Reports on Relief Activities for the 911 Disaster
in the United States (3)

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News 127, Love in Action

[Prague, the Czech Republic] Prague initiates met for group meditation three times instead of once a week. Initiates were asked to pray for world peace and spend more time meditating at home in order to elevate the positive energy on our planet.

[Vienna, Austria] Upon receiving Master's message, Austrian initiates held several prayer-meditation sessions as well as a three-day retreat in hopes of uniting spiritual forces for the early realization of world peace.

[Sofia, Bulgaria] Local initiates held a prayer-meditation session and increased the frequency of group meditation sessions, which began with a sincere, silent prayer for greater understanding among all people through peaceful means. The initiates plan to hold a retreat during the last weekend of each month.

[Lodz, Poland] The Poland Center immediately notified all local initiates of Master's instructions upon receiving them. Group meditation sessions began with a prayer for global peace as well as love, wisdom, and mutual assistance and cooperation among all people, so that humankind will be free from fear, war, and other forms of violence.

[Germany] In response to Master's instructions, initiates of the Munich Center gathered for four daily sessions of group-prayer and meditation on September 13-23. The Berlin Center held a one and a half day retreat in Uelzen, attracting initiates from across the country. The Hamburg Center organized a two-day retreat to pray for the victims of the US disaster, while the Dusseldorf Center held a two-day retreat on September 22-23, with a longer meditation session on Saturday. The initiates hoped that humankind could enhance mutual understanding in peaceful ways.

[Dublin, Ireland] On receiving Master's message, the Dublin Center immediately passed the information on to all local initiates asking them to join in group meditation. Sessions were arranged for Wednesday and Sunday to pray for global peace and the 9-11 disaster victims.

[Brussels, Belgium] Belgian initiates arranged an extra group meditation day on Sunday, September 16. It was exceptionally quiet that day and even the neighboring residents seemed to be affected by the quietude. At noon, initiates discussed Master's message and shared thoughts about the event. They also decided to hold an additional 'retreat day' monthly and to remit monetary contributions to the US to help the victims.

[Amsterdam, the Netherlands] Local initiates held a two-day retreat during the September 29-30 weekend to pray for those who lost their lives in New York, Arlington, Virginia and Pennsylvania, and also for peace in the world.

[Helsinki, Finland] Initiates in Finland met for group meditation on Sunday to pray for world peace.

[Ljubljana, Slovenia] Slovenian initiates gathered several times for out-of-schedule group meditation sessions dedicated to world peace and social harmony.

Each time you fail, each time you feel miserable, each time you feel let down or dragged into the cumbersome existence of the material world, try to pick yourself up and tell yourself again, "This is not real." The only real thing is positive; the only real thing is God; the only real thing is love. The only real thing is that whatever you want, you will get. And you will get all the good things, because that's what God wants us to have.

~ By Supreme Master Ching Hai

Without a doubt, the recent 9-11 incident in America has written a tragic page in the history of humankind. The people of the world may have all kinds of responses to this unfortunate catastrophe, but our fellow practitioners worldwide still adhere to the ideal that "all people are brothers; Creation is part of me," revealing the utmost love and concern between brothers and sisters while conducting relief efforts after the disaster. Especially, fellow practitioners in the United States, under Master's guidance, amply displayed great calmness in the midst of the catastrophe, and a spirit of doing our best to help others. From the following reports and stories personally experienced by initiates, we have again proven that "God's love is forever with us"!

The Yellow Vest That Guarantees Unrestricted Passage
By the San Jose Relief Team, U.S.A. (originally in English)

Members of the San Jose relief team participated in volunteer work in New York City from September 17-20. What we saw at the World Trade Center disaster scene was far worse than what was shown on television. Being there in person, we could experience firsthand all that was happening around us, and felt the emotions of the people in the area. The atmosphere was extremely sad and depressing, so our booth was there to bring Master's love and compassion to rescue workers and uplift their spirits.

Our food booths were the nearest to the site of the collapse. About 30 brothers and sisters worked at the scene along with three Quan Yin messengers, operating in two 15-16-hour shifts per day. During the eight days of our relief efforts at Ground Zero, initiates barely had time to sleep. Each day, members of our organization worked round the clock to prepare meals and serve food and drinks to relief workers in the area.

It was amazing that just with our yellow vests, initiation ID cards, and the simple emergency badges made by our group for the volunteer team, we could pass through security checks and enter the sites to offer direct help. Only designated personnel were allowed inside the site. It is no wonder that at the beginning of our rescue relief project, Master instructed all the relief volunteers to wear the yellow vest while doing disaster work. We certainly believe that Master's blessings were the main support facilitating our relief efforts at the disaster site.

Keeping Calamity at Bay
By sister initiate Wu, New Jersey, U.S.A. (originally in English)

An initiate sister has a son who works in downtown New York. He commutes to his job from New Jersey and takes the subway at the former site of the World Trade Center around 9:00 AM. At about that time on September 11, two airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. When the sister saw news of the disaster on television, she knelt in front of Master's photo and prayed that her son would escape the calamity. Later her son called and said, "Mom, I am fine. I do not know why, but I got on the subway safely earlier this morning." This example shows that Master arranges everything and protects all Her disciples and their families!

Another sister regularly takes a subway transfer in the area of the World Trade Center around 8:40-9:00 AM on her way to work. However on September 11, she took an earlier train and left the WTC 30 minutes early for no apparent reason. This was not her regular schedule because she usually could not get up when her alarm went off. When she saw the building explode from her office, she felt immense gratitude for Master's blessings, which helped her avoid a great calamity!

Another Case
By sister initiate Chou, New York, U.S.A.

On the day of the 9-11 disaster in the U.S.A., I was late for work. I used to work on the 46th floor of the northern tower of the World Trade Center, and was usually in my office by 8:50AM. But that morning, I met a friend while jogging and we chatted for a few minutes, which made me late for work. When I stepped out of the subway, everyone was running away from the building. I saw smoke coming out of the building, and felt very lucky that I was not inside. Through Master's kind arrangement, I was late that day so that I could avoid the disaster.

Master Had Already Made Arrangements!
By sister initiate Chen, New York, U.S.A.

Soon after the occurrence of the 911 events, members of the relief team formed by New York Center initiates found it necessary to fetch their rescue equipment immediately, in order to join the rescue frontline as soon as possible. However, there was a question in everyone's mind: "Since there are blockades everywhere in the city, how can we transport the equipment quickly?"

But we had no need to worry! Master had already made arrangements! Originally, all the rescue equipment of the New York Center was stored in the warehouse of a fellow sister in China Town, the location of which was behind the blockaded WTC site. Several months earlier, this sister had sold the warehouse, and so all the rescue equipment was being temporarily stored in my garage. Coincidentally, the New York Rescue Team was using my house for its rescue operation.

On September 12, 2001, when fellow initiates taking part in the rescue operation arrived, all the rescue equipment was readily available for use. If the equipment had still been in the warehouse near China Town, we would have had to wait at least a few days, until the blockades had been lifted, before being able to lay hands on it!

Master's Gifts of Love

On the tragic day of September 11, 2001 in New York City, Master instructed fellow initiates to prepare some heartwarming gifts for the children of the victims. Soon after, She instructed us to contribute the remaining relief funds to the children of New York firefighters, both victims and non-victims alike., so that they could buy the toys of their choice. Thus, we spent the remaining US$37,300 on purchasing 746 gift certificates valued at US$50 each. The certificates, enclosed in separate envelopes, were presented to the New York Fire Department and the UFA (Uniformed Firefighters Association) Widows' and Children's Fund.

	Battalion Chief Michael Canty(second on the right) of the New York Fire Department accepts gift certificates offered by Supreme Master Ching Hai for the children of firefighters.
	Ms. Tama Reilly (second on the left) of the UFA Widows' and Children's Fund accepts gift certificates offered by Supreme Master Ching Hai for the children of firefighters.

At 1:30 PM on October 11, four fellow initiates arrived at the New York Fire Department headquarters, and with Master's blessings, easily found a parking place nearby, which was a miracle on a working day in downtown Manhattan. In the lobby, we were met by two young gentlemen, who told us that several firefighters were still at the disaster site and some materials were still smoldering under the debris. They were upset at the loss of so many friends, including the 343 firefighters who had died in the rescue work.

When we met Battalion Chief Michael Canty, we introduced our group and explained the purpose of our visit. We then presented him with gift certificates valued at US$18,000, as well as Master's sample booklets and News magazines. He promised to forward the gifts to the children of the firemen and expressed his appreciation of Master's love before taking some pictures with us.

From the fire department, we drove to the office of the UFA Widows' and Children's Fund, where we were met by Ms. Tama Reilly. She was delighted to receive the gift certificates, exclaiming that the children would be overjoyed to purchase the toys and gifts they wanted. She said some people gave toys like teddy bears which are not easy to store or handle. Ms. Reilly enquired about our group and showed great interest in Master's teachings and meditation. She and a colleague were deeply moved by our loving acts and thanked us for our carefully-prepared gifts, valued at US$19,300, for the children of the firemen who had lost their lives in the rescue work.

Expenditures for the Supreme Master Ching Hai
International Association's "911 Disaster" Relief Efforts

Table 1: Monetary Contributions to Non-profit Organizations

Non-profit Organization	Area	Amount (in US$)	Appendix
Firefighter Memorial Fund	New York, U.S.A.	50,000.00	*
Red Cross	New York, U.S.A.	50,000.00 10,000.00	911-A *
	Washington, DC, U.S.A.	50,000.00 1,000.00	911-B *
	Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A.	10,000.00	*
Salvation Army	New York, U.S.A.	50,015.00 10,000.00	911-C 911-D
	Washington, DC, U.S.A.	50,000.00 1,000.00	911-E *
	Pennsylvania, U.S.A.	5,000.00	911-F
Crisis Link	Virginia, U.S.A.	2,000.00	911-G
Fire Department, Headquarters	New York, U.S.A.	18,000.00	*
UFA Widow's and Children's Fund	New York, U.S.A.	19,300.00	*
Banking Charge		94.75	*
Amount		US$326,409.75

Note: "*" Receipts are not available at this moment, will publish in a future issue.

Table 2: Expenditures for Rescue Activities

Items	Description	Amount (in US$)	Appendix
Food:	Rice, noodles, bread, vegetables, drinks, ice bags, fruit, milk, wheat meal ... etc.	21317.10	911-H ~ 911-T
Clothing:	Men's briefs, socks, shirts, jackets, gloves, blankets ... etc.	5,486.61
Office Supplies:	Film, stationery, computer diskettes, CDs, copier carbon, tarpaulins, batteries, printer ink ... etc.	1,450.37
Kitchen Supplies:	Cooking utensils, thermos tanks, cutlery, water pump, sinks, coffee maker ... etc.	2,188.88
Miscellaneous	Trash bags, cleanser, tools, tents, flashlights, rain boots ... etc.	1,746.57
Medical Items:	Work boots, safety glasses, hard hats, kneepads, respirator masks, medicine, cold tablets, etc.	2,458.00
Amount		US$34,647.53
Total amount of Table 1 and Table 2		US$361,057.28

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