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Map of epicenter

By now we’ve all heard about the Chilean earthquake that has rocked the entire country (quite literally) and the entire cone of South America and caused millions (and probably billions when this is over) of dollars of damage and killed so far 215 people.  An 8.8 magnitude earthquake 700-800 times stronger than the one that hit Haiti.  Chile’s largest aftershock of about 30 some odd ones thus far was 6.9 – nearly the magnitude of the Haiti quake.  This is the fifth largest earthquake recorded in the last 110 years anywhere in the world.  In my recent trip to Chile in 2008, I was in awe of the modernization of the country, it is a very wealthy nation (the wealthiest in S. America) and very prepared for something like this.   Chile is used to earthquakes much like Southern California and thus has very stringent building codes.  If it wasn’t for this, there might not be a Chile today.  Still, there are pockets of poverty throughout the country and these are where the damage is likely to be far greater.   Places where people can’t afford to pay for high resistance construction technology or where buildings are just old.  But even with the best technology, you can’t prevent destruction from an earthquake of this magnitude, it’s just not feasible.  I’m reading about some Chileans upset that roads are broken and that bridges collapsed — they should be grateful they aren’t dead!  So when you read about places like the Santiago airport suffering damage and other modern buildings having damage that are recent – these are the best constructed buildings money can buy and it just inspires awe of the force of such a geologic phenomenon.

Just to put everything into perspective, the entire country of 17 million felt this quake plus a number of others in neighboring Bolivia and Argentina.  There are reports of people feeling it as far east as Buenos  Aires, Argentina (nearly 700 miles away) and as far north as Bolivia.  Look on your map of South America and measure the distances between Concepcion and these places and then draw a circle with your fingers.

This earthquake occurs almost exactly 50 years after the greatest earthquake recorded in the past century — a 9.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred not far from this one in May of 1960.  My prayers for the Chilean people, we quite frankly can’t even fathom what they are going through today.

The Haiti earthquake of Jan. 12, may very well be the single worst disaster that I can remember in recent memory.  Not only are  over 110,000 dead, but the UN has estimated over 600,000 have been left homeless and both numbers could and probably will rise.  This is epic not because of the numbers – which are comparable to the 2004 tsunami in Thailand/Indonesia, but because of the percentage of the population that this disaster has affected.  In 2004, the tsunami only affected those along the coast.  This hasn’t just weakened Haiti — it’s decimated the country.  Had the earthquake been even a little higher, it’s very possible there wouldn’t even be a Haiti.  Haiti before the earthquake was the western hemisphere’s poorest country, with most people living on less than $1 per day.

Over the past 11 days as I’ve watched the news — and CNN should win some kind of award for disaster coverage because they have far and away out-covered all of the other networks . . . combined.   But as I have watched, I have asked myself the questions that must be going through every Haitian’s mind — how do I start my life over with nothing?  How do I live without family members who were killed?  How will our country ever recover?

Then I think about how much we as Americans complain about the smallest inconveniences in our lives.  I remember getting angry just this past Tuesday when my car got a flat tire or how I’ve been fighting a cold.  I’m sure you can think of things too that are insignificant to the questions the average Haitian is asking themselves today.

And while many of us will give money or later on volunteer for relief work there in rebuilding Haiti, I believe we need to do much more than that.  We need to get over ourselves and our inward focus.  It’s not about us or about making ourselves feel good for helping needy people.   The earthquake in Haiti is a reminder of how blessed we are in this country and how posh our lives are.  It doesn’t matter the problems we are facing — we all have a place to lay our heads down, people that love us and food to eat.  That is something not all Haitians today have.  I’m sure there are children who lost both parents, siblings and are now orphaned.  Compared to Haiti, America is a fattened cow and probably just as ignorant as one too towards the world around us.   People in Washington keep searching for answers on how to turn this down economy around. Well here’s a suggestion – we need to get back to being a more simplistic society, with a family-centered focus one that pays attention to our kids schooling, that makes more time to spend with friends, with God and one where political allegiance isn’t like religion but just an opinion.  If we do that, we may not end up as the richest nation, but we’ll be a much happier and content one.  We are drowning ourselves in discontentment and tricking ourselves into thinking there must be something more to be had.  And there is, but not in the latest iPod or cell phone or flat screen TV or video game or exotic vacation — it’s in Jesus, in the God who is the only quench to our thirst.   When are we going to drink it up America?