August 20-26, 2012
Headline News
500 Christians from various denominations remember 3rd anniversary of Typhoon Morakot
Reported by Simon Lin
Written by Lydia Ma
Dalai Village in Sandimen Township marked the 3rd anniversary since Typhoon Morakot in a big way.Villagers assembled inside Tawatawan Presbyterian Church early in the morning when the village chief began to call people to gather together. Villagers also invited people from other villages to attend as many nearby villages were also affected by Typhoon Morakot.
More than 500 Christians from Paiwan Presbytery, Rukai Presbytery, South Bunun Presbytery, and members from the local Methodist Church attended this celebration. It turned out to be a concert as well as an re-installation ceremony for Tawatawan Church’s pastor, Rev. Gilgilaw. Youths from East Paiwan Presbytery performed an indigenous dance for the occasion.
Rev. Gilgilaw said the Tawatawan Church is the only church in Dalai Village and it has played a key role in the life of residents who live there. The entire village relocated from its previous location about 25 years ago because of accessibility issues. From that time on and for many following years, the church was merely a hut covered by a metal roof. When the congregation grew and the building became too shabby and small, the church decided to build a new church building. It was 2008 then, just one year before Typhoon Morakot.
Reflecting on Typhoon Morakot, Rev. Gilgilaw said that construction on the new church building was called to a halt various times and villagers were forced to take shelter for several months far away from their homes. But finishing the new church building continued to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind and villagers also missed their homes. They fought against the government’s recommendation that they move their village again, this time to safer grounds.
Despite these hardships, Rev. Gilgilaw said that the community was richly blessed by Typhoon Morakot because many people across Taiwan learned about their plight and began to help them. People were surprised that a half-built church building could withstand a typhoon. Rev. Gilgilaw credited God for protecting the church building but also blasted the government for stalling rebuilding efforts these past 3 years.
