Written: 9/22/2009
When the Princess Ashika ferry capsized en route to the Tongan Island of Vava'u in August, the hope of better medical care on the island went down with it. A supplies-filled ambulance, donated by the City of Sanger and United Methodist congregations in the California-Nevada Annual Conference, now rests alongside the ferry on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
The loss of the ambulance compounded a tragedy of epic proportions, when 73* people, including all the women and children aboard the vessel, were killed. It would be difficult to find a Tongan untouched by the tragedy, and in fact, three Cal-Nev clergy lost members of their own families.
So it is with a measure of joy and a huge helping of gratitude that the Rev. Siosifa ("Sifa") Hingano, pastor of Genesis UMC in San Jose, announces that the lost ambulance has been replaced - by two others!
...
*According to the British newspaper Lloyd's List, the original death toll of 90+ was revised downward when a group of people reported missing was found not to have been aboard, and some passengers thought to have perished were found unharmed.