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Operation Blessing Brings Medical Aid to Indonesian Quake Victims, Entire Village Sleeping in Tents

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Operation Blessing responded within hours of a series of powerful earthquakes that left hundreds of Indonesians dead, and thousands injured on the island of Lombok 

OB teams traveled to the earthquake zone, bringing much needed help to people living outdoors in tents.

The initial quake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and within several days, the people of Lombok were struck with two more devastating tremors. 

In additon to at least 430 dead and many more injured, at least 20,000 people were left homeless.
 
The island of Lombok is near Bali, a popular vacation spot. It's in the eastern part of the country, along the rim of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

CBN Regional Director for Southeast Asia Mark Mcclendon is leading the Operation Blessing relief effort. He said people are terrified that the earth may shake again.

"The collective trauma of three earthquakes in a row has caused tens of thousands of people to choose to sleep out of doors. Even the city's main hospital 
now is on the brink of collapse, as patients lay in tents in the parking lot, and it's into this situation that Operation Blessing's doctors and nurses have come to bring medical help and relief," McClendon explained.

A  man named Bohri, came to an Operation Blessing base camp, looking for help. An OB medical team responded immediately,  and were shocked to find hundreds of people in the village of Karang Anyer in desperate need of medical attention.

A third earthquake destroyed almost every house in the village, leaving many people traumatized and wounded. The entire village is now sleeping outside. 

But the Operation Blessing team didn't just bring doctors to bandage the wounds and medicines to take away pain and sickness, they also brought hope and trauma relief.

"I felt so sorry because no medical help had come for my village, so I finally went to find help...I'm so happy and deeply thankful for the team that came to our village today," Bohri said.

McClendon says more help is on the way. "Operation Blessing is sending more medical teams, blankets, food, water, tarps, everything that we can do and share to ease the suffering of these people on Lombok. "


 

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About The Author

Gary Lane
Gary
Lane

Mr. Lane currently serves as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He has traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and has provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he has provided written stories and has served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs. Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced