| Michelangelo's Materpiece | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
It was a pity that such a beautiful block of marble would be wasted. It was immense; the size of three men. Artists had eyed the stone before, and one had even started to carve it, but he had damaged it to the point that it appeared nothing could be done to salvage it. And so the once-magnificent stone sat discarded—abandoned for decades, a monumental mistake. Then a young man of 26 years came to look at it. He noticed the chisel marks that had left the stone too narrow, too flawed. But as he looked deeper, he saw something within it. Inside that rejected block of marble, he saw an image of strength and beauty waiting to emerge. The young sculptor acquired the marble block and set to work. Two and a half years later the young artist, Michelangelo, revealed the masterpiece he had carved from that abandoned stone—David, one of the greatest works of art in the history of the world.1 Like Michelangelo’s stone, we too may have flaws. Perhaps we have been abandoned. Perhaps we feel too imperfect, stained, or weak to be of any worth. Nevertheless, no matter how broken or marred we may appear to be, there is a masterpiece of breathtaking beauty, depth, and nobility inside each one of us just waiting to be revealed. And the same is true, of course, of everyone around us. If we can look with an eye like Michelangelo’s—past the flaws and weaknesses we think we see in others—we will recognize priceless value and infinite potential in each person we meet. And with just the right amount of love and tender care, we can help each other turn the rough stones of our lives into our very own masterpiece. 1 See John Addington Symonds, The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, 2 vols. (1911), 1:89–93. Program #4170 | |
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Michelangelo's Materpiece--Spoken Word Given by Lloyd D. Newell
| Michelangelo's Materpiece | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
Sunday, August 16, 2009
美傳教士 助旗山人清家園
美傳教士 助旗山人清家園
2009/08/12 04:09
〔記者曹明正／高雄報導〕救災無國界！一群來自美國的年輕人，本來自費到台灣傳教，為協助旗山災民重建家園，昨天「撩落去」，在爛泥中行走好幾公里，幫忙鏟土、清淤，儘管混身都是黃泥巴，救溺的心始終不減。
滿身黃泥 當作難得歷練
從美國猶他州來到高雄不滿3個月的鍾（Aston）是第1次目睹颱風威力，他說，看到旗山民眾維護家園的努力，讓他感到佩服；從以前就覺得台灣人民非常謙虛，這次有機會能夠貢獻己力，儘管只是鏟土、搬垃圾，卻是一段非常難得的歷練。
年僅19歲的司徒（Stucki）表示，在黑水、爛泥當中，他看到台灣人民展現的手足之情，大家心連心，努力恢復家園；20歲的白（Byington）則說：「我知道他們需要幫忙，所以得知可以來這裡協助時，我覺得這是我應該做的」。
這群外國友人都是「耶穌基督後期聖徒」教會的傳教士，昨天有20多人參與旗山善後，他們沿著中華、大同路一帶，協助將成堆的泥巴鏟出門外，身上佈滿黃土、臉上滴著汗珠，膚色雖然不同，救難的心卻是一樣。
該教會旗山分會長陳信雄表示，19、20歲在很多國家是要服役的年齡，這群年輕傳教士則選擇自費到別的國家傳教兩年，有人形容他們是「神的軍人」，昨天他們都是先擱下傳教的工作，來到旗山與災民站在一起。
Thursday, August 13, 2009
More News
Taiwan races to save typhoon survivors
CISHAN, Taiwan – Hundreds of villagers scurried from their homes minutes before floodwaters burst an embankment Thursday, as the military airlifted survivors from remote villages devastated in mudslides during last weekend's typhoon.
The military sent 4,000 new troops to join more than 10,000 soldiers already working to save thousands of survivors stranded in several villages in the island's south, the Defense Ministry said. Rescue efforts have been slow because many bridges and roads to hard-hit villages collapsed or were washed out by raging floodwaters.
Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan over the weekend, dumping more than 80 inches (2 meters) of rain and unleashing the most devastating floods that the island has seen in 50 years.
The official death toll in Taiwan stands at 108, with 61 listed as missing. But several hundred more — nobody is sure how many — remain unaccounted for and are feared lost in the mudslides. The storm also killed 22 people in the Philippines and eight in China.
In the southern Taiwan township of Toayuan, 300 villagers were told to run to higher ground about 30 minutes before a lake created by floodwaters burst its banks, an official said, adding that two nearby lakes were expected to burst soon.
"There would be a massive amount of water flowing down the Laonung River, and we have alerted villagers around to flee," relief official Hsu Chin-biao said.
Mud and rocks rushing down from mountains over the weekend blocked the flow of floodwaters to form the lakes, officials said.
The rains halted Thursday, permitting army helicopters to ferry scores of survivors from the remains of their villages to an improvised landing strip in the town of Cishan. Again and again the helicopters set down on the grounds of a school, as anxious relatives stood in the background waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones.
Not all of the news was good.
"There's been a bad development at Minchu village," a police officer announced over a speaker as a dead body was unloaded from a Huey helicopter to a waiting ambulance.
But other choppers were ferrying the living — elderly men and women, small boys and girls, even infants — many looking dazed and bewildered.
The tension among relatives was palpable.
"I have my family members trapped out there," said a woman from Kaochung village who gave her surname as Yu. "They can't wait. If the rain resumes, the mountains around them will collapse."
The military has reported that it has traced some 1,000 villagers from the worst-hit village of Shiao Lin and two other stricken communities in the past two days. So far at least 300 of them have been airlifted to safety, said spokesman for relief operations Col. Chang Kuo-bin.
News reports said many villagers used their bare hands in the days after the mudslides to try to dig down to their buried homes in futile efforts to save their relatives.
Others sought to send messages for help.
On Wednesday, a wooden sign was seen being erected near a collapsed bridge in Hsinfa village in Kaohsiung saying "32 Buried SOS." Rescuers rushed to the scene and tossed ropes over the river to pull several survivors to safety, according to news reports.
Morakot, which means "emerald" in the Thai language, first struck the Philippines. After hitting Taiwan, it pounded eastern China, where authorities evacuated 1.5 million people and some 10,000 homes were destroyed.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Good in Good-bye--Spoken Word given by Lloyd D. Newell
| The Good in Good-bye | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
Monday, August 10, 2009
LDS Missionaries Provide Language, Hosting Assistance at World Games
Months before the Games began in mid-July, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission held weekly English classes at the request of the city government.
The classes were taught to government officials as well as officers of the Kaoshiung City Police Department. Students in the classes learned help words and phrases in English so they could accommodate the tens of thousands of international visitors who attended the Games.
“Because your missionaries speak such good Chinese and English, their training has been very effective for our police department," said Gao Yi-time, foreign affairs representative with the department.
Also, during the two-week run of the Games, Mormon missionaries from the United States serving in Taiwan were invited by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to act as greeters to welcome the public to the popular American exhibition venue.
The exhibition was one of many sponsored by countries and international businesses during the Games. It offered local Taiwanese and visitors from abroad a chance to learn of American culture and products.
“Your missionaries represent what is best about young people,” said Chris Castro, branch chief of AIT's Kaoshiung office.
At the request of AIT, missionaries were also invited to assist with hosting and translation at a gala reception that was attended by hundreds of athletes, coaches and officials.
Typhoon Morakot
We are working on this 24 hours a day and more people are coming to join the task force. For further information, please email adct @ adct.org.tw. God bless Taiwan.
Typhoon Morakot caused severe damage to the southern part of Taiwan with record breaking rainfall of 2,900 millimeters (114 inches) in 3 days. The highest single day regional regional record was broken on August 8th, at 1403 millimeters (55 inches). To put it in perspective, Vancouver's average annual rainfall is only 1117 mm (44 inches). Some bulidings were flooded up to the second floor, many counties isolated. Military personels have been deployed to help with the rescuing and reconstruction efforts. In Taitung County, segments of freeway and railway were washed away, 20 houses were washed into the sea, and a major hotel collapsed.
More than 150,168 people remain without power, and 28,282 households have had their phone lines cut, according to the latest statement from the National Fire Agency. Electricity was restored in some areas after disruptions that affected 1.4 million people, according to the statement. The storm caused an estimated NT$754.8 million ($23 million) in damage to crops, the agency said.
Typhoons hit Taiwan frequently every summer. People are usually well prepared. Morakot is certainly one of a kind with massive rainfall. The last major floor ocurred on August 7th, 1959, caused more than a thousand dead or missing, 20 thousand house collapsed. The damage totalled 11% of GDP back then. Today, even with much better building standard and diaster preparation, Morakot still created major disruption to the whole country.