Dear Friend,

You heard from me two weeks ago, the day after the tsunami disaster struck. But it seems a lot longer than that because of all that has happened since. Here at Partners International we have been working long and hard to assist our indigenous ministries that are responding to the crisis. How thankful we are for those of you who have prayed and given to make our response possible. We’re working hard to keep you informed as well.

Three days after the devastating tsunamis, a Partners-supported Indonesian relief team, including eight medical doctors, delivered a truckload of supplies—5,000 blankets, medicine, five tons of rice, 300 boxes of instant noodles, 700 boxes of bottled water, used clothing, fish, vegetables, and—because the team was already trained in the local language and customs—words of comfort and hope to the traumatized survivors. Click here to read the rest of this news release.

We also sent our project coordinator from Spokane to help assess the situation and determine the most strategic ways we can be involved. If you’d like more detailed information about how we and our partners are responding, please click here to go to our web page that lists the information we have available (such as a church bulletin insert and Tsunami Briefings). We will do our best to keep this page updated with timely and accurate information.

By now you’ve probably received my letter in the mail. If you’ve already sent in a gift, thank you! If God leads you to share something to help survivors of this natural disaster, please click here or call (800) 966-5515.

By the way, a new law allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct on their 2004 tax returns certain contributions to charities to aid the victims of the tsunami even if the contribution was made during January 2005. Partners International is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible contributions for relief efforts for the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The new law applies to “cash” gifts, which include gifts by check, credit card, and bank wire, but excludes stock gifts. For more information, visit www.irs.gov.

In the midst of these hectic days, it’s hard to take time to reflect on the deeper implications of this global disaster. But we do know that restoring and rebuilding the broken lives and communities will be a long-term task, and that Partners International will be there through our partnerships with locally-led Christian ministries.

Under His Wings,

Jon Lewis
President/CEO

Partners International
1117 E. Westview Court
Spokane, WA 99218 USA
(800) 966-5515
www.partnersintl.org
www.harvestofhope.org

Partners International is a global ministry that works to create and grow
communities of Christian witness in partnership with God's people in the least
Christian regions of the world.

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