The Revd Henry Iputau, a minister of the Christian Congregational Church of Samoa, has spoken of the devastation caused by the recent tsunami in his native country. Mr Ipatau came to the UK as a missionary with The Council for World Mission and worked with the United Reformed Church in Norwich, primarily at Princes Street, between 2004 and 2007.

In a message to churches in the Norwich area he said the whole of Samoa, together with Samoan people across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, are devastated.

He continues; “Samoa has a small population, everyone is like a family and knows someone who has lost a loved one. One church has lost half its members, including the minister’s wife. The minister went to the capital, Apia, a 45-minute drive, to take his children to school and returned to find the whole village wiped out by the tsunami.”

Henry Iputau concludes, “This is the first major tsunami that has hit Samoa, and probably won’t be the last. We pray for God’s comfort and healing for all our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster.”

The Samoan islands are predominantly Christian. John Williams and Charles Barf, from the London Missionary Society, introduced Christianity to the population in 1830. The two Congregational Churches have a combined membership of more than 100,000 with 450 congregations.

More about the Samoan Churches at http://www.cwmission.org/churches.html

http://www.samoatsunami2009appeal.org

Our earlier story on the Samoan tsunami: Heartfelt sympathy for families ‘torn apart’ by Samoan tsunami