After the Earthquake. Letter from Chris Marshall in Novo

Would you pray with me for our teams in the region and for all those affected? Here are some specific things you can pray for:

• In Syria and Turkey, it is desperately cold. People have lost their lives, their loved ones, and their homes. People are in need of places to stay, warmth, food, and comfort.
• For connection with Novo’s teams on the ground, hearing back from those who were affected, and how we can help support their families and communities.
• We are trying to negotiate with the Syrian government to bring aid into the hardest hit areas in northern Syria, but as of yet, still no breakthroughs. Pray for avenues to open up and for the release of aid to the places that need it most. 
• For God’s supernatural hand of protection on all the innocent lives caught in this tragedy. 
• Ongoing ministry and healing for many people who are already traumatized by long years of war in Syria.
• Please also pray for Beirut, Lebanon right now, as they are facing a major collapse of the banks, which would cease all imports. 

These are some of the things we’ve heard from those on the ground:

“I am so numbed, so frustrated, tired, hungry, cold. My grandparents are still under the rubble after 41 hours of the earthquake. We are sleeping in the car. Still having tremors. Some of my childhood friends, my relatives are dead. Some are still missing.  Gosh it’s so heavy.”

“People living in the Middle East are not some special species that becomes more immune to tragedy the more they experience it. They are humans who are suffering at levels that are almost inconceivable.To believe otherwise is to justify your cold indifference”
 

The situation in northern Syria is tricky because the hardest hit areas are also still divided by regime and anti-regime forces, which make getting aid there nearly impossible. The Assad regime is blocking all the aid coming in and, from what I understand, anything that is getting through is from individuals in taxis and cars. Our contacts are saying they’re not receiving anything and people are just using hammers and small tools to try and find any survivors.
 
Cash is being allowed into the country, but funds can’t be transferred to Syrian banks, so we’d look to neighboring countries to transfer funds – Lebanon and Turkey. But Lebanese banks are going through a major crisis right now as well (which also needs significant prayer) and we have no accurate reports that Turkey is allowing aid to pass through to Syria or keeping it.