Coldfala Disaster
“WORSE natural disaster long history bilong kantri.” Diswan hem hao The Toronto Star niuspepa kolem ice storm long January wea barava spoelem province bilong Canada long Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Long United States, President Bill Clinton kolem Maine and New Hampshire and samfala area bilong Vermont and north New York tu olsem disaster area.
Olketa say samting olsem 35 pipol dae from disfala storm, wea coldfala rain fall daon for faev day. Rain olsem savvy fall daon for fewfala hour nomoa, but long disfala taem hot air long skae stap antap long cold air underneath. So taem rain kasem graon, hem stretawe kamap ice. Diswan mekem hae bilong ice long graon for kasem eit centimeter. From hevi bilong ice, planti tree, paoa laen, and olketa steel post fall daon, wea planti taem hem mekem bigfala danger kamap.
Long Quebec, planti hundred bigfala steel post brek. Wanfala man wea fraet hem say: “Mi lukim wanfala [steel post] front long mi hem bend olsem plastic. Hem bend long haf, then kamap ball, and pisis. Olketa paoa laen stap evriwea long main road. Bihaen first wan fall daon, nara threefala wea bihaenem fall daon tu.”
Ice wea hipap fall daonem winim 120,000 kilometer bilong paoa laen, wea fit for raonem earth threefala taem! Long Canada, three go kasem foa million pipol no kasem paoa and heat, samfala for threefala week and moa.
Long Maine, ples wea Governor Angus King say hem needim help kwiktaem, winim 200,000 pipol no garem paoa. “Diskaen disaster nating big olsem bifor long disfala state,” datfala governor hem say. New York Governor George Pataki hem say: “Samfala full taon nao no garem paoa.”
Disfala storm hem spoelem samting olsem 30,000 timber paoa post long south saed bilong St. Lawrence River. Bihaen disfala cold rain go ahed for 17 hour, Jim Kelly, wea stap klosap long datfala river long north New York, hem raet: “Mifala kanduit luk aotsaed long window. Hem no just snow or smok bilong cold air but strong ice. Noise kam from evri saed bilong haos.”
Kelly say moa: “Iu savvy herem farawe saond olsem olketa sutim gun. Bang! Then kwaet. Bang! Then kwaet. Bang, bang!” Bihaen, hem faendaot hao olketa saond hia hem taem olketa tree and telephone post hem brek.
But nomata olsem, datfala ples luk naes tumas. Pipol worry hao Ontario maet lusim finis 20 million maple tree, wea barava affectim maple syrup industry. Wanfala farmer hem say: “Olketa tree luk olsem stik nomoa wea point go long skae.”
“Ples Bilong War Wea Luk Naes”
Toktok antap hem hedlaen bilong Toronto Star taem hem storyim lukluk bilong Montreal, mek-tu big taon bilong Canada. “Olketa street long hia luk olsem pipol just bombim!” wanfala wea stap long there hem say. Firstfala kost wea olketa markem bilong damage hem winim $2,000 million for Montreal nomoa.
Wanfala wea stap long Belleville, Ontario, hem say: “Lukluk bilong hem olsem wanfala nuclear war just finis. White dust stap antap evri samting, hem mekem man fraet.” Hem kolem diswan “luk naes wea mekem man fraet.”
Week bihaen long datfala storm, taem planti hundred thousand pipol still no garem paoa and cold kamap nogud tumas, police start for muvim pipol go long sef ples. “Waswe, iumi askim olketa or orderim olketa?” wanfala policeman hem ask.
“Olketa mas muvaot,” bigman hem ansa olsem. “But duim long naesfala way.” Hem say moa: “Hem olsem iumi insaed war.”
Klosap Kasem Bigfala Trabel
From big haf bilong Montreal lusim electrik, olketa laet long road and train no work. Kasem last day bilong storm, fofala long faevfala paoa station wea supplyim electrik for disfala taon hem fail or brekdaon. Wanem nao kamaot from diswan?
“Long aftanun mifala tingim bae no eni electrik for full Montreal—and no eni wata tu,” Premier Lucien Bouchard bilong Quebec hem say. “Tufala hour nomoa stap for kasem wata bikos tufala ples wea supplyim wata stop nao.” From pipol iusim kandol and luk olsem wata bae barava nomoa nao, luk olsem bigfala trabel bae kamap.
Narafala bigfala trabel klosap kamap tufala week bihaen taem wanfala sekson bilong 1,889 pipol hipap long January 24 for wanfala circuit assembly bilong Olketa Witness Bilong Jehovah long Montreal Assembly Hall. Insaed wan naet, winim 20 centimeter snow kavarem Montreal, and long morning assembly program, olketa lukim brek long olketa wall and ceiling. Olketa cancelim aftanun program, and askim olketa wea attend for go back long haos, changim kaleko bilong olketa, and kam back for work.
Insaed wan hour 300 volunteer holem kam savol, pik, and samfala tul moa and start for kliarem snow from datfala maeti 7,100-square-meter roof. Bihaen olketa aotem samfala snow antap, olketa lukim long samfala ples ice hem winim 60 centimeter thick! Olketa iusim chain saw for katem ice olsem smallfala box, and pullim olketa hia go long end bilong roof and fall daonem. Olketa aotem samting olsem 1,600 ton bilong snow and ice! Taem olketa lukluk bihaen, ceiling stap stret moa and olketa brek long wall nomoa nao. Program go ahed gud moa long Sunday morning.
Olketa Helpem Narawan
Hem tru, samfala pipol long datfala ples laek mekius from trabel wea pipol kasem long taem bilong rain and cold, but olsem long first century, planti showimaot “barava spesel kaenfala fasin.” (Acts 28:2) Daily Sentinel niuspepa bilong Rome, New York, talem olsem abaotem Olketa Witness Bilong Jehovah wea goaot for helpem pipol: “Olketa man meet long Kingdom Hall long Watertown for organize and from there olketa kasem work for duim long olketa haos bilong olketa nara member. But gogo olketa helpem tu evri haos wea stap klosap.”
Datfala article say olketa arrangim olketa help hia for pipol “long Adams, Potsdam, Ogdensburg, Plattsburgh, Massena, Gouverneur, and Ellenburg.” Samfala volunteer provaedem heat for olketa haos for fewfala hour long way for iusim paoa from generator. Sorry tumas, cold hem winim zero degrees long planti area bihaen long storm.
Wantaem olketa police lukim olketa Witness visitim olketa haos and tingsay olketa go for steal. Taem olketa Witness say wanem olketa go duim, wanfala policeman say hao bihaen long storm, dadi bilong hem, wea stap long Montreal, kasem help from Olketa Witness Bilong Jehovah, nomata dadi bilong hem no wanfala Witness. Datfala son talemaot thankiu bilong hem for datfala help.
Olketa wea barava kasem hard taem from disfala storm hem samting olsem 100 taon south long Montreal long area wea olketa kolem “sekson bilong darkness.” Tenfala day bihaen long storm, olketa taon hia still no garem paoa. Planti pipol no garem paoa for winim wan month! Branch office bilong Olketa Witness Bilong Jehovah klosap long Toronto arrangim olketa spesel visit for provaedem help long olketa area hia. Olketa tekem go samting olsem oil for lamp, battery, and torchlaet long trak for kasem olketa distribution center, and from there olketa tekem go long olketa wea needim.
Olketa arrange tu for olketa Kristian elder lukluk long need bilong olketa wea stap long olketa area hia. Wanfala grup bilong olketa elder visitim 11-fala kongregeson insaed wanfala week, and duim planti meeting wea givim encouragement. Bihaen olketa meeting hia, wea olketa provaedem spiritual encouragement, no eniwan laek go back long haos. Pipol go ahed for stap, toktok and story, and barava enjoyim way for kampani tugeta. Tru nao, meeting attendance hem hae winim enitaem bifor long olketa week bilong storm.
Planti wea garem way for kasem heat, olsem wood stove or generator wea provaedem electrik, olketa welkamim pipol wea no garem heat insaed long haos bilong olketa. Samfala Witness garem 20 pipol wea stap withim olketa. And tu planti from different ples wea garem electrik provaedem accommodation. For example, olketa Witness long Sept-Îles, wanfala taon wea samting olsem 800 kilometer from disfala “sekson bilong darkness,” offerim accommodation for 85 famili.
Olketa Witness long olketa farawe ples, olsem Rimouski, katem and sendem firewood. Samfala raetem tu olketa scripture long olketa firewood wea olketa sendem. Wanfala Witness sharim present bilong wood bilong hem withim neibor wea no Witness, wea long wanfala firewood olketa raetem Psalm 55:16 long hem: “Jehovah seleva bae sevem mi.” Withim wood long hand bilong hem, hem lukap and say: “Thankiu, Jehovah.”
Wanem Leson From Evri Samting Hia?
Planti sek tumas long way wea electrik paoa savvy brekdaon and way wea olketa depend long hem. “Mi promis, taem mifala buildim niu haos,” wanfala man hem say, “bae hem garem wanfala wood stove, wanfala generator . . . , and bae garem gas stove.”
Klosap six week bihaen long storm, wanfala reporter hem say: “Hem bringim staka ice, staka darkness, staka taem for tingting, wea hem moa easy for duim taem television hem off.” Then, hem say: “Iumi sapraes long way wea weather savvy kwiktaem spoelem iumi.”
Olketa Bible student tingim promis bilong Creator for mekem earth kamap wanfala paradaes moa bihaen hem aotem disfala system, olsem hem aotem wanfala semkaen world bifor. (Matthew 24:37-39; 2 Peter 2:5) Taem hem point go long disfala samting wea savvy spoelem man, God hem ask: “Waswe, iu go insaed stoahaos bilong snow finis, or iu lukim stoahaos bilong hail [and coldfala rain], wea mi keepim back for taem bilong bigfala sorry, for day bilong faet and war?”—Job 38:22, 23.
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Olketa steel post fall daon
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Olketa missim bigfala trabel taem olketa volunteer aotem snow and ice from roof bilong Assembly Hall
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Firewood for olketa wea storm spoelem