In spite of the death and destruction, Yohannan reports, some bright spots exist. He explains how God's hand protected one congregation. "In one of our churches in Sri Lanka, our believers were spared even though their entire village was washed away. At the time the wave hit, they were all in church, and their church building is located up in the mountains."

But Christians have suffered alongside their countrymen throughout South Asia's devastated coastal regions. One pastor in Sri Lanka, Brother Logidasan, lost his wife, son, and mother when the waves crashed in on them. The leader of GFA work in Sri Lanka, Lal Vanderwall, has called for prayer for the pastor and his coworkers as they try to minister to others in the midst of their own grief.

In the wake of this disaster, GFA's 1.5 million-member Believers Church in India is rallying support and deploying its leadership and members to minister to those suffering both physically and spiritually.

"In times like these, we know that God opens the hearts of those who suffer, and we pray that as our workers demonstrate God's love to them, many of them will come to know for the first time that real security comes only through Him," Yohannon says. "We ask that our brothers and sisters in the West take the time today to pray for these millions of victims, that they will feel God's presence and grace in a special way. And please pray for our workers, that they will be given strength to serve in these horribly difficult circumstances.

"This is the most widespread disaster to hit Asia in decades," adds Yohannon, "and it is our prayer that in the face of such massive suffering, with your help we can become a shining beacon of God's love and compassion."