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Natural Disasters
At
the time of writing the news is full of stories relating to the
devastation in Haiti following the earthquake on 12th January
2010. In the face of suffering on such an overwhelming scale it
can sometimes feel difficult to know how to pray intelligently.
As is the case in Haiti, where the
local infrastructure has been destroyed, there is an urgent and
ongoing need to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation, food
and clothes for those who have had to leave their homes. There
is also a great need for medical supplies and personnel to
provide treatment for those who were injured.
Often less immediately apparent
than the physical needs of the survivors is the enormous
emotional and psychological pain that can persist in
individuals, communities and even entire countries for years to
come. In addition to grief for the loved ones who have died, the
hardship and uncertainty of the period following can be even
more damaging than the trauma accompanying the disaster itself.
Many suffer from immense guilt at just having survived and some
Christians even doubt their faith and question how a loving God
could have allowed such a terrible thing to happen.
Nevertheless, we know that God is
always at work. The opportunity for local churches and Christian
organisations to serve their communities can be a valuable
witness and serve to improve or strengthen relationships with
local people and even governments.
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The work of international agencies
is often vital but, as we have seen in Haiti, there is a great need
for wisdom and sensitivity in the way that foreign workers plan and
carry out their relief operations. As was the situation following
Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, relationships with governments
can also be crucial in even being allowed access to the disaster
area.
Finally, it is important
to remember that while the situation may only be in the news for a
matter of days, weeks or at most months, the damage to families and
communities will often last for generations. Pray for those who will
continue to work to help rebuild shattered infrastructures and help
hurting people over the years and decades that follow.
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