Lashing winds and pouring rain

We have been trying to call Amma and Appa.

The cheery voice tells us something in Telegu.  Then we hear in English that 'the subscriber's phone is switched off.'

We call Kishore - our relative and a church member.  Same message.  We call Nagesh, another church member - the phone rings... but he is in Karnataka.  He says that all the phones are out of order.

Hurricane Hudhud hit land this morning 5 kms north of Vishakapatnam.  Winds were estimated at 205 km per hour.

Amma and Appa live some 20 kms to the south of Vishakaptnam, in a small village called Tungalam.

When Peter called them this morning they said that the wind and rain were ferocious.  Water was coming in the house.

We have not heard from them since.

So here we are in Thane, looking at the clips from the BBC of .  Same result.

We are out of touch. 

We wished we had talked to them before hand.  Wished we had told them to stay with church members.

The phones may not be working - but our loving Lord hears our prayers.

Peace be with you.  Do not be dismayed.  Do not be afraid.  I am with you.  I will never forsake you.

The words of Jesus, spoken to hardened fishermen who were shouting as their boat was sinking, ring out across the centuries.

With all our satellite photos of the hurricane, and with our modern communication aids stymied, we are back in the boat like the disciples.  Forced to acknowledge our inherent helplessness, our inherent inability to shape and alter our circumstances.

And also given the stark choice:  to rage and fret, or choose to trust and rest admist the challenges of unknowing.

As for me and my house, we will take the latter path, and speak our concerns to our Lord.

We look forward to hearing from Amma and Appa...  Thank you for joining us in prayers too.