.
"The Church is already in that community," Knuteson notes. "They know their neighbors; they know the needs, and so they're able to jump right in and help and show and share the love of Jesus, even in the midst of tragedy."
Even though this response begins with immediate relief, he says they recognize "this is not going to be weeks or months to recover; this is going to be years — years and years in some cases."
