Five years ago the Earth shook off the coast of Indonesia causing a tsunami to rise up on dry land and consume everything in its path.  The devastation was and remains, overwhelming.

 

• 226,000 dead or missing
• 1.8 million people displaced
• 13 Asian and African countries impacted

December 26, 2004 was no doubt a long and frightening day for those who lived through the chaos.

 

The Thomas Reuters Foundation along with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies released a short documentary which tells the stories of four individuals who are still picking up the pieces of the wreckage. I had a chance to view the short stories of these individuals. They are broken people, courageous people, vulnerable people and they are rebuilding their lives.

 

The destruction placed before them was too much. It was overwhelming in an Armageddon sort of way.  With collaborative help from numerous relief organizations, including church groups from around the world, hundreds of thousands of individuals in 13 countries were given a helping hand so that they could stand up on their own two feet again. Trials became triumph as people crossed borders, social economic barriers came down and people from all walks of life came to help. In doing so, they witnessed their own common fragile humanity in need.

 

If you have some time, I encourage you to check out the documentary and hear from the four individuals themselves. The disaster that struck was the most devastating in modern history. After watching, come back to this site and let me know your thoughts. What happens in times of need? What is it about tragedy and destruction that reveals our vulnerability and frailty? Hope entered the world as a baby in Jesus. As we prepare to celebrate this truth, where do you see hope for the survivors of the tsunami?

 

Jesus once told his disciples to let the little children go to him. He proceeded to say that unless anyone come to the Father like one of the children, he will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.