Well, actually, up here in the Andes I didn't feel a thing, but plenty of people in Lima and southern Peru did, so much so that 337 are dead and nearly 1000 are injured.
I was on the phone to Simone when it happened. She was in Starbucks (yes we can forgive her) and she said to me "I'm now standing in the carpark, cars are rocking, we are having trouble standing up, buildings are swaying, everyone is panicking".
Thank the Lord, we are fine, our friends are fine, and there is no evident damage to any property where we live. However, the small town of Pisco in southern Peru, where we went for a holiday after Christmas, is all but levelled. The quake was a 7.9 at the epicentre, a 7.7 at the southern coast, and a 7.5 in Lima. I could put a bunch of links about it, but you all know how to use Google I'm sure.
Please pray for this country. Peru has a long way to go in its development. The areas hardest hit are simple villages based on agriculture and fishing. Villages in the Andes were hit too and the winters are bitterly cold, so much so that people have been dying because they don't have enough clothes for the winter. Many people will have lost everything they have, and insurance is non-existent, let alone affordable for people who cant afford clothes.
We are hooked up with a great church here, and I can bet that this Sunday the church will be sending donations and aid to help out. Let us know if you're interested and we'll find a way to get your money in the right spot. Sorry for the nature of this post, but some things in this world can't be intellectualised. Often times finding the symphony in the noise is as simple as being the proverbial hands and feet. After all, we are all a global community, right?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I feel the earth move....
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13 comments:
Whoa, that's hardcore. Glad you guys survived and are safe.
Made me think of Romans 8:22.
Also made me wonder whether it was punishment for Simone going to a Starbucks but that kind of thinking is way to frivilous.
It's incredible how much smaller the world seems when some of your friends from Perth happen to in another part of the world when disaster strikes. I guess it says a lot about the product of intimacy in community that you allude to.
What's the best way to get $ to you?
punishment... I had just finished my warm milk beverage at the time when the first tremors began...
hey its sandy, here is the website i was talking about...... the website is here
I always love it when a compassionate voice like 'anonymous' wades into the discussion to breathe words of hope and love rather than condemnation regarding coffee choice. Thanks Sandy, I think you've caused us all to re-frame our thinking in the light of your insights.
Hi Garrick,
Glad to hear you guys are ok. God is looking after you guys over there and especially Simone who was on her own.
Mon & Jay
that's the anon Sandy rather than the anon Mon & Jay to which I was referring. Just clarifying...
we just had another magnitude 6 this morning during breakfast, but it wasn't that bad. our church is doing stuff down south with the hardest hit areas but they will probably have trouble getting through because of all the highway closures.
Are these after-shocks? And, excuse my ignorance, are we talking San Andreas here?
Probably one of the best photo collections on line so far is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/08/16/world/20070816_PERU_index.html
hmm, didn't paste properl, try stringing all this together in your browser:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/20 07/08/16/world/20070816_PERU_index .html
yeah they are aftershocks, over 500 in total. and now over 500 are dead also.
Not sure that worked either, let's try this.
Hi all,
I am sure that by now many of you have heard about the terrible earthquakes that hit just south of Lima, Peru last Wednesday. Here in Lima, I felt the rolling impact of the initial 8.0 magnitude. We are fine in Lima, there is not much damage done, just a lot of frayed nerves and panicky people.
However, in Pisco, Ica and other small towns south of Lima (about 260kms) there has been devastating results. Aftershocks of more than 5 in magnitude keep occurring daily and while we get shaky here, the effects are terrible in these other towns. Just and hour and half ago we had another magnitude 5.8 while sitting in our living room.
If you have a look at bbc.com and other world news websites, you can see the results for yourself. Our church is doing all it can to help and was on site the day after it happened. So far they have sent hundreds of blankets, tarps, water, cooking equipment, rice and beans but so much more is needed.
We need prayer here, that as people lose all their earthly hope and many lose family members (over 500 dead and 1500 injured) that they would find hope in Jesus - pray for christians to show themselves authentically. Please pray against the air of desperation, that causes riots and looting to begin. Pray for the president, Alan Garcia, as he faces a people in crisis.
I don't want this to leave us unaffected, indeed, its so close to us here in Lima but can feel so far away. So I am going to simply ask you to help if you can. We need prayer and also we need to keep helping in a hands and feet type way here in Peru. If you would like to help with money, it would really be appreciated, we can give you our account details in Australia and you can deposit it there and we will make sure it gets to our church crisis fund for this event.
Thanks,
Simone and Garrick.
we feel them in our living room, then check this site. another 5.6 at 3pm this arvo
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Maps/10/285_-15.php
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