When the Earth Trembles, You Realize You Have No Control

2001 Mission Yearbook

For Prayer & Study

In late September 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richer scale, followed by at least three major aftershocks, wrought extensive damage on the island of Taiwan. About 4,000 people were confirmed killed or missing and another 6,500 injured by the temblors. Mission Specialist John McCall tells of the terror that gripped Taiwan. “A young pastor and his wife were sleeping in one room, their two children in the next, when suddenly the roof began to collapse. Bricks and tiles cascaded down upon them. Trying to escape, they found the doorway blocked. Just as they got out, the entire roof collapsed, leaving them bruised and shaken, but safe. Now they are living in a Sunday school room at the church. Since the church is on the mountains, they place a wooden board across the doorjamb to keep snakes from entering. The children have had difficulty sleeping since the earthquake; the pastor says it moved from the ground into the hearts of the people.” As devastating as the physical effects were, agree Mission Co-workers the Rev. Glenn Kennedy and Shirley Kennedy the psychic and spiritual effects may have been even more profound. “In Tung Shr, a suburb of Taichung, for example, 90 percent of the population lives outdoors, either because of the actual destruction of their homes or because they fear the next aftershock will bury them in their homes. Even in relatively unscathed parts of Taichung, virtually all open spaces are tent cities filled with terrified residents of the city’s many high-rise structures as those who have moved from the harder hit rural areas into the city.”

“The PCT has truly been at the forefront of relief efforts,” write the Kennedy. “This is said not as a matter of pride, but of simple fact. Nearly every village in the affected areas has its own Presbyterian church, or at least one nearby. Most were quickly turned into relief distribution centers. Pastors and members, themselves among the victim of the quake, have been doing their best to reach out to meet both the spiritual and the physical needs of the surrounding communities.”

Scripture

As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)