We choseAFE aboriginal ministry atNantou county, headed by Pastor T. J.Hsieh andGuogou church at Chiayi county, one of the Village Gospel Mission centers administered by Ruth Young.At AFE church, we will join their prayer meeting and travel to the church located inside the mountain area which the churchwas damaged by the flood.At Gougou center, we will attend their weekly activities and visit the families that affected by the flood.During our planning, Ruth proposed that our team togive an introduction of “classical music” to the students and the church members. With more discussion and further refinement, we organized a musical concert program for reaching out to the community for Gospel mission. This concertis aimed toassist the spiritual and psychological recovery after the flood disaster.Guogou church designed a beautiful program brochure with an invitation letter. The concert will include the singing with the audience, piano solo, violin solo accompanied by piano and finallya section with hymns and prayer (see attached program brochure).
Ruth and coworkers at Guogou church organized a schedule for our team which include not only their regular church activities but also visitations to nearby Dongshih center (東石, another VGM center) and 鹿滿教會 at 中埔 village that located at the foothill of Alisan ( 阿里山).
Guogou center has well administered “after school tutoring program” for the elementary school children as well as for the middle school youth (previously reported in my blog). These activities are similar to the long term (started October 2009) 88-Flood Emergency Rescue and Reconstruction Program proposed by CCRA (Chinese Christian Relief Association). Besides the spiritual recovery and after school tutoring, a third activity is to upgrade potable water system for the mountain areas. Saddleback church has a Clean Water Initiative (CWI) program to assist poor villages in installing and operating potable water systems. (see http://www.cwipeacewater.org/ for more information). Joyce Kung, John Hung and myself attended the practical training by CWI before we departing for Taiwan. We were requested by CWI to survey the needs of the clean water system at the disaster areas.