Like the rest of the world, I was captivated by the impressive rescue of the Chilean miners trapped thousands of feet below the earth's surface for 69 days. In a world where a lot of these kinds of things often turn out badly, it was heartwarming to see a rescue plan that worked.

There are lots of angles on a story like this. The resiliance of the miners and their belief that they would be rescued. The resolve of the mining company and the Chilean government to get every man out alive. The unabashed joy of the rescuers and the families as the miners emerged on the surface one by one. All of these mini-dramas within the larger story made for great theater.

As I watched the drama unfold, I was happy for the miners, but I couldn't help but think about sin. Not the sin of the miners or anyone else involved in the story, but a metaphor for sin and how God has put together a rescue plan for each one of us.

“Okay Laura, you live in Chile now. I will kiss you when you arrive and when you leave.”

Wow! I never expected to hear these words at a doctor’s appointment. What may have sounded like the beginnings of a lawsuit was actually my doctor sharing with me a part of his culture. We were living in Santiago, Chile and had just learned I was pregnant with our first child. We would be seeing a lot of this doctor and he was teaching this American patient the greeting for each visit. Mark chuckled behind me as he watched me awkwardly kiss my doctor on the cheek.

I had read about this custom in books as we prepared for our move to Chile. Chileans greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and repeat it when they depart. Men would generally give each other a handshake or hug, depending on the relationship, but women generally kissed everyone.

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This is just becoming all too familiar. The first reports, the death toll climbing every half-hour or so, the news of those who survived, grieving for those who did not. I first learned about the earthquake today in Chile from Twitter - from Alyssa Milano on Twitter, in fact, retweeting photo images from the New York Times. I jumped on Facebook and learned that several friends of mine have relatives in Chile; thankfully, all reports are good news so far.

As I continued combing through news reports, I discovered that there was also an earthquake in Japan this morning. Then I heard further news - the warning of an impending tsunami. I have just been looking at the images on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center web site, and I see nations and cities along the Pacific coast that are now at risk: Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga and many other place.

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