atesea

22 May 2008
Dear Friends,
It has been three weeks after the cyclone Nargis hit Yangoon in the night of May 2, claimed more than 85,000 lives including pastors and churches members and destroyed more than 39 villages. At the momenr, the beautiful Myanmar continue to be in pains and miseries. We, the family members of the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) deeply shares in the pains and miseries of our sisters and brothers in Myanmar currently bear. Slammed by the horrible Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar lost many beloved ones and the precious properties. Building and houses including churches, pagodas, schools and theological seminary buildings and people's houses were leveled to the grounds and villages were washed out. Thousands were left homeless and people are treathened by the possible outbreak of epidemics that might be brought about by lack of the clean water, medical aid and food. In no case then can one turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to this unprecendented calamity that is rocking the country which has never happened in the last 50 years of the nation's life. In view of this, may I request all the member schools and partners of ATESEA to continue to include in your prayers for our sisters and brothers and the victims of this catastrophe in Myanmar and to do all you can to help our sisters and brothers in the affected areas in Myanmar. Kindly read Sister Anna May Say Pa's message "Cry Tear for Burma" below for more information about the real disaster and how to respond to this. May through our act of love, those who are afflicted be comforted, those who suffer in body and spirit be strengthened and others be continually protected from all forms of dangers. May God's care and love continue to be with us all.

Rev Dr Sientje Merentek-Abram
Executive Director, ATESEA

Dr. Thu En Yu (24 May 2008)

Dear Anna May, I hope this e-mail finds you well. I am very sorry for the delay in replying to your email. I was away for the faculty retreat and got home late last night. I have been following news of the natural disaster in Myanmar as well as in China with great concern and heartfelt cry for the victims of the land. Perhaps it's hard for us to even imagine the magnitude of the suffering of your people, but it is times like these that we need to hold fast to our faith in the Almighty that He will turn situations round and despair into opportunities and hope of a better future. Our prayers go with you all and especially for those who have lost their loved ones. As far as I know, response for help from all over the world has been overwhelming and indeed we pray and hope that funds received will go to those in need. I believe that member schools of ATESEA too will want to play our part in whatever we can. I am sending a copy of this email to all the Executive Committee members for their blessing and endorsement. So, maybe you can give us information as to where we should send our contribution to help our member schools in Myanmar. The 5 Myanmar students at STS are doing well. I have talked to them after the disaster. As they are from the north, their families are not directly involved though they too feel great concern for friends and people in the south.

With prayer and love,
En Yu

Dr. Thu En Yu
Principal Sabah Theological Seminary
P O Box 11925 88821 Kota Kinabalu Sabah, Malaysia

----- Original Message -----
From: "atesea2" <atesea@info.com.ph
To: "Anna May Say Pa" <annamaysaypa@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: Cry Tears for Burma

My dear Sister Anna May, Praise God that we could communicate with each other again. We miss you a lot during the Executive Committee Meeting recently. Only on Monday afternoon (May 5) we understood the reason of your absent and we were so sorry for what was happening in Rangoon and especially in Irawady Delta. Your letter brought tears to my eyes. My memory about Rangoon is still fresh after I visited it last March and now I can not help myself but think about the severe disaster you experienced. My deep sympathy to all friends and the families who lost their loved ones a nd those who nowhere to go and nothing to eat and drink. Earlier Thamby Peter also wrote and I thanked him for his information about you and other friends. Praise God for your lifes in the midst of severe tragedy. I want to know that all the ATESEA family members are so concerned with the current situation in Myanmar. Learning about the situation from the news and especially from your letter and Thamby Peter's what we could do is to pray and spread the news so that many people will come together doing whatever we could do to support you. Please know that our thoughts are with you during this difficult time. We cry with you and all Myanmar people and pray for God's special care. As for the accreditation visit in August and October, I would like you to know that during our Executive Committee Meeting recently, we have decided to postpone the visit until the new instrument of the accreditation available. We will decide about the dates of the accreditation visit during the Accreditation Commission (AC) Meeting coming October in Tainan.The AC meeting will be held before the Executive Committee Annual Meeting. Anna May, this is all for the moment. We will continue to support each other in our prayers.
Love,
Sientje, ATESEA