Troubles, There -- and Here

Last Wednesday I received word that a book on prayer which I wrote has been translated and published in Indonesia. (see my May 25th blog).

Here is a copy of an LA Times report this morning:

19 Slain as Two Bombs Explode in an Indonesian Market

The blasts on Sulawesi island also injure 32. Fighting between Muslims and Christians in the region has taken hundreds of lives.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Two bombs ripped through a busy market Saturday on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing at least 19 people and injuring 32, including two police officers, authorities said.
The bombs exploded in the largely Christian town of Tentena, which has been torn by violence between Muslims and Christians that has taken hundreds of lives in the area since 2000.
The two blasts hit the crowded outdoor market about 15 minutes apart, authorities said. El Shinta radio station reported that the second explosion was more powerful than the first.
"The market was packed," an unidentified caller told the station. "It lies in the heart of the town. Victims have been taken to the hospital."
Tentena is about 30 miles from the city of Poso, which has been at the center of violence between Muslims and Christians on Sulawesi, a sprawling island northeast of Java. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but central Sulawesi is equally divided between Muslims and Christians.
Over the last five years, Indonesia has seen numerous outbreaks of religious violence and dozens of bombings targeting civilians. Such militant Muslim groups as Jemaah Islamiah and Laskar Jihad sent fighters to Sulawesi and other parts of the country to foment violence. Jemaah Islamiah, which was responsible for dozens of bombings, including the 2002 Bali nightclub attack, set up a combat training camp in Poso.
For the most part, the country has been calm since the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in September. But fears of renewed conflict arose after May 16, when attackers assaulted a police station on the island of Seram in the Moluccas chain, killing five police officers and a civilian.
The Moluccas, to the east of Sulawesi, has also been torn by fighting between Muslims and Christians that killed thousands and forced many more to flee their homes.
On Thursday, while Yudhoyono was visiting President Bush in Washington, the United States closed its embassy in Jakarta as well as other diplomatic missions around the country, citing a security threat.
The closure occurred after an Islamic militant group posted on its website a diagram of the embassy floor plan and the location of security devices. It also offered suggestions on the best way to attack the installation.

Please pray that my little book will honor Christ and bring a bit of comfort to readers living in this horrible situation.

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After our Friday Night Date (fun gardening, a swim, dinner out, and watching an action/adventure video) Ginny & I had one of our rare arguments.
About 11:30 I started to bed thinking she would be right with me. I heard noises from the kitchen and went out to see what was going on and found that she had decided that 11:30 at night was a great time to start washing dishes.
We had words and went to bed angry.
I asked her to check her blood sugar and we found she had the highest reading of the past five years. Troubling and scary.

Posted on Saturday 28 of May, 2005 [05:28:51]