Last January, she stood on her second-floor balcony, pointed to foundations where homes once stood and counted off the number of people who died when a vicious tsunami wave swallowed her village.
“At that house, two women died,” she said. “At that one, a man died. At that house, one woman died.”
Then Jenat, a 33-year-old mother of two, went to the only thing remaining in her home — an altar to Buddha — and gave him glory for saving those who lived.
“I am Buddhist, and I am very happy because we saved a lot of people,” she said. “We were praying to Buddha.”
That was her response to the tsunami last January. Today Jenat is a vibrant follower of Jesus Christ who understands that He alone has the power to save.
“At that time, I thought the Buddha saved us,” Jenat said days before the first anniversary of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami. “You know I believed in Buddha, and I would have died for that at one point. Now I only believe God. I am a … new Jenat. Salvation came to my house.”
In late November, Jenat could wait no longer. Even though the sea was rough, she stepped into the ocean and followed Jesus in baptism.
She was not the first tsunami survivor to do so, nor will she be the last. A few days after Jenat’s baptism, six more new believers were baptized. In all, more than 40 men and women have been baptized, said Southern Baptist worker Liam Metsker.
“Getting to see all those … baptized in the first group was another surreal moment,” Southern Baptist worker Jada Lynn said.
Groups of people who desired to know more about Jesus began forming in May. Some of them soon dissolved, while others thrived. A few of the groups are on their way to becoming churches.
The decisions to follow Christ did not come quickly or easily for the Sri Lankans. Most are the fruit of relationships developed shortly after the tsunami — and sometimes of relationships that existed with other Christians even before the tsunami.
“When I first met Jenat [in August 2005], she was not even interested in Jesus,” Nikki Edenfield said. “Then one day she told me that some friends from Holland had sent her a gift and she was really excited. It was a Bible in Sinhala. Now she gets so excited to go and share. She’s bringing people into her home for Bible study and leading people to Christ on her own.
“Jenat told me she loved [how] nobody came in here and forced people to take Jesus. She said, ‘If I can go and help you help others and translate for you, then I can share with them that we are doing this because God loves them. That will give me an inroad to share Jesus with them.’ Our language only goes so far, but she’ll be able to go in and really share with them.”
Southern Baptist worker Riley Delk said meeting tsunami survivors’ physical needs has led to opportunities to meet spiritual ones. Working with volunteers, Southern Baptists have reclaimed wells, repaired and rebuilt houses, provided mattresses and mosquito nets, rebuilt chicken coops and fishing boats and listened to the survivors tell their stories.
“The volunteers probably had more impact on the spiritual interest [of Sri Lankans] than we ever had on the ground,” Delk said.
Southern Baptists have contributed nearly $17 million to tsunami relief. Countless people have prayed. Thousands of Southern Baptists have given their time to volunteer in tsunami relief throughout Asia, including about 180 volunteers in Sri Lanka. Volunteers also have served in India and elsewhere where the tsunami devastated coastal areas.
“On behalf of countless victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami, your missionaries serving in South Asia want to thank Southern Baptists for their prayers, their gifts, and their commitment to this ongoing relief effort,” said David Garrison, International Mission Board regional leader for South Asia.
More Southern Baptist volunteers are needed. Many Sri Lankans still are without homes. Some live in wooden shacks, but others remain in leaky tents even as the first anniversary of the tsunami comes and goes. (BP)
Editor’s Note — The names of Southern Baptist workers and national Baptists were changed for security reasons.
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