Grieving AirAsia Flight Families: 'God Is Bigger than This'
The search for victims and wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501 is turning into a race against time due to poor weather conditions.
Search crews began finding wreckage and bodies Tuesday in the Java Sea, but strong winds and heavy rain are now hampering their efforts.
So far, only seven bodies have been recovered of the 162 people who were aboard the plane.
Meanwhile, about 100 relatives have remained at the Surabaya Airport in Indonesia, where the pastor of a local church prayed with them on New Year's Eve.
"Help us, God, to move forward, even though we are surrounded by darkness," Rev. Philip Mantofa prayed.
Before breaking up, those gathered stood together and sang "I Surrender All" with their hands reaching upward.
"Some things do not make sense to us, but God is bigger than all this. Our God is not evil," Mantofa said.
The pastor said about 40 members of his church were aboard Flight 8501. Nearly all the passengers on the plane were Indonesian and many were Christians of Chinese descent.