By Carl Stagner

The impact of devastating Monsoon flooding this year has touched the lives of over 33 million Pakistanis. In Karachi, home of the national Church of God administration, Rev. Dr. Samuel George witnessed water crest inside the church at five-and-a-half feet; the overflow of sewage only made matters worse. Church of God Disaster Relief quickly responded with much-needed funds for immediate relief, but the story that hasn’t yet been fully told centers on the work of the Church of God in Pakistan. The mission-minded believers from the church in Karachi have put their own faith into action, mobilizing teams to visit remote villages in desperate need of disaster relief—and in desperate need of hope.

While the Church of God in the United States and Canada has partnered with the Church of God in Pakistan to bring emergency food, water, and additional provisions for relief amid unimaginable loss, the Church of God in Pakistan themselves have collected offerings, purchased supplies, and hand-delivered relief to the hardest-hit places.

Church of God in Pakistan displaying relief bags before prep.

Rev. Dr. Samuel George describes some of the work they’ve accomplished. “…we were finally able to distribute the food. We traveled to Kotri city at the church where Pastor Albert Riaz and his son Pastor Samuel Albert are pastoring. We did the purchasing in Hyderabad city, as it saved us 35,000 rupees to purchase there, rather than purchasing in Karachi and renting a truck and bringing the food from Karachi. We also printed the food bags from Karachi with our church names, one side with Church of God Ministries, and the other side with Philadelphia Pentecostal Church.”

In each food sack, staple goods were included, such as flour, sugar, lentils, rice, noodles, milk, salt, spices, tea, cooking oil, and soap. Each sack cost about $12 to assemble, and an initial 275 families received the material blessings. The generosity of the Church of God in Karachi propelled the project forward, and with tremendous impact.

Filling relief bags.

“We distributed it in two different locations,” Rev. Dr. Samuel George explains. “Due to roads and highways being closed, we reached the locations quite late, and it was dark when we reached these people.”

In early September, Rev. Dr. Samuel George observed, “The whole province is literally covered with water. There’s water everywhere, and most of the place is covered with over five feet of water. The whole crop for the year is underwater and is ruined. People are very distressed and agitated…. Hopefully, we will be able to raise some more funds to reach out to other villages that are now sitting and sleeping mostly on the main roads.”

Rev. Dr. Samuel George distributing relief.

Later in the month, the Church of God in Pakistan visited even more villages to the north of previously covered locations. The needs were met with additional disbursement of funds, and the investment was certainly not made without lasting, even notable spiritual impact. Considering the worsening mosquito problem (including diseases carried by mosquitos), the assistance and care offered by the Church of God was received with broad appreciation. Due to the ongoing critical need, please stay tuned for further opportunities to partner with the Church of God in Pakistan.

In the short term, a gift of $15 equips the local Church in Pakistan to purchase and distribute enough food and water to sustain 1 family for 10 days. This is just the beginning, as Disaster Relief is preparing to engage for the long term to share Jesus’ love and compassion to these four Hindu-majority villages. To further equip the local church to respond to hurting families and communities, donations can be made to Church of God Ministries Disaster Relief. One hundred percent of your donation goes to providing help to those suffering.

Distribution site at a remote village.

Feature (top) photo: Fragile living structure of remote village in Pakistan.