Another Big Earthquake

Maybe you already have seen or read about the large earthquake that recently happened in Padang, on the island of Sumatra here in Indonesia. That is really far away from us, so we didn't feel a thing and were not affected by it. However, we have been so sad to see the endless pictures and video on the news broadcasts. Indonesian TV news does not censor graphic pictures of blood, gore, and dead bodies like the American networks do (or at least did when we were still in the States). A lot of it is tough to watch...

Lots of people are suffering here at the moment. Although there are disaster teams from the Indonesian government and teams from other countries have come to help, there is still not the disaster response infrastructure like there is in the States. Many people will die from minor injuries.

This latest quake comes shortly after significant earthquakes in Sulawesi, Bali, and Java. They were still raising money for victims in Java when the Sumatra quake hit. I was talking with a man at the barber shop yesterday, and after handing him the paper I was reading, he said with resignation, "Indonesia terus bencana". Which means that Indonesia is having nonstop disaster after disaster. Pray for the people here.