Earthquake Update – Krishna’s Story | Winnipeg Centre Vineyard

Below is a story gathered from an interview with Krishna Kumar, a member of the Kathmandu Vineyard. It’s written by Matthias Floreck, an HRV friend with of the German NGO Kinderhilfe International who provided us with a shipment of durable tents.

On April 25, 2015, Krishna and his family were gathered at the Kathmandu Vineyard. Everyone except his father had made the 2-hour walk from their home to the church building. Krishna’s father, who would normally be sleeping at home during this time, felt a kind of inner unrest. He couldn’t sleep, so he got up to go outside. As he left the house the earthquake struck, destroying the handmade brick structure. The collapsing ceiling would have crushed him. Krishna hurried home to find his father alive. He believes God saved his dad.

Krishna (in the white shirt) with his family.

However, gratitude was mingled with a great sadness. Everything his family had worked so hard for was destroyed in an instant. Krishna works for the city of Kathmandu. His wife works as a cleaner. Both make just enough money to take care of their two children and Krishna’s father and sister. They just managed to pay for the children’s school fees – barely enough to survive. Now nearly everything was broken underneath rubble. The kitchen utensils, furniture, pots for the harvest… everything.

Krishna and his family received a tent for temporary shelter. When he was asked about the future Krishna and his wife were very grateful. They said the tent was like heaven for the family. The first nights after the earthquake they were sleeping under a tarp. It was dangerous, especially for the children. There are leopards that come down to the village at night to hunt. They said they heard a leopard 5 meters away from where they were sleeping. The tent provides more security and will enable them to weather the monsoon season.

Krishna doesn’t know how to go on. He will not be able to rebuild his house alone. He estimated that he could save money for 5 years and then start to build a new house. This sounded like an expression of desperation to me.

Krishna helping to distribute rice to the people who live on the riverbed in Kathmandu.

Krishna says to all of you, “Blessings to all our friends and please pray for us. Don’t forget us and help us rebuild our lives. You shared in our pain and our suffering. We will never forget this and we will pray for you.”

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Krishna is a member of the Kathmandu Vineyard and the overseer our new church plant at Goldhunga. Everyone from the Vineyard is engaged in helping their neighbours. Even those who have lost their own homes are helping others in need.

Below are some pictures of a recent trip to the “Riverbed” – a place where the poorest of the poor live. Since the earthquake, the population of the riverbed has increased. We regularly minister there.

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