Baldaeus Theological College,
News update, Dec. 30, 2004
Dear Friends,
Thanks so much for your emails, love and prayers. We were away in Mannar over
Christmas and returned only yesterday, hence this delayed reply to your
email. We are all OK and the college is OK but many around us are suffering
incredibly, more so from the loss of loved ones than their homes and
possessions. There are many refugee camps around Trinco now. People, vans
and motorbikes are everywhere. Everyone is virtually living on the
streets.
This morning we went out to visit an extended family who have lost 19
members. The lady I sat next to has lost all her five children. Two of them
had been literally snatched from her arms by the wave; another two men we
met have lost their wives and children. The pain they are experiencing in
their hearts is beyond what most of us can imagine. Yes, food is being
provided for them, and they have relatives to stay with (10 families in a
one-room house!), but who can ease their pain? They prefer to be at the
relatives' house, because in the refugee camps everyone is continually crying. Many
of the few possessions they had have been stolen from their destroyed
homes. As we sat there an ox cart brought their wooden planks which had been
the frames of their houses. Even they are precious now. A suitcase of
clothes was also brought, but all the contents had been ruined by the water.
Just a few 'valuable' papers were carefully salvaged.
As we returned the navy had given out a warning that another wave was
coming; it had already hit Batticaloa. People were running everywhere,
panicking, carrying their few possessions with them once again. The roads
were total chaos as vehicles and pedestrians all tried to get to higher
ground. We took one family of 15 or so, to safety a few miles away. Life has
suddenly become so precarious for all these people.
Interestingly, the wave hit just as people were in church, if many of them
had been in their homes, they may well have lost their lives as well are
their homes, but there were also a couple of churches, one in Batticaloa and
another in Mullitaivu, situated near the sea. The wave took the building and
the people.
How should we respond as a college? It has been heartening to see some of
our Trinco students helping distribute food and clothing. It seems that most
are being provided with these basic needs at present but the people also
need to talk, to cry, to have someone sit beside them. Maybe our students
should be spending some time just visiting the camps. Please pray for these
precious people. Only God can really comfort the pain in their hearts.
Priya Handy has been very busy taking lorry loads of relief supplies from
the AoG church to many parts of the country, including the LTTE controlled
areas. It was good to see LTTE and army personnel working together
rescuing bodies from the debris. Both sides have experienced great losses to
their war machinery, including personnel. So in the midst of all the trauma
and destruction, we rest in the knowledge that God is working out His own purposes.
Thank you for your prayers. Please continue praying for the folk here, for protection and
that we would know how God wants us as a family and as a college to respond to the physical and spiritual needs around us.
Thank you,
Under the shadow of His wings
Jaqui
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