Thank you to those who have asked about how you can be praying for Australia. Although we have bushfires (wildfires) most summers, this year the scope of them has been enormous. It is hard to fathom how much land has been scorched. Thankfully the human death toll has been reasonably low compared to previous years – perhaps past experience has taught us some lessons about the danger of fires. But of course any loss of life is devastating to the families, friends and communities, and all the more poignantly when it is the death of volunteer firefighters. Many homes have been lost, and businesses will struggle in some of the regions, especially those regions which rely heavily on tourism.
Although the bush will slowly regenerate over the months and years ahead, the huge loss of fauna is distressing. We still need lots more rain, not just for the fires (which are ongoing), but for lifting drought conditions across much of the country.
So please pray for rain; pray for those who have suffered significant loss and trauma; pray that those still fighting fires will have strength and be safe; pray that the financial aid will be wisely distributed; and pray that churches will be a beacon of gospel hope in their communities.
Also, please bear in mind that terrible floods have occurred recently in Jakarta, Indonesia, which have caused more loss of life and resulted in more displaced people. Do also pray for those people and the relief effort there, which, at least in our part of the world, has had almost no media coverage.
Yours in Christ,
~ Ian Carmichael, Matthias Media, Sydney
