For those of you who still don't know (shame, shame, shame), there was a 7.8 earthquake in Sichuan, China last Monday.

But in times of disaster, there are always heroes who come forward to help people keep going.

I notice the news just keeps reporting the number dead. It's not that I don't respect the dead--in fact, my sympathy goes out to their families. But I wish someone would, just once, write "today they saved X number of people, today X people managed to survive the earthquake." I wish they'd see the miracles that I can only see if I search in Chinese.

Truth is, there are so many stories about babies reunited with parents, about soldiers and volunteers and common people, about those who lived through it, and those who are working to let others live too. People who are heroes.

So, what do I mean by hero? Who qualifies?

A lot of people. Both common and uncommon, here and there, young and old, male and female.

The fire squad that travelled down from a far, northern province to dig people out of the debris.
The nurses that rushed up from a different, southern province to give medical care to the victims.
The army men who walked there on foot so they could help rescue people, and barely slept or ate after they arrived.
The citizens that came in droves to donate blood in a nearby city.
The volunteers who helped to dig, even though their own families were trapped in the rubble somewhere.
The premier who was there within the hour and who worked incessantly after to help and comfort the victims.
The child who saluted the soldiers as he was being carried out of the ruins.
The wounded soldier who begged his comrades to let him go back because he "could still save another one."
The high school youth who stood among the rubble and held up an IV drip for his classmate.
The people who kept fighting for days until they were rescued.
The overseas students who gave up some of their food money to donate to the disaster fund.
The parachute soldiers who jumped down into the disaster area before anyone else.
The singers who have rushed out songs of hope in the past few days.
The person who left a message of "Allah will bless China" under a youtube video about the disaster, and all the people who have sent their best wishes across boundaries of language and religion.
The celebrities who have donated money and performed for benefit nights and reminded the world not to take the disaster lightly.
The people who walked long ways to find a city where they could get help.
The teachers who protected their students from collapsing buildings.
The soldier who missed his wedding so he could make it to the disaster area
The soldier who told his team that being a soldier meant they were no longer their fathers' sons or their wives' men, but the people's sons and the country's men, so he could not be careful for his wife's sake.
The soldiers who climbed mountains with heavy supply packs so they could bring food and help to people in remote villages, and still followed the rule of never taking anything from the people.
The soldiers who are still searching the rubble, even among the violent aftershocks, because they know that miracles happen.
The local official who collapsed twice from working nonstop since the earthquake hit.
The mother who died protecting her child, who left her baby a message saying "Never forget that I love you."
The prisoners who donate money from within jail, and take away from it all a desire to improve themselves so they can give back to society.
The old woman who refused to leave her house because she wanted to make bread for the soldiers.
The police officers who helped a prisoner contact his family that lived in the disaster area, and then pooled their own money to help the prisoner's family rebuild their home.
The old ladies who shine shoes and grandfathers who are frugal at the store, who have scrimped and saved all their lives, but donate what they can to the people who need it more.
The beggars, some crippled, some elderly, some both, who put all the money they owned into the donation box for disaster relief. (You'd be amazed at how many times people have seen this happen.)



They are all of them equally heroes. And although it is a sorrowful thing that so many suffered in this disaster, it is a comfort to know what these people have done, because their presence has made things a bit better.

EDIT: I will keep updating this list whenever I find stories of people who have acted in ways I couldn't begin to imagine. I saw some figures today, of people who have died and people who were affected by the disaster. And I smiled just a little to see that the number of affected (read: survivors) was much greater than the number of dead. That people died is regrettable and sad, but that more people lived is always something to be grateful about.

The soldiers are searching, even if it's been far longer than the time given for survival of 72 hours. And because they are still searching, they are still finding those miracles...the ones that only come to people who believe in them. They saved an old lady who stayed awake because her dogs licked her face, and a man who drank his urine to stay alive. People are still coming out of the rubble ALIVE, and because of what? Because they themselves had the will to live, and because the workers did not give up. What if the soldiers and volunteers had said, oh well, it's been over 72 hours, everyone must be dead already? The people buried in the rubble would truly have been dead, because no one would have come to help them. But the buried people and the workers both had faith that the will to live can be much much stronger, and so they continued trying. I think the record at the moment is the woman who survived on two apples and a pear for 216 hours. 216 HOURS. That's three times the predicted survival time.

That's why I think everyone needs to see the miracle in this. I typed "miracle" (in Chinese, of course) into a Chinese news search, and so many things popped up, of so many beautiful stories. There is always something beautiful, as long as you look for it.