Tampa Volunteer Ministers in Southern Asia

Lisa Cummins, a trained Volunteer Minister of the Church of Scientology of Tampa, helped on the relief effort for Florida’s record-breaking hurricanes in 2004. Three years before, she assisted Ground Zero rescue workers in their grim task. But, when Cummins saw the first news reports of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, she was stunned by the scope of the devastation.

The Clearwater homemaker quickly resolved to take action and do something about it. Her teenage daughter, Jessica, volunteered to join her, eager to contribute in the disaster relief effort.

So it was that the two women arrived in the town of Nagapattinum on the south-eastern coast of India. The mother-and-daughter team were among more than a dozen Volunteer Ministers from Tampa Bay-area Churches of Scientology who flew to that region.

The shock from the tsunami was obvious. Many survivors were disoriented and out of touch with their surroundings.

In these circumstances, Volunteer Ministers respond with spiritual aid, called "assists¹," which restores a person’s awareness of the environment, allowing them to take the necessary steps to ensure their own survival.

Among the survivors Jessica aided were children who were afraid to go near the water, fearing another wave. She administered a "Locational Assist² " which unsticks a person’s attention which has become fixated due to trauma, loss or injury. After 15 minutes these once-frightened youngsters were playing in the ocean.

"Every day when we would arrive at the shelters, more and more people would come up to us and hug us," said Jessica. "These people made me feel like I was a lifesaver. I was so happy to help them."

Jessica Cummins, gives a touch assist to a tsunami survivor, using the services of a translator.

1 Assist : processes called "assists," developed by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, can be used by anyone to help people who are injured, ill, distraught or injured. Assists do not take the place of medical attention but aid it by addressing the emotional and spiritual side of the trauma.

2 One of the easiest assists to render is the Locational Assist which unsticks a person’s attention which has become fixated due to trauma, loss or injury. A locational can be done on anyone who has friends or family members suffering shock or emotional distress.

L. Ron Hubbard developed numerous applications of his discoveries for the mental and spiritual aspects of a person’s physical difficulties. These are called "assists." The Touch Assist is the most widely used and probably best known assist. The purpose of a Touch Assist is to reestablish communication with injured or ill body parts.