In the past year I have had a front-row seat to watch several amazing events or hear astounding stories, some tragic, many lovely, through the words of friends via email. Some who never publish write amazing stuff. Below you will find a sampling.

From a former infertility buddy writing from Thailand (with "before" and "after" photos)
Subject: We are safe
Date: December 28, 2004

Thank you so much for your concern for us. We just got home from Phuket, and are thankful to be alive. It is by the grace of God that we were not sitting on the beach when the tidal wave came in. When I think of what could have happened, I just about burst into tears.

We were staying in a high-rise hotel about 400 yards from the water. We were assembling our things to go on a day-long boat trip to Phi Phi Island. I happened to be looking out our balcony (on the eighth floor) when I saw a huge wave come up to the beach. I yelled, “James, oh my goodness, look at that! It’s coming up over the road! It’s coming up the drive to our hotel!” People were running away from it and it stopped just at the edge of our hotel pool.

God was so gracious to us. It is humbling to realize we were spared when thousands of others were not.

One week later:

I wanted to share what was read on Saturday at the memorial service (Christ Church, Bangkok) for the victims of the tsunami. This could have been written yesterday.

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

From one of our former translators in Ukraine
Date: November 23, 2004

Thank you for thinking of us at this turbulent time.

We are in fact being in the period of revolution, though many public people elude this term giving preference to “a radical change,” “a turning point,”or at least “a velvet revolution.”

In our common midst we call it an “orange revolution.” Whatever term you apply to this epoch-making process, it’s nothing but a tremendously important test for us as a nation. Just a couple of months ago the idea of belonging to a united nation made most of us grin skeptically. For the last thirteen years of our post-Soviet independence we got used to regarding ourselves as a population of a certain territory swaying between its gravitation either to the East (Russia) or West (Europe and USA). The years of impoverishment and constant political overturns made each Ukrainian rely on him(her)self, care about his(her) own survival and treat any political groupings as another mafia clan.

Close to 2004 our totally corrupt government made its best [effort] to persuade the Ukrainians that we are split into two or even more camps along language and religion lines.

The change happened literally overnight. On the morning of Nov. 22 this country witnessed our unbelievable, unprecedented unity—the unity of a monolith deserving no other name but a nation. That is the way the Ukrainians of all age and social groups reacted to the total falsification of the 2004 presidential elections.

Beginning in the central square of Kyiv [or Kiev], the demonstration of protest leapt over to most cities, towns and villages. Defying the suddenly early frost with slush and strong wind, the people are keeping vigil day and night to support the oppositional leadership.

The color of today’s non-conformism is orange. It’s the emblem of the oppositional movement headed by Yuschchenko, the “People’s President,” as he is referred to by the overwhelming majority. Yuschchenko’s victory in the elections arouses no doubts on the part of unprejudiced internal and foreign observers, uncorrupt sociologists and independent media. Several anonymous exit polls proved the oppositional Yuschchenko to outrun his pro-governmental opponent and incumbent PM Yanukovich by around 11 percent. However, the Central Election Commission, an official authorities’ puppet, announced Yanukovich the winner.

The falsified tally only raised Yanukovich’s unpopularity and with it a long-growing social discontent with the authorities that turned Ukraine into a country where the constitutional rights are brutally violated. The people who seemed to have completely despaired of influencing their political order regained their citizens’ self-esteem.

Our nation has been on a general strike the last two days. The heart of the campaign is Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), where stream my compatriots from the whole country. Kyiv’s downtown, including the street where we live, has been crowded by columns of demonstrators today.

Words fail to express this feeling of unity I experienced today walking out with my baby. Along the street there moved a wave of orange flags, ribbons, hats, scarves and flowers. The faces were filled with determination to establish the order of justice. The roads were filled with cars, modest and posh ones, decorated with the orange symbols, signaling supportively to the pedestrians. Judging by their accents and transparencies, the demonstrators were from all over the country. What really impressed was their diverse age—from children to seniors.

As an outcome of this frosty day, which is far from being ended (it’s 22:44 by my watch), the Opposition forced the Parliament [to] call an urgent session and acknowledge Yuschchenko the legitimate president of Ukraine. He took an oath on the Bible in front of the one-third of the deputies. The Speaker called the act illegitimate. At this moment dozens of thousands of the people are standing in front of the President’s Administration with an intention to let Yuschchenko occupy the building.

We are and will be watching our only oppositional TV channel this whole night. Nobody’s sure how the events are going to develop. Some prophesy the Georgian “velvet revolution” scenario. Allegedly, the Russian President has already dispatched some military units to support Yanukovich. The only hope is now pinned on prudence and honesty of our own militia and army. They report[that a] number of top milita officials have called for supporting the Opposition. A number of state officials, including governors and mayors, Kyiv’s mayor included, turned also to the people’s side.

My mother-in-law, who was at the demonstration, told me of flags from different countries that were waving in the square today. The international boost is a big comfort for us. I am watching TV and praying for no bloodshed to happen.

From a Dallas Seminary graduate in Sri Lanka
Date: February 7, 2005

Yes, I’m ok. I live in the middle part of Sri Lanka and was not affected by the tsunami. But I lost students and friends. I’m a woman faculty member at the Theological College of Sri Lanka. We have relocated our seminary in a tsunami-affected area for a couple of months. My colleagues are fanatical about “contextualized theology.”

(You can read more on the tsunami relief work of Theological College of Sri Lanka by going to www.tclsl.org . To view pictures go to www.tclsl.org/tcl3.html .)

From a mom in Texas
Date: March 9, 2005

While reading about Samson this morning I was reminded of a fun story from our son, Jarrod’s, “early years.” We were on a family vacation traveling by car, I can’t remember where we were going but far enough from home that it was unfamiliar land to the kids, and Jarrod was listening and re-listening to a favorite taped recording via headphones in the backseat. Out of nowhere it seemed (because the rest of us couldn’t hear the recording), Jarrod shouted with great confidence, “LET ME DIE WITH THE PHILISTINES!”

Then suddenly, as soon as the words had left his mouth, he ripped off the headphones and with colorless cheeks and eyes widened he said, “Mom, there aren’t any Philistines around here, are there?!”

From a pastor in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Date: March 10, 2005

Many people have been kidnapped during the last 12 months and more were killed, women, girls, men and boys (Mexicans and Americans), but 90 percent of them have been involved in drug traffic. Now, there is a war among three bi-i-i-i-i-i-g international gangs. They are fighting to have the control of the border between Mexico and U.S. … What we are doing as sons of God is to pray and preach gospel as much we can. The rest is on God’s hands. So please tell to our sister church we need you all to pray for God can give us more from His Holy Spirit so we can be more and more effective in His labor.

From a prof at Dallas Seminary about one of our students

He was a pastor in Rwanda, was out of the country during the genocide, went through refugee camps for days looking into the faces of the dead for his parents, found members of his church in one camp, preached a Sunday sermon to them, while preaching saw his mother walking through the crowd, wept at mass graves, made repeated trips back to preach reconciliation, was on hit lists from both sides, was arrested and beaten, later invited back by the government, started a ministry with staff in at least half a dozen countries, hired a guy whose brothers helped murder [this student’s] father and brother, finishing a PhD dissertation on forgiveness . . . Oh my. He is one of the heroes. And I’m supposed to be teaching him?