A fire inferno - a plea for help

Dear Brethren,
I want to thank each and everyone who responded to the call for help.

Sister Esther, the daughter of Alice's sister has written to acknowledge the gifts from the following that have been forwarded to her. I paste below her acknowledgment to the donors.

sing
=======

On Apr 27, 2010, at 9:37 AM, Esther Ling Hoong Hoong wrote:

Dear Brethen,

Greeting in the blessed name of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

I write to thank you from the bottom of my heart for responding to the appeal put out by Pastor Lau on behalf of my mother, Alice's 4th sister.

Pastor Lau has remitted to me the gift that were contributed from the following :

KES - RM1000.00
LKM - RM1000.00
ML - RM1144.80 ( S$500.00)
LWM -RM5672.75 ( S$2500.00 )
ScUsa -RM3188.29 (US1000.00)
SDC - RM800.00
Sydney - RM1448 (AUD 500.00) (June 1)
__________________
Total - RM14253.84
==================

Regards,
Esther Ling
on behalf of my mother

========================

The timber house completely burnt to the ground.

The timber tops of the next two houses completely gone!

Taken from the front. Scrap metal scavengers have arrived...
like vultures descending upon dead carcass!

The 4th house saved in the nick of time!

Dear Brethren out there,

I am writing this to ask for help.

On Wednesday (March 17) around noon time, some children were seen burning some rubbish behind a timber house, with thatch roof covered over with TARpaulin canvas. It was a school holiday week (Mar 14-21). To the right of this timber house is the house belonging to my wife's (Alice) sister. This house and the next few houses are double storey, with brick walls on the ground floor, while the first floor is completely timber. The house immediately to the left is a single storey brick house (the shell of this house was intact but the contents were burnt too when the glass windows melted away under the intense heat).

The weather has been extremely dry for several months now. Somehow, the timber house caught fire, and the inferno produced by the thatch roof, TARpaulin and timber spread to the next two houses in no time... despite the great effort by some neighbors to douse out the initial fire. The neighbor behind the timber house was the first to notice the timber house on fire, and set off the warning. By the time the fire men came, from a bigger town nearby, they could only prevent the fire from consuming the 4th house.

Alice's sister is a widow. The husband passed away a few years ago because of cancer. She survives on the proceeds from a small plot of palm oil plantation. She has a few sons, but they are the irresponsible type. She has a daughter (Esther Ling) who is a fine Christian, who were together with us in the same church in KL before we came to Penang. In this terrible accident, nothing was saved except the life of her grandchild whom she was baby-sitting. Everything else is consumed by the fire! Several other grand children were not home because of school holiday - away visiting their parents who work in far away.

I heard of the bad news on Thursday late morning. Alice and I made a trip to the little town (Ayer Tawar in Perak state) later in the afternoon. The sight was heartbreaking. We took the four pictures below... We spoke to some of the neighbors who are still in shock and terrified!

I write to seek your help for my sister in law. There is an effort to raise fund among her siblings. I want to do my part to show the love and care of Christian for her. I am making this need known to the Christians I am in fellowship with here and elsewhere.

I know needs are everywhere. But if the Lord move your heart to help this situation, I would be most grateful. Please contact me and I will let you have the details of the church account for this purpose.

a brother in Christ,
sing
====