From the tsunami: "God is good"
I posted earlier a email from a Salvation Army officer about the on-scene assessments in the Indian Ocean. Now comes an email from a Salvation Army officer present when the tsunamis hit Sri Lanka.

Things are pretty grave here.

All of our officers (clergy) survived. We had officers all along the coast. Most lost everything, but God spared their lives. We have been unable to evaluate our properties as of yet. There is too much confusion. We have been doing relief work, sending teams to make sure our people are okay.

One officer lost several family members. He just buried his wife three months ago. Please pray for their family.

Most of the deaths here appear to be children. Sunday Morning the sea was doing amazing things. The children were in awe. They called their mothers and father to watch. Then the waves came and everyone was gone.

Babies torn from their mothers arms. Grandparents at home gone.

The city of Galle is a ghost town. Sunday morning trains were full of travelers, the bus stand was full of people waiting for their transport and the open air market was crowed as usual. All gone. The trains floating out to sea, the buses full of people floating out to sea.

Usually for Christmas I take a short break. I head to the coast and take lodging at one of the hotels. This year there was no rooms where I normally stay. There was a room available at a hotel in Hikkadewa, right on the beach. I knew the place and decided it was too busy and it would not be a quiet place. So I declined. That hotel is gone, it collapsed and washed into the sea. Many tourist died there. By the grace of God, there go I. It could have been me.

Please pray for us. This county is not equipped for this type of disaster.

Neither is this territory [of the local Salvation Army]. Our Commander is on vacation in Indonesia. The earthquake happened during the time he was in the air. Our Chief Secretary (second in command) and myself are doing the best we can.

Thank you for your concern.

One last thing before I close. Our Dewheila Girls Home and Eventide (senior home), has a fishing boat sitting in its yard. We have forty girls there and 30 senior ladies. Most of the girls had gone home for Christmas and the rest were attending services here at THQ. No one was hurt. The waves lifted this big fishing boat out of the water over the railway track and over our 6 foot plus retaining wall and set it down in the yard.

God is good.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love to you all. Happy New Year.

L.S.B.