I'm in

After a lot of internal arguing with myself, I am on board with Gail's amazing Walk for Christchurch. 

I was always going to do it so why the arguing? *sigh*

Pros:

1. I help Christchurch!
2. I get to hang with Gail
3. That's all I got

Cons:

1. I am hideously unfit
2. I hate asking people for money

But after I got over myself I sent an email to friends and family asking for sponsorship. And now I am asking you. Please sponsor us? There will be pictures for you to laugh at and yes, they will be very unattractive. Have I mentioned how I look like a tomato after any sort of exercise????

It's amazing how a tragedy like this makes us get over ourselves in ways we could never imagine. So I am asking you again to think about making softies. There was an interview (on the non-stop television coverage of this event) with some little children. It broke my heart. Little people who have seen things that no little person should have. And the fact that they can't sleep at night because they are scared. A softie sent with love may make sleeping a little easier and show them they are loved. If you can't make them (like me) get someone to make them for you perhaps? Kristy from Paisley Jade is making some for me....

Thanks, love from the Shameless One

Amazing

This tragedy has brought out the best in us. True, it has brought out the worst in some but they are so much fewer in number.

I witnessed what the human spirit is capable of, on talk back radio this week. Radio has been a life line for many Cantabrians as they have no power so no access to TV or internet updates. Talk back radio has kept them informed and part of a community.

The national and global focus has been on the central business district of Christchurch and rightly so. There are so many people that are still trapped there. But out in the suburbs people are struggling. No power, water or waste management. And often no indication of when these services will be fixed.

Anyway.

An 81 year old man called into a program I was listening to. He asked the host if he knew which recycle bin he should put the spoiled food from his freezer into. The host gently explained that no-one would be collecting those bins for some time and so he needed to make other arrangements. He commented that the old man sounds isolated and a bit scared. "Yes" came the reply, "I haven't seen anyone since the quake and I have no water or food".

The host asked the old man where he lived and appealed to anyone living near him to make contact with him. Within minutes the airwaves were flooded with calls from people on their way to the old mans house. I cried at the goodness in people and the willingness to drop what they were doing that minute to go to someone's aid. I don't think that old man will be hungry, thirsty or lonely for a long time (if ever again).

That's one small story. There are thousands of stories like it. I am so proud to be a New Zealander. I think we are truly seeing the soul of our nation right now and it's pretty amazing.

For an insight into what people in the suburbs of Christchurch area facing go here

Heavy

We are miles away from Christchurch, on a different island, where the sun shines and buildings are stable. But even if the world did not shift physically for us, emotionally and mentally it did.

We are all so aware of what's happening down south.

{minutes after the quake}

As PJ said, I find myself glued to the TV and radio, desperate for news. Laughing when it seems like there is a glimmer of hope for a trapped loved one and crying when those hopes are dashed. Our emotions are like yoyos as we cling onto any spark of good news.

And as I walk along a sunny Auckland street, latte in hand, it doesn't seem right to be normal. For us to be bumbling along when not so far away, people are still trapped beneath concrete girders and rubble.

Time seems to tick on mercilessly while standing still. We are living here in peace but our hearts and minds are down country. Its almost too big too imagine. The city centre is bad enough but almost every single Christchurch resident is affected. People are lining up for water! No power, no water and no waste management. And there is no indication of when basic services will be fixed. Its defies belief.

Everyone is desperate to DO something. Even my client in a meeting today is offering free legal services to Christchurch residents. And what can we do?

Pray.

"But mightier than the violent raging of the seas

mightier than the breakers on the shore

the Lord is mightier than these!"

Psalm 93:4

God is mightier and even though I cannot understand why this happened, He is Mightier.

On a practical level, if you are crafty, please make a softie? And if you can't (like me) maybe you could sponsor someone making one? I read that children are so affected by this particularly as the aftershocks go on and on and they just can't come to terms with it all.

Or you could sponsor the WALK Gail has set up, donate to the Red Cross...anything would help.

Please continue to pray for our nation, we need God's intervention. He is mighty to save!

**Images sourced here**

Little

We are a little nation. There are only just over 4 million of us. So when our garden city, Christchurch is ripped apart by an earthquake, it affects every single one of us. No exceptions.

It's hard to wrap our heads and hearts around the figures. 75 confirmed dead and 300 still missing. This is the same city that endured another massive earthquake last September and was just getting back on its feet. 6 months later, even worse has happened. For what Christchurch went through go here

It's so heart warming to see our friends rally around us. Australia, the US, Singapore and so many other nations are helping us. We need help, you see. We are so small that everybody is connected. So those are OUR friends and family who need rescuing and treating. Our people who ware waiting for news of loved ones. Our people who need water and food. Ours.

Please pray. Pray for the people still trapped that a miracles will happen- they will be found safe and well. Please pray for the families waiting for news. And please pray for healing for those who are injured.

{Also if you are able to please donate to help those affected}

Thankful

When I have meetings in the city I get to drive over the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Most days I look at the sea under the bridge and marvel at its beauty. But today my thoughts and gaze were fixed upwards. On the flags on the bridge that fly at half mast today. We are a nation in mourning. This is the largest loss of life for us in 31 years.

I think of the families and think of loss. And I know how they feel in some small way. I lost my beloved father (in-law) suddenly and I know how your world narrows, compresses and slows.

And as I think of them and their awful loss I am so thankful. Thankful that (God willing) my husband will come home from work today. I am so thankful that last night his voice filled the house. I am so thankful that I have a living husband and my children have a father who can wrap his arms around them. Some of those miners were exactly my husbands age. I am just so grateful to have my husband HERE with me.

Aware

As I bustle around my busy week, working and living life with my babies I am always aware. A shadow sits on my shoulder and I am always aware. Aware of the tragedy which has unfolded in the south island. 29 precious men trapped in a coal mine. And as a nation we peddled water. We could not go forward and we could not go back.

The rescue teams could not get into them. And so the miners waited, if they were alive. It's been 6 days and the tension in New Zealand is so thick it can be cut with a knife.

The mine is under conservation land and access to the actual mine is via a 2.5km tunnel. There are few ventilation holes and even drilling to assess air quality is problematic given it's position.

Toxic gases have accumulated and there has been a fire underground. So it's unsafe and no-one can get in. For 6 days we lived on a knife edge. Not knowing if the miners are alive, suffering or dead. Now we know. A second explosion ripped through the mine caused by the gas build up. And the men have been given up for dead.

We are a small nation. 4.5 million of us. The population of New Zealand can fit into the city I grew up in, 3 times over. We are tiny and this hurts. These men are our men. This hurts a lot.

So we pray and light candles and ask God to move. For His glory to be shown. For comfort. For peace.

Victorian fires update

Praise God, my cousin and his family are ok despite the ordeal of the bush fires!!!

An email exerpt:

D & J have been through the mill during these last few weeks, as have thousands of others living in Victoria State. As a precaution, D moved all irreplaceable items, like framed photographs and certificates, legal documents, etc, from the farm to a safer haven. They have been living on a knife edge with cases packed and ready to be hurled into the car. At night, they have been taking it in turns to sleep while the other one watched for fire development closer to them. This means climbing up to the top pasture where they have a 360 degree view.

On the Saturday that the fires were the worst, D decided not to try and sit it out. By then, the horrific death stats were beginning to come in. He packed the family up and they went up to Gisborne to stay with J's parents. In temperature of 45-46 degrees, they spent most of the weekend in the pool trying to keep cool. As they sat in the water, clouds of brown muck floated overhead, dropping their murky load all over everything. As it turns out, Gisborne was not much safer then Wonga. J's two mentally disabled step sisters were at a bush camp not too far away and had to be dramatically evacuated which didn't do much for there state of mind. Both are deaf and autistic. Poor things must have been so bewildered.

There were some nasty fires pretty close to the farm and, in fact, there way out could easily have been blocked by fire. There is only one road out and most of the way is through typical Australian bush. One of the hardest battles for D and J was leaving all the stock behind. J has horses and D has 40 beloved cows whom he refers to as his 'girls'. There are also sheep and poultry. They left all the stock, except the poultry, in the bottom pasture next to the creek. When D returned to check on things on the Monday, they were all huddled in a long line in the creek - their instinct obviously told them it was the safest place. They are now back home although fires are still blazing here and there but are under control.

Now, there is a huge amount of work to do in terms of assisting those who have lost everything. The wider church is overwhelmed apparently, as are the Health Departments and Emergency Services. It's going to be a huge and long process of work to get back to something approaching normal. D knows a number of people, particularly farmers who have lost everything. Something that hasn't been considered yet is the number of people who were not directly affected by fires but whose livelihood depended on the forest, nature and farming industries. Many vets who depend on farming will lose their livelihood. Fortunately, D' speciality takes him out of Victoria quite a lot but he will still be greatly affected.

Please continue to pray for all those affected.

Black Saturday

The horror of what has happened in Victoria over the last couple of days cannot be imagined. The worst natural disaster in Australian memory will claim in excess of 300 lives. Read here.

Think of 40m high walls of flames coming over a ridge at you travelling faster than a car can drive. That was the reality for whole towns in Victoria. Unable to escape by road, communities waited for the fire, not knowing when it would arrive as radio reports were unable to keep pace with the fires and so were out of date. The stories emerging are horrific.

My cousin lives on a farm with his family north of Melbourne. Without word, we can only pray that he and his family are safe.

Please help. Gails blog has details as does Bec's. And please please pray for the families and communities affected.