Tragedy Strikes! Hope Endures!

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Has anyone physically sat around and counted up to 1,000,000?

I mean, we all understand the number as a concept but have we actually experienced the sheer vastness of the number?

That's the number of people displaced as a result of this Natural Disaster not to mention the 12,000 or so who died. These were people like you and me who were sitting around, probably enjoying their time with family and friends when all of a sudden a wall of water comes crashing on them like so much concrete and either crushed them or just stole their lives away.

Each of their stories are now lost. Each of the little sparks that lit their family and friend's lives have been extinguished. Their shared experiences have become inaccessible to us except through vicarious means. All this in the blink of an eye.

Allan came to bed last night on the verge of tears. He summed it up with "it's so sad to see." We said a short prayer for all those who suffered and asked God to shine hope in their lives. Wish we could do more.

Some hopeful stories;

A friend's Uncle and Aunt were driving in Phuket when they saw the wave coming in. They turned round and sped off and missed the wave by a few minutes. The same friend's brother in law was on Koh Phi Phi off Phuket and they had just left on the boat for the mainland when they saw the wave crashing into the island. They did not know where to go. Somehow, they made it back to Phuket in one piece.

When it's not your time, God is not going to ask you to return home, no matter what danger you might be in.

On the other hand, I pray and hope that all the people who suffered through this will experience a quick healing and recovery.