Subject: Fw: Tsunami - from Tamil Nadu, India


FYI - Wes

Subject: [Adventistdoctor] Tsunami


Dear friends,

It is a really sad event to see so many people being affected by the
devastating killer waves.

I want to share our experience with the Tsunami.

We had gone for our church retreat to Scripture Union, Mahabalipurum on 24 &
25th December. Scripture Union is a christian retreat center located on the
beach side. On 25th evening most of them left back to Vellore except three
families... Dr. Renjith, Dr. Vivek Gaikwad and Dr. King Kisku. I left for my
friend's residence at Tirukalukundram, 15 kms from there. On Sunday morning
we got the news about the earthquake and the sea waves that had affected the
coastal land. We thanked God that we were out of the place just in time. But
at the same time, we were worried about the families that were at Scripture
Union. I immediately contacted over the phone and they a different story.
They were in the sea till 8:30 am. They came for their breakfast at 9:00 am.
At 9:20 am they heard shouts of water. They rushed to see what it was...
only to realize that the sea water had come upto the dining hall. Their
vehicles were parked close to the dormitory... the water was about 3 feet
deep there and their cars were floating. They tried to run away. The water
receeded after 30 minutes. They tried to drive the car.. one got started but
the other won't. In the meantime, I got them over the phone... and I asked
them to leave that place immediately. But they had only car as the other car
won't start... the engine was packed with pine leaves and water had got in
everywhere. There was no other means of transport. I asked them to get the
children and the women out to a safer place we will come to pick up the
rest. We drove from Tirukalukundram to Scripture Union. It was an
astonishing sight to see... hundreds and thousands of people with their
luggages and children were moving away from the coastal land to the mainland
to Chenglepet. There was panic among the people.... buses and trucks loaded
with people were fleeing... you could see the fear that was written on their
faces. Everyone were moving away from the sea.. and we were driving in the
opposite direction... people crossing us were telling us not to go towards
the sea... but we had to go to rescue our friends. We met Dr. King Kisku
with all the children and the women on the way and we asked them to go to
Tirukalukundram and we will get the rest of them. There was a massive crowd
that was moving .. almost blocking the roads. We somehow managed to reach
the spot where they were getting the car repaired... there were no mechanic,
everyone had fled... the only person there was reluctantly try to locate the
problem. It took almost one hour to get the car started. Our eyes were fixed
on the sea... at the earliest sign of any wave coming towards the road, we
would drive. Houses were submerged, trees were uprooted, walls had fallen
.. it was a miserable sight. We dared to go towards the sea to see how
things were. We could see the angry waves... it had come very close to the
East-Coast Highway, which would be about 300 meters form the sea coast. The
car got started finally and we were able to leave the place and come home
safely. We thanked God for His miraculous protection. Had our friends been
in the sea beach when the Tsunami came... they wouldn't have been alive.

We need to pray for the hundreds and thousands of people who have lost their
dear ones.

We need to pray for the equal number of people who are homeless and without
food.

CMC has sent a team to Nagapatinam, the worst hit area. We are trying to
collect food, clothing and money to send to these areas. Do pray and send
your supports to the people affected.

Dr. Samuel George Hansdak