Samoan Tsunami

Isaiah 42:12 (KJV)
Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.


The Samoan Islands were hit Tuesday by a large tsunami triggered by an earthquake centered between the islands of Samoa and Tonga. Apia is the main island of Samoa, an independent island nation, which is the burial place and former home of Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote the classic Treasure Island. The islands of American Samoa, a territory of the U.S., are a beautiful group of islands where the largest concentration of people lives on the main island. Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) is on the main harbor overlooking beautiful Rainmaker Mountain and served as a naval port during the Second World War.

I have a special interest in this place, because I lived there for 6 weeks while on a short term mission back in my college days. The history of missions in this part of the world is inspiring and a testimony of the power of the gospel to transform lives and whole nations. Like most Polynesians, the Samoans were fierce, warring cannibals. Men like John Williams, John Paton and a host of other Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries brought the gospel to this region of the world. Many paid with their lives or the cost of their families. In one decade of missions in the 19th Century Samoa would bow to the Sovereign rights of Jesus Christ. It became one of the most Christianized nations ever in history. Every village had a church and Sabbath observance was strictly and joyfully enforced. Today, many Samoan men end up playing NFL football in this country, because of their legendary size. The sport of choice in the islands is Cricket; one of the influences still seen from British missions.

The city of Pago Pago which is the home of Starkist Tuna, was badly damaged, as well as many villages. The island is essentially the top of a mountain and so most villages surround the island along the coast. We still don’t know the numbers who have perished. Pray for these dear people. Pray for a renewal of the Christian church, which because of nominalism (Christian in name only) and the advancements of cults (Mormons have built a temple there) there is a great need for the Gospel to be proclaimed in power and in Biblical faithfulness. Pray for a Tsunami of God’s power and truth to claim this part of the world as in olden days.