Last week, we experienced something which we never experienced before. For the first time in the history of SBC, we could not have Sunday worship service. Not only that, we had to cancel all church events until Thursday.
The heavy rain which started from Saturday night equaled almost the rainfall for a typical year. Because of that, many of the congregation experienced flooding in homes and businesses. After so much rain, on Sunday night, the rain continued. I am sure many of you could not sleep concerned of flooding.
Despite all this, it was so wonderful and dramatic that the rain finally stopped on Tuesday. In such a situation, if it rained one or two more days, the damage would have been much worse. The weather forecast was for it to rain all week and we expected much damage due to strong winds also. Of two congregations of NLF and SBC, village leaders prayed for the rain to stop for 10 minutes in every hour and many more people prayed likewise. From Tuesday, the rain started to die down and in the afternoon, the rain ended and blue sky shone through.
Last Friday, we had a group prayer meeting. The situation called for prayer, but due to the curfew in Houston, a big crowd was not expected. However, so many people came to fill the sanctuary and pray fervently for an hour. Many needed prayers desperately. It was moving to see people who lost their homes came and prayed with serenity.
This time, even I experienced a little bit of the loss of losing a home. As the water rose, I moved important items to higher places and evacuated. As I left, the inexplicable feeling of loss filled my heart. I heard of someone who set up a tent on top of their roof, refused to leave and resolved to die there despite mandatory evacuation. I could imagine how he must have felt. The loss of home sinks deep into one’s soul… I hope we can share those loss and comfort those with an understanding heart.
Now, we need to gather our hands and hearts to clean up, and to rebuild. We need many hands to help to clean up those flooded homes. This clean up help is needed for 2 to 3 weeks as waters recede. Depending on your situation, it would be great if you can volunteer one or two days. Also, we will collect special donations for those who suffer from flooding. I urge your active participation for effective relief.
The laymen’s seminar which is scheduled on early October will go on as planned since no other church can handle such large numbers. The maximum number of participants for this seminar was filled within 24 hours after registration began. After such devastating hardship of Harvey, as we serve for this seminar out of commitment to God, I am certain that we will experience a special blessing.
No Comments to "WHAT HURRICANE HARVEY LEFT BEHIND TO US"
