It'd be awesome if people could be praying for the damage from the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. For this little country of just 4 million people, the loss of over 165 people and 200 still missing is quite significant. There are thousands of homes completely destroyed, displacing thousands of families, and more than 27,000 people are still without power a week later. They've spent the last 6 months recovering from another earthquake and now with this (and continuing aftershocks) the people are quite frightened and traumatized. They are even recruiting counselors and pastors from all over NZ to fly in to help counsel people (my pastor, Mike Yates, left this morning). Christchurch is their second largest city and the damage is being compared to Haiti. This IS and will be a redefining time for New Zealand. The emotional response reminds me of how Americans felt after Sept 11th, the tragic things that once happened "out there" (i.e. terrorism or natural disasters) have now struck home and the iconic buildings that once defined a city are completely destroyed.
Please pray for the people of Christchurch as they are still recovering bodies from the rubble and many families lost everything. Do pray for all the people responding, bringing some sort of comfort. Please pray God's spirit would be strong and bring super natural comfort in this crazy time of loss and turmoil. The people are responding with such compassion, may we as Christians be a part of that, providing for physical, emotional and spiritual needs at this moment. Thanks!
