This year, severe seasonal flooding in Pakistan during the monsoon season has devastated my home country. The estimated death toll has exceeded 1200 and continues with unprecedented damage to property, crops, and livestock. One third of the country is under water, and millions are left under the open sky with no food, clothing, or shelter.
South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan have suffered the worst, but the impact of the flood and rain is visible everywhere. Food prices have already increased due to scarcity and will only worsen. Only God knows how Pakistan will deal with this recent blow to its post-pandemic struggling economy on top of terrorism and political upheaval.
I ask for prayer for Pakistani Christians, who are placed at the bottom of the social chain despite being most affected.
This is a very personal request. For 40 years, my father, who is a pastor, has been serving a Christian community that lives alongside an open sewage drain running through the city of Lahore. The northern wall of my father’s church and home was built on top of the open sewage wall to gain a few extra inches of space. My younger brother shares the ground floor with my parents and my older brother lives on the second floor. Both brothers are pastors with young families. Similarly, most families in this Christian settlement have built their houses on top of the open sewage wall.
Already, hospitals have begun to fill with people suffering from illness brought on by exposure to flooding sewage.
Please pray that the flooding in Pakistan stops and that the water begins to recede. Please pray that the walls of this Christian community hold up through this flooding.
My sister also runs Resources and Aid Mobilization, a rescue center that aids women at risk, provides legal care to brick kiln workers, and offers free medical care to the community. One of the boundary walls of the center has already caved into the rain and flooding.
Pray for protection and provision, and that in the middle of this flooding the center may find a way to bring hope to the surrounding community that has lost their crops.
To financially support flood victims, RAM is fundraising to distribute 10,000 Love Care Kits through local churches. Each kit includes milk and bread, medicine for fever and cough, a gallon of water (and/or tablets to clean water), household items, and Christian literature. The cost of one kit is $50.
To contribute, you can do so here or here to make a donation in honor of a loved one.