Categories: uncategorized
Date: 01 January 2005 13:40:44
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I have great difficulty getting my head around the awful disaster in Asia at the moment.
A friend of mine who is an Anglican Preist and former nurse is currently in Sri Lanka trying to help get things straight. We are holding a collection in Church this Sunday to send out to the Church in Colombo via Fr Stephen. I'm going to take the liberty of sharing the last two emails I received from him. The first was received yesterday, New Years Eve
"I arrived yesterday and the first indication I had that there was a problem of grave proportions was at the luggage reclaim at Colombo airport. Before the cases and bags of the travellers came through on the belt, body bags, syringes, latex gloves and camera equipment from ABC and CNN news etc. went past.
It is appropriate that the money you are going to collect/have given is going via the church here. Many nationals in this already poverty stricken continent are never slow on making a quick buck. Aid can get absorbed by people who are less sympathetic with, for example, the government as well as the beuracrats in the government. In addition, many locals are stealing jewelry of the bodies of the dead. I am on water boiling duty today. Apart from the ever increasing number of dead and missing, over five million people are in need of aid. Trying to reduce the spread of disease is going to be a big problem. The temperature is 30 degrees plus so that doesn't help. Apart from many buildings and roads being destoyed, the tsunarmies destroyed the sewers and drainage systems. The country here was, for the first time since the end of the civil war, beginning to make a profit from tourism.
The question that the church here is having to face is the role of God in all this. Many think it is a judgement from God on the people of this area for the persecution of Christians - what doesn't help is that the Phillipeans, a christian country, was unaffected by the tsunarmies. The whole country is very superstitious with christianity being a fairly small religion that endures much persecution. There are five bigger religions on the Island. The largest being the Bhuddists. I went to the beach this morning to find some people that I had befriended in previous viisits, but there bodies are still missing.
Today is New Years Eve and New Year has been cancelled so to speak as today is a national day of mourning. All parties have been cancelled. Therefore, the christian churches on the Island are expecting a huge influx of people at the Nightwatch services.
Have a peaceful new year and thank you for your support.
Stephen"
This is the one I receiived this morning
"The government here has put the price of a human life at fifty pounds. That is the amount they are willing to pay any SURVIVING members of families where people died.
Thanks for your support, I will email more later in the week.
Regs
Stephen"
Please pray for Stephen and everyone affected by these dreadful events.