Emphasis Preaching Journal

In September 1997, a sudden windstorm leveled a hastily assembled stadium where 300 people had gathered for a political rally. Thirty-eight of those people were killed when they had no way to escape the collapsing structure around them. One survivor, Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna, fell between a huge stage platform, knocking out 15 teeth and fracturing his ankle. "This is the worst case of its kind in Paraguay. Not even the floods have brought this toll of dead and injured," said Public Health Minister Andres Vidovich. Media reports spotlighted the reason for disaster: a hastily assembled structure which went up in just one week. There was no foundation and catastrophe resulted in 38 people dead. By not thoroughly counting the cost to build a structurally sound stadium, people were killed. Moms, dads, and someone's children lost their lives because a project manager did not first sit down and determine safety requirements.. "Count the cost" is an adage with universal application. How many adulterous affairs would be nixed if people could see their family collapsing irreparably? How many peaceful retirements have crumbled when enough funds were not stored away early on? A job started well, where the cost is determined up front, is half done ... something residents of Asuncion, Paraguay, will mourn about for decades to come.
-- Webster