A Rainbow of Hope
—Divine Solidarity and Love
Extend to Flood Victims

Struck by the Strongest Rainstorm in Four Decades

Each year Central American nations such as Costa Rica receive large amounts of rainfall during the wet season typical of tropical regions. However on January 11, 2005, the Limon and Caribbean areas along Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast experienced more than their usual levels of precipitation as the heaviest storm in forty years struck, causing severe damage and displacing many residents.

Within hours rivers began to overflow, flooding entire communities and acres of crops and isolating remote communities, especially indigenous villages. In some areas people were forced to remain for almost a week on the roofs of their homes in cold, damp conditions, eating only bananas and plantains and drinking muddy water to survive. During this period, numerous indigenous families were trapped in their communities because most of the region’s bridges had been destroyed. As they were in imminent danger of being buried under an avalanche of mud and rocks, those living in the hills and mountains were quickly evacuated. In response to the disaster, the president of Costa Rica traveled to the most severely affected areas and immediately declared a Red Alert and National Emergency.

 

Fellow Practitioners Ready Themselves

Costa Rican initiates quickly organized a relief team to provide basic supplies to residents of the flood affected areas. Also, a group of sisters and brothers went to the office of the National Emergency Commission (NEC) to obtain information about the general situation, the areas at risk and the victims’ needs so as to assist agency personnel in planning their relief mission. On the morning of January 15, as the Costa Rican relief team members planned their effort, three initiates from the USA’s Los Angeles Center arrived, bringing US$40,000 from Master to alleviate the victims’ hunger and suffering and bring aid to areas not yet reached by other relief groups.

Upon the Los Angeles initiates’ arrival, the relief workers began searching for materials to supply the victims. But because the Costa Rican people were so concerned about their compatriots’ well-being, they had already purchased many basic items so most of the largest food and water vendors had run out of merchandise. Thankfully, however, Master’s power helped the initiates through this test. Tracking down potable water was the most difficult task as most warehouses were empty, but after many phone calls the team found a place with enough water to fill their needs. The initiates also gained the help of a store employee who was inspired by their desire to aid the victims, and offered to find transportation and containers to carry the supplies to the Costa Rica Center.

By evening the relief team had found all the items on their shopping list and then through the night of January 15 until dawn the following day they packed 2240 bags with enough food to feed five family members for four days. The relief supplies included rice, black beans, chickpeas, lentils, spaghetti, bath soap, laundry soap, brown sugar, candles, matches, plastic plates, chlorine to disinfect water, drinking water, shovels, notebooks, sweets and many other items. After packing, the bags were carefully placed in two 40 feet containers.

On the 16th the heavy rains continued as the relief team set out to transport the supplies. The initiates headed for Bribri, Talamanca in Limon province, 230 km away from the Center, and during the entire trip Master’s force accompanied them, making everyone feel greatly protected.

 

The Way to Bribrí

According to the NEC, the northern zone of Costa Rica, Talamanca, the Valley of the Star and the territories surrounding the Sixaola River delta were the most heavily affected by the flooding. There the inhabitants are mainly indigenous people who earn their living growing plantain, bananas and cocoa.

Early on the evening of January 16, the relief team reached Bribrí and met with coordinators from other relief groups at the Red Cross’ provisional headquarters to receive the latest statistics. The initiates were eager to begin distributing the relief items immediately, but this was impossible as it was dangerous for helicopters to land in hazardous areas at night, and the weather was extremely unstable.

 

Delivering Help to the Valley of Sixaola

 

Early the next morning, the team was given a police truck and several other smaller vehicles to deliver the much needed necessities to the southeast communities of Sixaola. Upon receiving the supplies and seeing Master’s picture, the recipients, including men, women, children and the elderly expressed their feelings, admiration and blessings as they forgot their suffering and pain and only smiles and tears of gratitude showed on their faces.

The Trip to Suretka: God Provides for All

Back in Bribrí, the team met with Mrs. Dulcelina Páez Mayorga, President of the Women of the Talamanca Region, who was very concerned about the communities deep in the mountains that had not received help in nine days. One such community, Suretka, had been cut off from communications because the flooding had destroyed its two bridges. In addition, many local families had lost their homes and had to seek refuge in schools and the area’s communal hall. According to Mrs. Páez, 900 families needed food and drinking water. Thus, although the road was dangerous and the bridges destroyed, the initiates’ positive attitude and enthusiasm never faltered and they continued uploading the trucks with provisions for Suretka because they felt it was Master’s wish. Then on the evening of the 17th, Mrs. Páez received a very encouraging phone call informing her that a group of men from Suretka had fixed the damaged bridges with their own tools and shovels, reconnecting their community with Bribrí.

The initiates were enormously happy with this news, but the authorities thought it unwise to drive at night as the road was still dangerous. Even so, the practitioners continued to upload the provisions and soon the trucks were ready to go to Suretka. At that moment another truck arrived with over thirty men, who happened to be those who had repaired the bridges. Time was precious so this second truck was quickly filled to capacity with supplies, and so the initiates were able to transport more than 1400 bags of food and over 1500 2-gallon bottles of drinking water to those in need. By placing all their trust in the Master power the relief team members knew that everything would work out well.

Upon arriving at Suretka around 8:00 PM the initiates could barely see the multitude of residents who had gathered to receive the relief materials as it was pitch black due to the local electric plant being down. With flashlights in hand the relief team handed out packages of food, blankets, water and the rest of Master’s gifts, and the recipients were all extremely grateful. Since hundreds of people were seeking relief the initiates had no way of knowing if the amount of food they had brought would be sufficient, but thankfully each family in the community received a ration and the team members were filled with satisfaction knowing that they had fulfilled their mission.

After arriving back in Bribrí late that same night, all those involved in the noble Suretka relief work sat together feeling great joy. And although their bodies were exhausted, the experience of the Master power flowing through them during the relief effort is something the initiates can not describe except to say, “God´s plan is accurate and Master´s love is infinite.” The police officers and drivers involved in the project were impressed with the way the Association’s relief team had accomplished their tasks, and how they had worked diligently, non-stop and without complaint. One officer even confessed that in his twenty-nine years of police work, he had never seen volunteers like the initiates, who had been concerned about personally dispensing relief supplies to individual recipients so as to offer words of support and encouragement to each person affected by the tragic event.

Encounter with a Costa Rican Indigenous Culture

Then in the early hours of January 18, the initiates traveled to the indigenous community of Kekoldi, where the natives sang the Lord´s Prayer in their own dialect out of gratitude to the merciful Supreme Master Ching Hai. The community’s teacher asked for a photograph of Master so that she could frame it and hang it in the local school, saying, “Several people have requested Her photograph, first because She is a great Master and second to remind the children that She helped the indigenous people in their moment of great need.”

That same morning the relief team members loaded their vehicle with supplies and in the afternoon distributed relief packages to a community near Sixaola (between Costa Rica and Panama). In all, 450 local families received the blessed provisions and in gratitude the community lovingly prayed to God and asked Hirm to bless Master for Her caring assistance.

Then on January 19, 2005, to satisfy the urgent needs of the indigenous people as described by the local NEC, a group of brothers and sisters stayed on two days longer than the other team members to deliver a chainsaw and an outboard motor to the Integral Development Association of the Indigenous Bribrí and Cabecar communities and the Indigenous Emergency Committee. This equipment was to be of great help to the locals as boats are one of the community’s major means of obtaining food and transporting the sick, and chainsaws are useful for removing fallen trees, many of which had blocked the local access roads after the flooding.

After the initiates’ relief work in Costa Rica was completed, the Foundation for the Cultural and Social Development of the Costa Rican Indigenous Ethnic Peoples invited them to the Bribrí Temple to attend a spiritual ceremony demonstrating the flood victims’ gratitude to God. In addition, the group asked to see a video of Master’s teachings in their community.

We are the Most Fortunate Residents of the Planet

Back in San José, a divine symbol in the form of a bright, wonderfully colorful rainbow continuously accompanied the initiates on their way to the airport to bid farewell the three Los Angeles initiates.

All the Costa Rican and American practitioners who participated in the relief project were deeply moved by the relief effort and could not contain their tears of joy, as they were able to prove what Master had said the last time She was in Costa Rica: “You are the most fortunate among millions of billions of people on this planet.” One aspect of this good fortune is to have the chance to give love to others and grow spiritually.

Highlights of the above-mentioned events may be viewed on the CTI TV Entertainment Channel A Journey through Aesthetic Realms #138 at:

http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/hichannel/index.htm 
(in English with Chinese subtitles)

 

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Letters of Appreciation From Costa Rica

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