Who really brings it all together?

Who really pulls things together in life?  It’s easy to think that I have my plans, strategy and direction for the week, month, year, etc. — BUT — I know that GOD is the real deal.  He’s the one that networks, mobilizes and fits the puzzle pieces together. 

One day we attended a meeting at an orphanage and noticed a foreign lady whom we had never met.  As we talked, she shared that she actually represented a mission organization and had teams that would like to get involved, but was searching for someone who needed teams to work in East Asia.  Wow!  Just what we were looking for, and amazing to see how God brought us together.  OR . . . the experience of doing diaster relief work —- trying to work in a mountain area that needed medical help — but we had no teams.  As we were connecting with local co-workers, we heard our names called and were asked if we could use a medical team that was delayed, lost their ministry place and needed a new place to serve.  Unbelievable!  Just what we needed, and God brought it all together . . . nothing that we did made this happen. 

So, here we are again . . . One person connects with someone from East Asia whom they met on a plane and asked for someone to reach out to them – a ministry opportunity.  Another person shares with us that their sister married into a family in East Asia and needs encouragement – another ministry opportunitry.  And recently, someone from East Asia writes us and wants to know more about available Hokkien resources.  And there are more things just like these that are happening.  Much like the ocean when it appears calm on the surface, but underneath the water is always moving . . . Sometimes we think that God is inactive, but not at all.  For sure, He is always on the move and active in the lives of people.

So how to pray for Hokkien Harvest ministry?  Pray for workers to be full of faith with open eyes and open hears AND receptive to move and respond to what God is already about — We want to join God in what He is already doing.  And what is God up to now?  Stay tuned . . .

Thousands evacuated ahead of storm –

BETTER PREPARED:Evacuations were ordered in parts of Greater Kaohsiung and Pingtung County in anticipation of the deluge that Talim is expected to unleash on Taiwan. (reported by Taipei Times)

Fishing boats take shelter from the approaching Tropical Storm Talim in the Nanfangao fishing harbor in Suao Township, Yilan County, yesterday.
Photo: Yang I-min, Taipei Times

Thousands of people in disaster-prone areas of central and southern Taiwan were evacuated yesterday as Tropical Storm Talim approached, with forecasters saying it could bring up to 1,500mm of rain to some areas in the coming days.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued a sea warning for Talim as it threatened vessels operating in the southern part of the Taiwan Strait and Bashi Channel. It issued a land warning for Penghu and Kinmen, adding that a land warning for Taiwan proper could be issued by midnight at the earliest.

Bureau forecaster Lin Hsiu-wen (林秀雯) said the mountainous areas in Greater Kaohsiung had accumulated rainfall of more than 200mm in one day, which was the highest in the nation. The rainfall had also reached the level the bureau defines as torrential rain, she said.

Today, regions between Greater Taichung and Pingtung should expect torrential rain, and residents in mountainous areas in particular must be prepared to deal with potential disasters caused by torrential rain, the bureau said.

Lin said chances of extremely heavy rain or torrential rain are also high in the regions north of Miaoli County, as well as in Taitung County, adding that those living in Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (馬祖) could also expect heavy to extremely heavy rain.

In Greater Tainan, long waves broke through the levees at Wangye Port in Beimen District (北門), flooding levee roads and some fish farms nearby. Similar damage was reported in the city’s Cigu District (七股).

Flooding was also reported in Gukeng Township (古坑) in Yunlin County in the afternoon as the drainage system was blocked by debris.

Anticipating potential disasters, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) ordered residents in Liouguei (六龜), Jiasian (甲仙), Maolin (茂林), Taoyuan (桃源) and Namasiya (那瑪夏) districts to evacuate.

The Pingtung County Government also launched a preventive evacuation of nearly 1,000 residents in five villages in Wutai (霧台), Sandimen (三地門) and Laiyi (來義) townships. It also installed water pumps in Linbian Township (林邊), where flooding almost always occurs whenever there is torrential rain.

More than 200 residents in Alishan Township (阿里山) in Chiayi County were also ordered to evacuate.

While residents in northern Taiwan did not see heavy rain until yesterday evening, some of them had prepared for the worst after twice experiencing floods last week.

“We are prepared to just let the flood come into the ground floor,” said a woman in Tucheng District (土城), New Taipei City (新北市). “We have moved everything to the second floor.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense said more than 48,000 military personnel, 404 power generators, 201 water pumps and more than 4,000 military vehicles, machines and aircraft were ready to assist in the event of a disaster.

Temporary shelters have been set up at 107 locations and can accommodate up to 53,272 people, the ministry said.

The nation’s airlines announced last night that they would cancel most domestic flights today. All international flights would either be asked by air control towers to take off earlier than scheduled or to postpone their departures. Travelers are advised to contact airlines to get updated information about their flights.

According to the CWB, the formation and path of Talim are rare at this time of year in the Pacific hurricane season.

Pray for disaster relief workers as they reach out and for safety for the people of Taiwan.

Flooding in Taiwan

 

Photo: Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times

At least five people died after mudslides unleashed by torrential rains hit central Taiwan while thousands had to be evacuated island-wide, resuce officials said on Tuesday.  Amid forecasts of more rain, schools were suspended in several large cities, as Taiwan faced the most serious flooding since Typhoon Morakot lashed the island in 2009 triggering massive mudslides that killed more than 600 people. Two men who worked for the forestry bureau in Taichung city were rushed to a clinic Monday with severe injuries caused when a mudslide crushed their office, but despite efforts to save them, they died later in the day, the agency said. In Taoyuan county, one man drowned near a rice paddy while 20,000 chickens died when a farm was submerged by a flash flood, officials said. In Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second-largest city, in the south, more than 1,500 people were evacuated from mountain villages while the city government said it was planning to air-lift 500 more to safety. Island-wide, more than 3,200 people were evacuated to safety, according to the government. Massive flooding has been reported across the island since late Monday, with more than 700 millimeters of rain (27 inches) in some areas while the central weather bureau warned of more heavy rain this week. Pray for relief workers as they minister to the thousands of people impacted by this flood. As they receive a helping hand, may they experience the “touch of God.”