More Volunteer Ministers arrived in Aceh in Indonesia to reinforce the relief activities there. Further south, in Medan, the VMs continued to work in coordination with doctors and nurses to deliver assists in local hospitals as well as to soldiers engaged in the arduous task of relief work. In Sri Lanka, the VMs are helping in the construction of tents to provide temporary housing for those who lost their homes in the disaster. To the southwest, a team of VMs has arrived in the Maldives to provide “spiritual first-aid” to those who suffered and to help in the work of reconstruction.

Indonesia

A very traumatized man is brought to the Scientology Volunteer Ministers' Trauma Center

This man is given a Scientology assist to help orient him as he is extremely upset

During his Scientology assist the man starts to positively respond

The Scientology assist continues and the man becomes aware of his surroundings

The task of cleaning up after the disaster and helping the traumatized to recover and to resume their lives can be intense and exhausting work. To aid army personnel engaged in this effort, the VMs have been giving assists to some of the soldiers as well as training them in how to administer assists to others.

The assists continue to produce remarkable results in relieving the distress of those who were injured or suffered the loss of their relatives. At the VMs’ trauma center in Medan, one gentleman who had been suffering from pain in his kidneys, feet and head declared himself pain-free after an assist. One of his colleagues experienced similar relief from pain in his hands, feet and head after an assist.

One grief-stricken woman who had lost her family arrived at the trauma center requesting help. Like others in this situation, she was very distressed. A VM gave her a Dianetics counseling session that addressed the loss. By the time it was finished, she was able to smile again.

In the Malahayati Hospital, a VM ministered an assist to an 80-year-old man from Banda Aceh. The man’s body was bruised and his physical condition fragile. After fifteen minutes, his breathing improved and the delighted man commented that his body now felt fresh and relaxed.

A 21-year-old who felt confused and stressed after having lost two sisters in the disaster felt much better after an assist. At her request, the VM gave her on-the-spot instruction in this simple procedure so she can help others.

Another man had lost all feeling in his fingers after he had torn his hand with wire that he grasped during the tsunami to prevent the wave from sweeping him away. After an assist, he reported that feeling had returned.

Finally, perhaps the most dramatic story of yesterday concerned a gentleman whose condition was alerted to the VMs by two people who had found him sitting on the rim of an ornamental fountain, rigid, his eyes rolled back in his head, virtually unconscious. A VM helped them lift him onto the grass and gave him two different kinds of assists. The man soon became conscious but was still in a panicky condition. As the assist continued, he relaxed until by the end he was smiling and alert. While those looking on were impressed by the improvement, they have by now come to expect this kind of result from the work of the VMs.

Sri Lanka

The VMs have been operating in the area of Galle on the south coast of the island. Yesterday they ministered 70 assists to people temporarily housed in three camps in the region and trained several of them in how to give assists themselves. An army major who received an assist was so impressed with the results that he is now arranging for others to be trained.

Providing shelter for those who lost their homes in the disaster is a continuing problem. Yesterday, 50 6x8 meter tents donated by the Italian government arrived in the area and the VMs have been working with a civil engineer to get them put up and into use.

If you can help with donations or wish to volunteer time, call (323) 960-1949 or 1-800-435-7498 or e-mail vm@volunteerministers.org

For more information: Scientology Volunteer Ministers News

1. Assists are techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard. They operate on the principle that one tends to withdraw mentally or spiritually from an injured area. Only by restoring communication with this area can one bring the spiritual element into healing, thereby greatly speeding the healing process. Assists are used to alleviate stress and physical aches and pains, or to orient a confused or distraught individual to his present environment.

2. Dianetics: The word Dianetics comes from the Greek words dia, meaning "through", and nous, meaning "soul," and is defined as what the soul is doing to the body. Dianetics addresses and handles the effects of the spirit on the body. Dianetics thus helps provide relief from unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents and psychosomatic illnesses (ailments caused or aggravated by mental stress).