MOUNTAINS stripped away, rivers blocked, houses smashed, roads broken, vehicles crashed. This was still the scene in Yingxiu, Sichuan province, when I was there only a week ago. However, people's efforts are making a difference. On the new roads snaking through the mountains, you see trucks from all over the country carrying bricks, steel, machines and food. People were busy preparing a meal in a mobile house, laughing heartily. I went to Yingxiu by bicycle to pray for the victims on Tomb Sweeping Day. But to my surprise, while people in big cities were worrying about the crisis, those in the quake area were confident and optimistic. I met one old man who survived the disaster. He thought that his life in the forest meant that his family would be forgotten. But the earthquake proved that they were still fundamentally connected to others even though, in ordinary times, they failed to see it. His face showed the returning confidence and the pride of a nation united with common beliefs and shared values, which touched me.