Sunday, December 26, 2004
Listening to: "He will come & save you" by Ross Parsley
Mood: Awed & Grieved
A street littered with debris at Patong beach, Phuket.
(CNN) -- Massive tsunamis triggered by the largest earthquake to shake the planet in over 40 years have wiped out coastal areas across southeastern Asia, killing more than 3,600 people -- most of them in Sri Lanka and India.
My heart felt like it had lept to my mouth as I viewed the headlines in the evening news ... the effect was even greater when i saw that phuket had been hit, with foreigners & tourists killed, many of whom had been scuba diving .... coz it was less than a week ago that .... i was in Phuket & snorkeling in Phi Phi Island.
Tourists survey damange at Kata beach in Phuket, Thailand.
The quake, the fifth largest ever recorded measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck in the Indian Ocean off Aceh province on Sumatra island, unleashing tsunamis that hit Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar and Malaysia. Thai authorities say nearly 400 are feared dead -- most of them, at least 200, on the small island of Phi Phi, between Thailand's coastal area and the resort island of Phuket. On Phuket -- one of the region's most popular tourist destination -- at least 150 are reported dead. One witness said Phuket's Laguna Beach resort area is "completely gone."
Destroyed buildings along the coastal railway line in the Sri Lankan town of Lunawa This horrifying disaster is terribly heart wrenching... as i read that "Children playing beach cricket were reported to be among the victims in India, along with many foreign tourists who had flocked to idyllic resorts in Southeast Asia for the Christmas holidays." This has to be one of the worst things that can happen during the Christmas season ... innocent lives lost, the pain, the confusion, the shock, the sorrow....
A Sri Lankan woman cries as others comfort her after massive tidal waves destroyed her house in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
So close ... so close i was to being struck by this disaster myself. To this very moment, i still find it hard to get over how close i was to it & becoz of this, it makes me feel closer to those who have ben affected by it. So many times in my life, God has saved me from the brink of death. With such close proximity that it amazes me everyday & it only convinces me more each day that God in His mercy has been protecting & preserving my life...
Incident One: When i was around 4, i was fetching a small sharp ended scissors for my mom & while grasping it with its sharp end pointed towards myself, tumbled down 2 flights of stairs. Amazingly, i walked away completed unscathed ... logically speaking, it was impossible ...
Incident Two: Went on a tour to USA with my parents when I was 10. One week after we left San Fransisco, it was hit by a massive earthquake ...
Incident Three: Went travelling to Tasmania, Australia after O levels with 2 friends & my mom. A couple of days after we visited a particular tourist spot there, a crazed gunmen rampantly shot dead many tourists at that very small tourist location.
Incident Four: Went on a mission trip to Medan & Nias (Indonesia) in 1998 in the midst of the riots. While the rest of the world reported violent military attacks on Chinese in the land, went through the whole missions & came back just before the Medan Independance day totally safe.
Incident Five: While in Karen refugee camp during a mission trip with YWAM in 2001, neighbouring burmese militants attacked & burnt down a camp base just next to where my team & I was staying in... the place has completely no handphone network & inaccessible to the rest of the world. With the enemy just away from us by a river, anything could have happened. Yet, we went through it safely.
Incident Six: In the middle of the same mission trip, was in Chang Mai night bazaar with my team when we got seperated early in the evening. I fell teribly ill & began vomitting like I had never before. Could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness & was really afraid coz I was alone in the middle of a sleazy tourist spot & if someone kidnapped me, i would be completely helpless. I silently prayed for help & specifically for the brothers to come find me which was quite unlikely coz i was entrusted to be with the sisters till the end of the evening. amazingly enough, the 2 dear brothers, Siti Bruce & Ric appeared. Somehow while they were shopping, something strong within them urged them to turn back & they found me just at the exact moment before I almost passed out.
"The Lord your God in your midst; The Mighty One will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love;
He will rejoice over you with singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I can't help but remember this verse given to me when i first joined DTS in YWAM. My eyes now tear in gratefulness & awe at the mercy of my Lord. I'm not sure what is the destiny & plans He has in mind for me, or the measure of the love He has for me, as undeserving as I am... thank you Father. Guess despite the many prophesies of great destinies laid & spoken over my life over the past 14 yrs in my life, i had gotten discouraged & disillusioned, often wondering if the dreams i've embraced of serving full time would ever come to pass... yet this experience has been a wonderful christmas reminder & encouragement to me, that Father knows & He will fulfilled His plans. i dun see why others suffer in grieve while i should live. it only serves to remind me its not about who i am or what i can do, but who He is. He saves because of He is God, of the plans He has in mind for the repentence of His people & the nations, because He is a merciful God. it's about serving Him & living for Him, allowing Him to fulfill His purposes through my life & what He wants to do through it. You are my Lord & my Jehovah.
10:16 PM
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