FCF Projects: Mission Care Taiwan and East Taiwan Family Mission (cooperative effort)

In the early morning of September 21st, 1999, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake jolted the island nation of Taiwan. The final death toll exceeded 2,300, with 10,000 injured and more than 100,000 people left homeless.

Someone came running to tell us that one of the apartment buildings in our complex had almost collapsed. The first floor was now in the basement and the building was leaning over precariously. We moved our family to a nearby field and by daybreak were joined there by several thousand other families.

Crystal listens to survivors’ heart- breaking stories and offers comfort.

Food and medical supplies were gratefully received by shocked residents.

From day one we joined in the relief effort, working alongside the Red Cross and other relief organizations, while living in temporary tent accommodations ourselves. In addition to shuttling food and medical supplies to the towns and remote villages that were hardest hit and visiting the now very crowded hospitals in Taighung and Nanto City, we encouraged people’s spirits with musical performances, clown shows, and games and activities for the children in the tent camps. The army colonel overseeing the tent camp thanked us profusely, adding that our clown shows did wonders for the children who had all been very frightened and suffered various degrees of trauma. By the end of the shows, we oftentimes had to have soldiers lining up at the front, as the kids were just going wild, laughing, and crowding up to the stages.

Victims searching the ruins of their homes.

Aftermath of the quake.

The military was very organized in accommodating the needs of the people. The Red Cross and a large Buddhist organization, Chi Ji, were organizing meals and doing a wonderful job of supplying the physical needs of the refugees. We therefore felt that the role we were meant to major on was the spiritual side of things, such as counseling, comforting and praying for the many needy hearts around us. We also felt a burden to encourage the medical staff and volunteers we encountered, those who worked tirelessly around the clock in selfless sacrifice attending to the dying and sick. Not only were the victims of the quake in need of help and encouragement, but also those who were helping the victims.

So while we passed on supplies such as water, food, tents, and sleeping bags during the course of our days, we also hugged, held, and prayed for those who had lost loved ones and were severely traumatized: A 20-year-old who had lost his parents and sister when his house collapsed; a frightened girl who had been pulled from the mass of concrete and twisted steel that had claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother; a young mother who had lost her two-year-old child; a middle-aged woman who we spent time talking to, which prevented her from jumping from a bridge in a fit of desperation; and hundreds of others.

During our relief activities, we were introduced to Taiwan’s President Lee Tung Huei, who was visiting the hardest hit areas and who told us, “Thank you for helping my people. God bless you!”