USA
God’s Immense Love Shines throughout
Disaster Relief Work
By Ohio News Group (Originally in English)
In June of this year, the Midwestern region of the USA suffered the worst floods in history, with tens of thousands of people evacuated from their homes, billions of dollars in property damage, and acres of farmland destroyed. Our compassionate Master immediately provided US$60,000 for the relief work, moving the local initiates to tears. On June 14, encompassed by Master’s love, fellow initiates from the states of Virginia, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio formed a relief team of 30 members and traveled to southern Indiana, one of the disaster areas. There a police officer, touched by the sincerity of the initiates, volunteered to help register them with relevant ID passes for the secured areas. Divided into four groups, they delivered cleaning supplies and financial aid to the victims door to door. The response to God’s love was evident. Many people expressed how much the financial contributions meant to them and thanked Supreme Master Ching Hai repeatedly for Her support. One lady, who wept uncontrollably, cheered up considerably and became hopeful after talking with the initiates. A young father, who was only visiting the area with his three-month-old baby and became caught up in the devastating flood, asked the initiates to convey his special thanks to Master because the gifts he received were very meaningful and were exactly what he needed. Another woman’s house was completely destroyed, and she, her husband and three children had to stay in a hotel. She was surprised and thankful to receive the cash contribution just in time to pay for the accommodation. On June 15, the relief team arrived in Wisconsin, where they found that the local government and the Red Cross had already taken care of the people’s basic needs. Of the three most flood-affected states, Wisconsin sustained the least damage and the people appeared to have enough supplies. The team thus headed to Iowa the next day, where the flood waters were still rising in some areas, affecting many people. Cedar Rapids, Iowa suffered the most damage with 9.2 square miles of public and private property destroyed and over 24,000 people forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night. After the river receded, citizens sadly returned to face the 5-foot muddy water marks in their houses and other unbelievable damage. Some of the worst affected areas showed signs of water reaching to the second level of houses. On Friday, June 20, the relief team presented a US$10,000 check to Mayor Kay Halloran of Cedar Rapids, to assist in the rebuilding of the community. Mayor Halloran thanked Master for Her loving contribution and fondly recalled the aid that Master had given Iowa during the 1993 flood. Besides the cleaning supplies and other basic necessities, the flood victims also received $100 per person as well as the Alternative Living flyer. Even though the situation was so difficult, the people still had open hearts and humbly said that even a gift of $5 would mean a lot to them. Many citizens, who had left their homes with only a few things, were really grateful that they could immediately buy a new set of clothes and some food. God’s immense love was also shared through spontaneous hugs and kisses between the relief team members and the victims. Bob Gustin, editor and journalist from the Indianana Republic newspaper, wrote an article expressing the victims’ overwhelming joy and happiness regarding the US$60,000 given to the flood victims when they needed it most. Thank You, Master, for Your everlasting compassion and care for these people in need. May God protect and guide the flood victims through these difficult times, helping to bring their lives back to normal.
To view the Supreme Master Television coverage of the relief effort in the Midwestern region of USA, please visit the following link: http://video.Godsdirectcontact.net/magazine/NEWS649c.php
Expenditures by Supreme Master Ching Hai
for the Flood Relief Work in Midwest, USA
Note: Throughout the relief operation, fellow initiates paid for their own transportation, food and accommodation expenses.
To view the Humanitarian Relief Activities by the Supreme Master Ching Hai and Her International Association, please visit http://www.GodsDirectContact.org.tw/humanitarian (The list can be sorted by year, country/region and type of events.)
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