How much more can Haiti take? Just as people begin to recover from the earthquake, they now have to face an outbreak of cholera, mainly in the tent encampments where a million earthquake victims are living.
Health workers have been fearing this situation – the first outbreak in the country in more than a century – as the poor sanitary conditions in the camps leave people vulnerable. As of Sunday there were more than 3,000 cases and 250 deaths. Fortunately it seems that the spread to the capital Port-au-Prince has been slowed if not halted.
With clean food and water, cholera is not a difficult disease to avoid. Sadly however, life in Haiti is not so simple and this is the result.
In Mexico however, the violence continues. On Friday gunmen burst into a 14-year-old boy’s birthday party, killing 14 and wounding another 20. About 7,000 people have been murdered in the area since 2008 when the government declared war on the drug cartels.
A 20-year-old local criminology student, Marisol Valles, has been appointed as police chief in a nearby town. Her predecessor was beheaded in January 2009.
‘I am frightened, I am only human, but you have to learn to trust and to have hope that things can change,’ she said. ‘Have faith that we can do something about this security problem. We want to build a place where young people can fulfil their hopes and dreams.’
So which is worse, cholera in Haiti caused by taking in infected food and water? Or the relentless violence in Mexico resulting from the evil within those involved in the drug cartels?
According to this week’s readings, Jesus saw the heart as the source of defilement, something much harder to deal with (Mark 7:14–23). Brave Marisol Valles is facing quite a challenge.
Emlyn Williams
Thursday 28 October 2010
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Miracles
Miracles have been on the news agenda much more than usual this past week. The remarkable rescue of the miners in Chile dominated the news for more than 24 hours, and the President of Chile (amongst many others) called it a miracle.
According to the president’s Protestant chaplain Rev Alfredo Cooper (also a CMS mission partner), ‘Many of the miners went down as atheists or unbelievers or semi-believers and they have come up to a man testifying that they were not 33 but that there were 34 down there – that Jesus was there with them and that they had a constant sense of his presence and guidance.’
All of this was welcome relief from the cynicism which surrounds us for much of the time. Sadly however, as this week’s readings show, miracles don’t necessarily lead to strong faith. They can even have the opposite effect (Mark 6:51,52).
Nevertheless, the success of the rescue highlighted another important principle seen in this week’s readings (Mark 6:7) – that of cooperation. And it was far from being the only example in the news this week.
For the past 14 years, two teams of workmen have been boring the world’s longest rail tunnel – 35.4miles long – under the Swiss Alps. On Friday, a tunnelling machine broke through the remaining rock to complete the tunnel. The accuracy was stunning – within 8cm horizontally and 1cm vertically.
Liverpool fans will be hoping for a demonstration of partnership and cooperation from their club’s new owners. Echoing the club anthem ‘You’ll never walk alone’, John W Henry, head of the new owners NESV, said, ‘We're going to do a lot of listening, we have a lot to learn, and we'll walk this path together.’
Emlyn Williams
According to the president’s Protestant chaplain Rev Alfredo Cooper (also a CMS mission partner), ‘Many of the miners went down as atheists or unbelievers or semi-believers and they have come up to a man testifying that they were not 33 but that there were 34 down there – that Jesus was there with them and that they had a constant sense of his presence and guidance.’
All of this was welcome relief from the cynicism which surrounds us for much of the time. Sadly however, as this week’s readings show, miracles don’t necessarily lead to strong faith. They can even have the opposite effect (Mark 6:51,52).
Nevertheless, the success of the rescue highlighted another important principle seen in this week’s readings (Mark 6:7) – that of cooperation. And it was far from being the only example in the news this week.
For the past 14 years, two teams of workmen have been boring the world’s longest rail tunnel – 35.4miles long – under the Swiss Alps. On Friday, a tunnelling machine broke through the remaining rock to complete the tunnel. The accuracy was stunning – within 8cm horizontally and 1cm vertically.
Liverpool fans will be hoping for a demonstration of partnership and cooperation from their club’s new owners. Echoing the club anthem ‘You’ll never walk alone’, John W Henry, head of the new owners NESV, said, ‘We're going to do a lot of listening, we have a lot to learn, and we'll walk this path together.’
Emlyn Williams
Friday 15 October 2010
Finishing the race
Perseverance has been seen in spades this week, not least in the Commonwealth Games. With 20 per cent of England swimmers having suffered from stomach problems, it’s been a tough time for many of them.
But Delhi Belly was not the only problem. Confusion over false starts led to Australian runner Sally Pearson crossing the line first in the 100m final but being disqualified. Despite her disappointment she persevered and came back to an easy win in the heat of the 100m hurdle.
We ‘are created for goodness’, according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a trailer for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Aid worker Linda Norgrove demonstrated perseverance in tough circumstances by going to work in Afghanistan having previously worked in Mexico, Uganda, Peru and Laos. In September she was kidnapped by extremists with links to al-Qaeda. Sadly, it seemed that they didn’t recognise goodness and she was killed moments before being rescued.
In Chile, however, perseverance has paid off. The miners, who have been trapped since 5 August, are on the point of release now that the rescue drill has broken through to their chamber. I wonder how significant their daily prayer meeting has been to their survival?
For preacher-turned-soul-singer Solomon Burke, the end came on Sunday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The 70-year-old father of 21 and grandfather of 90, died on an aircraft having just arrived from Los Angeles. He recently told the Telegraph, ‘As long as I have breath to do it, I'll sing, with God's help.’
Whether he realised it or not, Burke was following in Paul’s footsteps. For Paul, perseverance was a challenge but he recognised that ultimately it was only possible because of God’s help (2 Timothy 4:7,8,17). How much do we recognise God at work in surprising situations with possibly unlikely people?
Emlyn Williams
But Delhi Belly was not the only problem. Confusion over false starts led to Australian runner Sally Pearson crossing the line first in the 100m final but being disqualified. Despite her disappointment she persevered and came back to an easy win in the heat of the 100m hurdle.
We ‘are created for goodness’, according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a trailer for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Aid worker Linda Norgrove demonstrated perseverance in tough circumstances by going to work in Afghanistan having previously worked in Mexico, Uganda, Peru and Laos. In September she was kidnapped by extremists with links to al-Qaeda. Sadly, it seemed that they didn’t recognise goodness and she was killed moments before being rescued.
In Chile, however, perseverance has paid off. The miners, who have been trapped since 5 August, are on the point of release now that the rescue drill has broken through to their chamber. I wonder how significant their daily prayer meeting has been to their survival?
For preacher-turned-soul-singer Solomon Burke, the end came on Sunday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The 70-year-old father of 21 and grandfather of 90, died on an aircraft having just arrived from Los Angeles. He recently told the Telegraph, ‘As long as I have breath to do it, I'll sing, with God's help.’
Whether he realised it or not, Burke was following in Paul’s footsteps. For Paul, perseverance was a challenge but he recognised that ultimately it was only possible because of God’s help (2 Timothy 4:7,8,17). How much do we recognise God at work in surprising situations with possibly unlikely people?
Emlyn Williams
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Keeping going
Once again the Tour de France is under a cloud after this year’s winner tested positive for a banned substance. But whilst the cycling world waits to find out what really happened, Ryder Cup contestants endured torrential rain and driving winds, with the European team going right to the wire to secure a 14½-13½ win.
As for the Commonwealth Games, the arguments are over (for now at least) and the Games are under way. Hopefully they won’t be tainted by allegations of drug taking.
Sadly, the Welsh Heritage Minister missed the Games altogether, arriving 12 hours late at Heathrow Airport. The Welsh Conservative Leader said: ‘It doesn't sound like it was the airline's fault anyway. It's unlikely a plane would leave 12 hours early.’ He’s probably right.
A very different kind of athlete, Sir Norman Wisdom, has died at the age of 95. His slapstick comedy demanded huge energy and athleticism and drew fame and acclaim from the most unlikely places, including Hong Kong.
During the Cold War he was a great favourite in Albania, whose Stalinist government said that his films were politically acceptable. He was even mobbed when he visited the country to receive the Freedom of Tirana.
If by now you’re wondering where the connection is between this and WordLive, Timothy made a clear connection between the successful athlete and the faithful Christian (2 Timothy 2:3). We may not all be athletic, but we need the athlete’s dogged perseverance.
Emlyn Williams
As for the Commonwealth Games, the arguments are over (for now at least) and the Games are under way. Hopefully they won’t be tainted by allegations of drug taking.
Sadly, the Welsh Heritage Minister missed the Games altogether, arriving 12 hours late at Heathrow Airport. The Welsh Conservative Leader said: ‘It doesn't sound like it was the airline's fault anyway. It's unlikely a plane would leave 12 hours early.’ He’s probably right.
A very different kind of athlete, Sir Norman Wisdom, has died at the age of 95. His slapstick comedy demanded huge energy and athleticism and drew fame and acclaim from the most unlikely places, including Hong Kong.
During the Cold War he was a great favourite in Albania, whose Stalinist government said that his films were politically acceptable. He was even mobbed when he visited the country to receive the Freedom of Tirana.
If by now you’re wondering where the connection is between this and WordLive, Timothy made a clear connection between the successful athlete and the faithful Christian (2 Timothy 2:3). We may not all be athletic, but we need the athlete’s dogged perseverance.
Emlyn Williams
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