We will be there
It was an adventure making the journey south to Tamilnadu on roads filled to overflowing with competing traffic of every sort. We arrived late, to meet the Bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Rt. Rev. Dr. T. Aruldoss -- along with his wife, Mrs. Hepziah Regina, and a young history professor at a church college (TBML College, Porayar), in a hotel room. We were all weary, but it was a profound conversation.
The waves came in 1.5 meters, over 1.5 meters of coastline. As of January 7 the count of actual bodies recovered was 6,035; forty of these were children. In the waning light of dusk we were stunned to see large fishing vessels tossed up on shore like bath toys. This will be the hardest hit of the areas we visit.
The Bishop welcomed us: "Thank you for this model of support. When the people see you, they will be encouraged."
The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) began their feeding efforts the day after the disaster. They operated four centers for eight days. Between the church and other agencies, "no one went hungry," said the bishop.
The handsome young history professor, D. Julius Vijayakumar, led the youth of the church in an effort to recover bodies from the sea. "We would reach for an arm; it might come off." Bodies were found in trees. Two more bodies were found yesterday, 1/16.
The second phase of the effort, after the feeding centers, is distributing relief kits. The third phase focuses on children, through the church's orphanages and schools. The fourth stage, a dream, is to build a clinic or hospital.
"The sea is the source of life for these people," said the bishop, "but now they can't even see the sea." Tsunami proved that anything can happen--life is unpredictable.
The New Year's Eve service is a big event in the church. Usually 4,000 faithful attend. This year four came. The bishop reflected: "I am supposed to say something encouraging at the start of the New Year. This year, what can I say to my people?"
The experience has deepened prayer life. "Now are prayers are offered with much concern. We pray for others very much...especially the victims," said Bishop Aruldoss.
Might anything good come of this? we asked. The professor said, "we say 'natural calamity for development.' We don't refer to Tsunami anymore."
"No fish came in from the sea. No animals were killed; they moved away three hours before. God, I think, sounded the warning, but we are too far away from nature. Shoes come between us and the ground." Humans missed the message.
The bishop asked, "help us get a warning system, this should have never happened."
Tomorrow we will visit the oldest Christian church, founded by Lutheran missionary Ziegenbalg in 1706; it suffered some damage. "Before tsunami we talked of many plans for the celebration next year," said the bishop. "Now, nothing. Can we celebrate, here?" he wondered.
"You are kindly welcomed to come, it would be good for you to come," he invited.
DGM staff are careful not to make promises when they are out on visitations. "In this case, though," said Rafael Malpica-Padilla, "I will promise. We [the ELCA] will be there."
The waves came in 1.5 meters, over 1.5 meters of coastline. As of January 7 the count of actual bodies recovered was 6,035; forty of these were children. In the waning light of dusk we were stunned to see large fishing vessels tossed up on shore like bath toys. This will be the hardest hit of the areas we visit.
The Bishop welcomed us: "Thank you for this model of support. When the people see you, they will be encouraged."
The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) began their feeding efforts the day after the disaster. They operated four centers for eight days. Between the church and other agencies, "no one went hungry," said the bishop.
The handsome young history professor, D. Julius Vijayakumar, led the youth of the church in an effort to recover bodies from the sea. "We would reach for an arm; it might come off." Bodies were found in trees. Two more bodies were found yesterday, 1/16.
The second phase of the effort, after the feeding centers, is distributing relief kits. The third phase focuses on children, through the church's orphanages and schools. The fourth stage, a dream, is to build a clinic or hospital.
"The sea is the source of life for these people," said the bishop, "but now they can't even see the sea." Tsunami proved that anything can happen--life is unpredictable.
The New Year's Eve service is a big event in the church. Usually 4,000 faithful attend. This year four came. The bishop reflected: "I am supposed to say something encouraging at the start of the New Year. This year, what can I say to my people?"
The experience has deepened prayer life. "Now are prayers are offered with much concern. We pray for others very much...especially the victims," said Bishop Aruldoss.
Might anything good come of this? we asked. The professor said, "we say 'natural calamity for development.' We don't refer to Tsunami anymore."
"No fish came in from the sea. No animals were killed; they moved away three hours before. God, I think, sounded the warning, but we are too far away from nature. Shoes come between us and the ground." Humans missed the message.
The bishop asked, "help us get a warning system, this should have never happened."
Tomorrow we will visit the oldest Christian church, founded by Lutheran missionary Ziegenbalg in 1706; it suffered some damage. "Before tsunami we talked of many plans for the celebration next year," said the bishop. "Now, nothing. Can we celebrate, here?" he wondered.
"You are kindly welcomed to come, it would be good for you to come," he invited.
DGM staff are careful not to make promises when they are out on visitations. "In this case, though," said Rafael Malpica-Padilla, "I will promise. We [the ELCA] will be there."
posted by Sue-s | 11:05 PM
