May 30th, 2008, 18 days after Wenchuan earthquake, we visited Pengzhou and Dujiangyan. We saw Militia helped villagers moving out furniture, then tore down the already broken houses. Along the road, you will see miles of houses torn down. Many pets that we saw are still shivering, while people learned to be strong and cope with the loss of their loved one, even with smiles (This grandpa lost his wife and only son. He life was spared only because he was working in the corn field at the time the earthquake happened). Over thousands of years, the word for healing of heart/soul is not in our vocabulary. People simply suppress their true feeling, esp. in front of media or strangers. This is the aspect we will work on. Many still lives in temporary shelter. In the mean time, many local small businesses reopened. We’ll be in the north today. (click to download video clips.)

Pleading for these people with Deut. 4:27-31; Ps. 86; Isa. 32:15-18; Rev. 2.

The earthquake caused a series of landslides and created lakes that are now ready to overflow. Nearby towns within 100 miles could be flooded. So far 200,000 people have been evacuated, but there are 1,000,000 more people to be evacuated from the threatened area.

I’m still in Chengdu tonight. Everyday, there are some changes of our plan, but the team leaders are really following the lead of the HS. Originally, these few days, I am supposed to attend an academic conference in Beijing. But a few months ago, Dad defeated that plan, and He gave me wonderful training and blessings, and filled my heart with joy, hope, and burden.

Two other co-workers and I received a whole day training today led by a X-ian counseling org. http://muzhexinli.cn/. There were more than 200 volunteers came from Family members everywhere, esp. Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The training leaders today were a couple in the Family from Taiwan who moved here 6 months ago. They developed a rebuilding (body-mind-soul) counseling system based on the long term rebuilding work after the 9.21 earthquake happened in Taiwan in 1999. Their rebuilding and relationship with the suffering people lasts for 8 years. Their training materials will be available for online download after this first month’s rotate trainings. They shared more Message on-site, but not online. Towards the end of our training, several policemen visited our site. It turned out that they also need some counseling materials as they feel that they are handicapped with that after providing temporal food to the needy people. Every province sent lots of police to help in this region. And I sat with one on my flight here the other day.

The main force of our team arrived this afternoon. Two more will be joining us tomorrow. Most of these Bs & Ss came from Wenzhou, where there were huge spiritual revival during the past couple of decades. And we all know that Wenzhou people are famous for doing business in every corner of this planet. Dad uses that to share the good news. These are leaders from various Families in Wenzhou. They are here as the spies into “Cannan”, to bring more from their Families to have long term rebuild and planting. The true life in them and their fervent plead and discernment made me feel the same spirit. I wish you all can come and meet them. We will certainly team up with more local “workers/fishermen”.

In the mean time, tomorrow will be this team’s first time visiting a few heavily-hit cities in the area to the west and south of Chengdu. We are prepared to see and experience with our own eyes. On Saturday early morning, we will head north and start working immediately, visiting families who live in the camps. We will live in camps as well. We were told that the actual death toll is at least twice as much as the gov. official numbers. For example, the city Beichuan was a city with more than 160,000 people. But less than 20% people survived, who were displaced in the neighboring city where we will be working and planting. The city Beichuan is a dead city now, and no one is allowed to go in there since 10 days ago due to the outburst of plague. Gov. does not plan to rebuild this city, but will build a monument or wailing wall in the future.

Please forgive me if I can’t send quick updates. I have to maintain enough sleep and abide in Him to battle well. One of the aspects mentioned in the training today is for each of us, who were sent out. We need to be covered with watchful prayers (守望禱告). They also encouraged the core support group to take turns to give us a call daily for about 5~10-min to check if we are OK. I need some of the prayer warriors to be watchful for me. And I am truly grateful many of you have been doing that. Please also pray and see how your big Families can participate and establish long term rebuild work here. The Chinese word for crisis has two characters/ components: 危機 (wēijī), with the first one meaning “danger, crisis” and the second one meaning “opportunity.”

This morning’s Word that speaks: Deut. 2:4-7, 36; Ps. 84: 5-9, 11-12; Isa. 30: 15-16, 18, 20-21, 25-30a; Jude 20-25!

I am staying in Chengdu tonight with a few other team members from Wenzhou. I have met some great people and heard some amazing and shocking stories. According to our law, people who are 18 yr. or older has the freedom of religion. So, we shared freely at the restaurant even while a couple of waitresses were attending at our table.

Tomorrow afternoon, there will be 9 more Bs&Ss joining us. Tomorrow morning, another brother and I will receive some counseling training and get a certificate. :) We got the permission from local authority to work in that area as X-tian medical team, and we are allowed to share the hope we have in Him. Sichuan has the largest population in China, with more than 0.1 billion people in this province alone. But it was nearly closed to the Good Work and has the smallest percentage of believers. This earthquake and more than 1,800 times of aftershocks (we experienced one during our dinner tonight) really shook what people relied on. People finally realized how fragile they are and they had nothing to hold fast even though their incoming increased a lot in recent years. Job 36:15-16. Please continue to pray for open heart.

We will head north tomorrow. On Friday, we will enter a county where itself is strongly affected and received most of the survivors dispersed from a neighboring most-hit city where the plague burst more than a week ago. But the government is very effective and put it under control. They have systematic way to supply survivors who are affected by the quake. The electricity and shower and restroom in that region are still little, if there’s any. But each day, there are some improvements.

Please also pray for Burma, where the cyclone casualty is about twice as that of the earthquake, but lots of supply cannot yet reach to the hands of the needy people there.

He speaks everyday: Deut. 1:33, 36; Ps. 81:5b-10; Isa. 29:18-19; 3 Jn.

Thank you for being faithful in your intercessory.

Dear friends,

I’ll be in a city 80 miles north-east of Chengdu tomorrow this time. We will have a camp with 40+ Bs&Ss from other cities and locally. We will not involve much of the practical help as we see it from news all day long here, as the government and military are doing excellent job in that aspect this time. And the national and international monetary and rebuild materials assistance is great (now over 4.4 billion USD.)

As of today, the earthquake death toll is 65,080, with another 23,150 still missing. Adding it up, it will be more than the population of Bloomington, Indiana. The aftershocks greater than 4.0 degree were over 182 times, with the one two days ago being the strongest (6.4 degree.) Lk. 13:4-5.

The ROUGH idea I’ve got at this time is: Our team will set up a field training center to train local Bs&Ss to do long term spiritual counseling (thank Dad, we got permission from local leaders yesterday we can have this camp at the playground of an elementary school.) PI is setting up about a dozen posts like this in this region. The areas that I was assigned are: to do documenting and meet some local officials and people using my background/ status as an “outsider”. So, I will be interviewing and writing most of the time, doing lots of field reports (Chn. & Eng.) so that coworkers come later to rebuild (may last for a few years) will be able to familiarize the work in this area shortly. I was also asked to provide spiritual resources (songs, sermons on my PC, which I have over 100 GB, haha!) Thank Dad, most org. release copy right when used in China for spreading the Word. I am very thankful that what I was assigned “happened” to be what I was gifted. But I am sure new tasks that I am not gifted will also come. Please pray Jn. 15:1-17. I will be in this area for about 2-4 weeks. During this time if I don’t have internet access, I may ask my friend from SF, CA to post an update on the blogger from time to time if she reaches me over the phone. I may or may not keep the same cell phone number.

Since I came back from Thailand trip in 2006, several of you have given me a total of $475, which I kept a close record. I will use all of your kind offering to help the people in need for this earthquake relief. May the Lord greatly reward you with Prov. 11: 25; 14:31b; 19:17; 22:9; Is. 58:10-14; 2 Cor. 8:1-10.

Please find hope from these couple of days’ devotion: Isa. 24-26; Ps. 79:8b-11; Ps. 80:17-19; 1 Jn. 5:12-15

Abide in Him,
zc

Dear friends, I'm in an Internet Bar (no beer, only computers) in Fuzhou. Students in the neighboring computers are ALL playing games. I still don't have access to bloggers. But once in awhile I may still ask my best friend to post something there. I don't have any internet access from where I stay. Some of you have received or will receive a copy of "Come Away, My Belovd (我灵深处)" from me. This has been leading me along with the Word daily. I am reading the second half of this devotion now. Everyday's message is very powerful drawing me closer to Him. Thank you all for your intercessory! I have met some wonderful people while in Beijing, people with the true life in them, scholars, students, farmers, orphans, former military personnel. I have to say that their X-ian life is very, very different from what we read from our side of the world. In this big city, none of these people ever experienced or heard anyone that they know experienced any kind of psction. But in small towns and rural area, and even in Sh-hi is a different story, as I was told. Yet, I believe that needs to be proved by people who live there. In Beijing, I had some wonderful experiences, even miracles. I am learning A LOT of things first hand for my students. :))) Your prayers do work! And I can sense it.I'm in Fuzhou right now. Some of my relatives showed great interests in our faith. Dad always gave me opportunities in sharing with them. Please continue to lift me/us up. My cell phone number (in Fuzhou) is (011-86) 13905007648. There is a 12 hours difference between here and the US. I am hoping to go to Chengdu area on May 28 or 29 (please pray for my relatives to let me go, for they are greatly concerned of the already outburst of plague (but under-reported by the public news broadcast). Hope they will understand Ps 91.). I was assigned to stay in one of the five most affected counties, team up with two local brothers (for updates about the earthquake, please check out the attachment and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake, http://www.ifgogo.com/77/earthquake-wenchuan-sichuan-china-may-12/). To better protect the cooperating local authority, we will not disclose the city name. The death toll up until yesterday was 55,740, another 24,960 are still missing, with little hope of surviving now that 12 days has elapsed. The government/millitary disarster relieve is very effective and very orgnaized this time. And Chinese people nation-wide are very giving this time. Up until yesterday, they have received over 3 billian USD of donation (both domestic and international). The orphanage that I visited are processing to receive earthquake orphans. Partners International (PI) is planning to have 10 posts in this region. They are hoping to establish partnership with the westerner churches (Chn and Eng), and encourage your church to adopt one of these posts, so that they can bring temporal and spiritual resources. There is a great need for counseling. I was asked to help getting the word out to you.
Isa. chapter 25-27.

Blessings, Flow with the Sprit,zc

Peace! Just got in the hotel 30 minutes ago. I only have internet access, but can't access to the blogger from China. A friend of mine in SF is helping me post this. I read this info from a newspaper distributed on the plane. 05/19-21 are the national mourning days for the Wenchuan (epicenter) earthquake. Up until 05/18 2pm (one week after the quake) the death toll is 32,476, wounded: 220,109 05/17, the first international rescue team of 60 post-quake specialists from Japan entered the Wenchuan area. This is the first time China ever received international aid since 1949. 05/18 US Milliatary delivered $700,000 aid, which is greatly appreciated. There are more than $1.2 billion donation from Chinese people to Sichuan province in total so far. Many people volunteer to adopt earthquake orphans. People's heart are really softened! Isa. 19:21-25, Ps. 67, Job 36:15-16 ("But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their affliction.")

During the past 24 hours, I got confirmation after confirmation from above to surrender my plan to the higher plan regarding this summer and will work mainly in the earthquake area this summer. It seems that Dad entirely changed the direction of areas that I will be serving. My sister in Japan, relatives in Fuzhou, Bs&Ss contact in Beijing and Sichuan province, and ministers/teachers in Thailand, all were contemplating that I should go help in the Sichuan province. I also think that would be the best use of the resources. The Family there will establish a ministry post in the most affected area and a platform for long term coorperation. They said my contacting them is the answer for their prayers offering at the same time when I was sending the email asking if I can be of some help in that area. According to them, my tiny strength and the bestowed gifts happend to be exactly what they were praying to get, so that we can work together as a strong team. Isa. 65:24!