For details on how to donate to various aid agencies in Australia or details on other useful websites, go here.

PRAYER

Want to know what to pray for?

INDONESIA: Read the Indonesian Prayer Network's prayer list here...

UPDATED (6.1.05): The Australian Prayer Network and the World Evangelical Alliance have both released lists of key prayer points. Click here to see their prayer points and add your prayers to the list...

YOUR SAY: NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING

Thousands of people are expected to gather in churches across Australia this Sunday in response to Prime Minister John Howard’s declaration of a national day of mourning for the more than 150,000 people who died when a series of killer tsunamis struck Indian Ocean coastlines on Boxing Day.

Tell us how your church is marking the day or

share your thoughts on the tragedy with others here...

ESSAY: FINDING GOD AMID DEVASTATION

"Those who have experienced the horrors of the tsunami can still know the loving, merciful and gracious presence of Christ even in the midst of pain and turmoil...Someone asked me what would have happened to all the Christians living in the tsunami area hoping, I suspect, that I would reassure him that none of them would have been harmed. Of course, my response was that they probably would have died too – why would we expect them to be spared?

      "The (Biblical) story of Job teaches us of the value of true friends when we are going through suffering. True friends draw alongside, take our hand, walk with us, and offer advice sparingly. The world response to the tsunami-affected areas has been compassionate and swift. We have an opportunity to be true friends to our Asian neighbours without resorting to political or economic machinations and we as citizens of Australia need to ensure our political leaders maintain a true humanitarian response. Just as Job received no answers to his questions so we must accept that we may never know the reason for suffering in this life."

   Why do bad things happen to good people? JIM and CHERYL CATFORD provide a Biblical response to Asia's tsunami disaster... | more...|

UPDATED 6.1.05 - STORIES OF HOPE: Amid the tsunami-wrought death and destruction that has affected so much of South Asia, we chronicle some of the 'stories of hope' which have shone out of this dark time. We invite you to contribute links to stories you may have come across as well... | more...|

REFLECTIONS

EUROPE: Mal Fletcher says people need to hear that God cares... | more...|

• UNITED STATES: YWAM's Janice Rogers cries out "Why God?"... | more...|

• SOUTH AFRICA: Sight's South African correspondent, Tanya Bennetts, reflects on the "groaning of creation"... | more...|

• AUSTRALIA: Sight's diarist Ann Wojczuk on the Asian disaster... | more...|

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

"There are huge sums of money which have been allocated to agencies seeking to assist survivors of the tsunami. The challenge will be to allocate these in ways which encourage sustainability rather than dependence; support those which are also affected in less direct ways; and which do not lead to financial management, nepotism and corruption.

      The challenge of financial transparency, management and accountability will be of paramount importance in order to maintain the goodwill generated by the public globally. Finance has been raised from a variety of sources, this including national trust funds, and contributions to NGOs and bilateral/multilateral donors. The task of first tracking actual donations against pledges, and then reconciling donations against expenditure will prove testing."

     CHRIS PIPER, chief executive of Australian overseas aid consultancy TorqAid, provides an updated assessment of the challenges for relief efforts in tsunami-affected areas... | more...|

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE: HOW ARE YOUR DONATIONS BEING USED?
Australians have donated more than $200 million to relief agencies working in the tsunami affected areas. Here we have a look at how some of Australia’s non-government agencies are responding to the disaster. These snapshots are not comprehensive as the situation is changing rapidly in the field and they may include the efforts of international organisations, not just the Australian arms, but they provide a glimpse into the sorts of activities relief agencies are involved in.

      DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

      For previous reports follow the link... | more...|

• THE INTERVIEW: CHRIS PIPER

"The most important thing is not to forget. The scenes of devastation will be off our screens in the next few days, and we will perhaps too easily be distracted by events such as the Australian Open tennis; the forthcoming (likely bloody) elections in Iraq; the beginning of the footie season; the promise of a battle royal in the forthcoming Ashes with England and so on. The road for affected people in the tsunami-stricken areas will be a long and difficult one, and the least we can do is not drop them from our conscience. Those with faith can pray for them; many of us can continue to give money to those agencies we feel are most cost-effective; perhaps what is most important is not to lose that compassion in our heart."

      DAVID ADAMS speaks with Chris Piper, chief executive of Australian-based overseas aid consultancy TorqAid... | more...|

• 10 key questions international humanitarian efforts will need to address... | more...|

EYEWITNESSES TO DISASTER

• PHOTO ESSAY: Porselvi, 20, who was left widowed with two young children - Nishan, 5, and Niveda, 3, when the tsunami hit, is one of the thousands of people receiving aid from funds donated to World Vision. To see more photos from World Vision's relief efforts in Sri Lanka and India, click here...

PHOTO ESSAY: IMAGES FROM MEULABOH, ACEH... | more...|

• RED CROSS WORKER IN ACEH
"In Meulaboh there is a line in the sand at one kilometre from the coast. 

      Everything before the line has gone.  There is total destruction.  Here and there a foundation stone remains.  Nothing more.  Thousands perished here. 

      Many of them remain buried under tonnes of sand and mud washed in by the tsunami.  It is a scene of total devastation.  An old photograph I had seen of Hiroshima after the atom bomb came to mind.  The destructive force of the tsunami was quite beyond my comprehension."

      IAN WOOLVERTON, 32, is a Red Cross delegate from Melbourne, Australia, who travelled to Meulaboh on the remote west coast of Aceh province to witness the devastation firsthand... | more...|

• PHOTO ESSAY: SCENES FROM INDIA

Dave Brodie of Christian mission group Youth With A Mission's images of the devastation in India... | more...|

• VIEW FROM SRI LANKA

UPDATE (5.1.05): "Nothing could have prepared me for the scenes of devastation and despair that I have witnessed over the past few days.

      I have been in Sri Lanka for less than a week but it seems so much longer than that. During this time I have seen bodies piled high and people distraught after losing their loved ones. While some bodies are being identified others are being buried in mass graves just to stem the spread of disease. This disaster has meant that people who have lost their loved ones are also being robbed of the opportunity to provide them with a dignified burial."

     In an article first published in The Sunday Age newspaper, World Vision Australia's TIM COSTELLO writes of what he experienced in Sri Lanka... | more...|

“Densely populated coastal towns have just been completely destroyed. I met one fisherman Prashant who managed to save his children but all he could do was watch as his 18-year-old sister was washed out to sea...And the worst is that there are countless stories such as his.”

      Those are among the words Tim Costello, chief executive of World Vision Australia, uses to describe what he has witnessed in Sri Lanka since flying into Colombo earlier this week.

     DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

If you have a story to tell or photos to share regarding the Indian Ocean disaster, please email editor@sightmagazine.com.au.

To share your thoughts on the Indian Ocean disaster, leave your comments at the bottom of the story or visit Sight's forums here.

Images are courtesy of Dave Brodie - YWAM - Worldwide Photos. They show some of the devastation in India.