Dear Friends,

I want to bring you up to date with the situation here. The havoc caused by the Tsunami is truly dreadful, and far beyond anything we can describe. The loss of lives and property is tremendous. The number of dead given in official figures will never be correct. In the Newspapers and Television, the number of dead in India is growing every moment. More than 100,000 have lost their homes and may be more than 100,000 have lost their lives. The saddest thing however is, the government is giving help in the way of food, but today the report is that the food packets contain rice that is half cooked, and many people in many areas are not receiving anything at all.

Many of you are asking about the lives of our children. We cannot tell you until all return here on Sunday. Only then will we know the true picture. However, we do know that many staff have lost their homes. We need your prayers, especially for the young children in our hostel and orphanage, who are in a state of shock due to fright. We have to continuously counsel them...

Also, there is a possibility of an epidemic due to the ... dead bodies. Diarrohea, Malaria and Dengue fever are the diseases mostly anticipated.

At the time of writing this email, there is a panic as it has been announced over Television that the aftermath of the Tsunami is expected this afternoon, and that people are being evacuated from their houses in all areas surrounding the coastline, right down the coast of Kanyakumari. There are all sorts of conflicting reports and people are generally depressed everywhere. There is utter confusion everywhere, with people running helter skelter, looking for a safer placer than the homes they have lost.

The children who stay with us are safe in Padappai, but just now I had an urgent call from them, asking Vimala and me to come immediately to Padappai as they were frightened of us being here in this building. I have assured them that we are Okay, but we are not able to settle to any work. Some have enquired about the Coovum River going through our [area], and yes, it is correct that this river too has been flooded, and all the people living on the banks of the Coovum are living now on the road. I can see these people from my bedroom window, huddled on the roadside, with their few belongings.

Some of our staff, who are on holiday are not able to get back to Chennai because trains are over-booked and they cannot get any place on the train. However, we are holding an emergency meeting at 3.00 this afternoon to plan all the relief work that will be done from CMCT [our ministry]. What ever we do we will do it in a proper way, and help everybody that God leads us to in every area, mentally, physically and spiritually.

There is a tremendous need for psychological counselling. Sadly, the rumour that is going around, which is very true, is that all the beaches in India and all over the world have become a lovers’ paradise and bedroom, and things going on the beaches are so wicked, that God is angry at His beautiful creation being mis-used. We praise God that the earthquake struck in the early hours of the morning, when not many people would have been on the beaches. If it had struck in the evening, millions of people would have lost their lives.

I have received messages from some people, of financial help being sent, and we assure you that every penny that is sent will be used in the best possible way, to meet the need of the hour.

With love and prayers,

(Colleen M Redit)

PS: A large team of us are leaving at 8 am on 31st to go further south, past Mahabilpuram. We will be accompanied by Doctors and Nurses with medicines. We are taking 200 blankets, sleeping mats, packets of milk powder, biscuits and we will be doing a survey.

Pray for us as all the roads on the coast are closed. We will go by a round about route.