Hello and welcome!
This May, we have seen 2 major disaster in Asia, that has killed, injured and affected millions of people. At Sowers Music, our heart goes out to all this victims and their family. As musicians and worshiper, our call as Levites were never reserved only for ministry on stage, on Sunday service. Hebrew 13:15&16 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And DO NOT neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
I strongly urge fellow believers to participate actively, if not aggressively in these disaster. While calling for support and donation recently in church, my little daughter (9 yrs old) took out all her money from her piggy bank ($17.60) and gave it all and every night, reminding me to pray for those in China and Myanmar. As such, I strongly urge many of us, to contribute not your left overs…but offerings beyond your comfort zone, to the Lord in these events.
Below are the summary of the 2 major events:
On 2 May 2008 tropical cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Myanmar and devastated large parts of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta. Winds exceeding 190 kilometres per hour ripped through the Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon for more than ten hours. Homes were flattened, more sturdy structures damaged, trees uprooted and power lines downed. In rural parts of the country up to 95 per cent of homes were wiped off the face of the earth.
This is a situation that the country has not dealt with before and the scale of the needs is clearly massive. Casualty figures continue to rise. The International Federation estimates that more than two million people have lost their homes or been severely affected.
On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China. By the next day, the death toll stood at 12,000, with another 18,000 still missing. Over 15 million people live in the affected area, including almost 4 million in the city of Chengdu. Nearly 2,000 of the dead were students and teachers caught in schools that collapsed.
As of noon May 23, 2008, the official death tolls from the earthquake stood at 55,740, with 292,481 injured, 24,960 person missing. At the moment, over 11.37 survivors has been relocated. Many has camped in the Chengdu city where Sowers Music relief team are there.
Matthew L. Tan
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