The derailment of Puyama express train in the northeastern Taiwan has caused 18 fatalities and more than 200 injuries at four-fifty in the afternoon, on Sunday, October 21st, shocking the entire nation.

According to the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), 3%~8% of civilians suffer PTSD at any one time in the United States and around 20% of people exposed to a disaster or trauma event may develop PTSD. This indicates that the 200 people who were injured from the Puyama incident, 40 or more will suffer from PTSD.

The families of the 18 who passed away were not ready for such traumatic news. It is hard to walk out of this kind of sudden lost. If they were your brothers or sisters in Christ or a friend, do you know how to walk them through such sorrow and deep grief?

How do you communicate and comfort the 200 injured people, without saying anything to them which would add to their hurt? If you can use “Group Crisis Intervention” at the appropriate time, the chances of them developing PTSD will decrease dramatically.

The 156 passengers who weren’t hurt, still have the fear of death. Do you know how to calm these traumatized people with a highly efficient scientific method?

If you do not know how to deal with the three situations, please join our “Crisis, Grief, Trauma Counseling” courses. We will be having our “Walking Out of Grief” workshop in Taipei and Kaohsiung in January, helping friends who have lost love ones and marriages to regain joy. “Group Crisis Intervention” of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) will be starting in January of 2019. And “Individual Crisis Intervention” courses are being planned to open the following year (2020). Courses related to methods to heal the trauma that can’t be seen but are truly in people’s hearts, are to be opened in the future.

ICISF is a professional crisis intervention training organization. They are considered as the top global crisis intervention organization, helping 22 nations establish Crisis Incident Stress Management teams (CISM). Trainees include police and firefighter captains, 119 dispatch unit supervisors, EMS teams, chaplain, social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists.

Hope we can introduce the mode of CISM into Taiwan soon. When disasters happen, chaplains wearing CISM uniforms will be at the scene, helping policemen, firefighters, and EMS. If you are a chaplain yourself, you can accompany the injured to the hospital in the ambulance and enter the hospice room. You will be able to comfort them and their family. They will be grateful for your service!

Even when there isn’t a disaster, you can enter police stations, fire stations, 119 dispatch stations, to minster those who work there. According to research from USA Today, their average life is 10 years less than an average person, have 5 times the chance of suffering from PTSD and depression. Suicidal cases are higher than those of KIAs. The divorce rate is also higher, resulting in 33% of the personnel to have been divorced at least once.

This is the statistics from the US, will Taiwan’s situation be any better? These numbers show that the heroes in our society are not living the life that they deserve. This makes me sad! They all need the salvation of Jesus Christ! Please become a chaplain and help us serve our heroes.

Thanksgiving:

1. Jane is now an ICISF Approved Instructor and can open classes anywhere.

2. Jane was invited to share at the morning devotion time of the Christian Tribune on 9/12.

3. The content for next year’s “Ignite Your Marriage” Conference is set and the translation for the PPTs is finished.


Prayer Requests:

1. Kaohsiung’s “Ignite Your Marriage” Conference needs a suitable place to host it. May God prepare a place with convenient transportation, sufficient workers, especially those who are involved in marriage ministry and a passionate church to work with.

2. The traditional Chinese edition of the student manual of Group Crisis Intervention of ICISF is not available yet. May God let us receive the agreement of traditional Chinese copyright as soon as possible and we can finish the translation, proofreading, layout, and printing by the end of this year.

3. Why does the merciful and almighty God allow such pain and suffering? May God use “Why Suffering” to help those who are suffering in life and find that the Lord Jesus Christ is the real origin of purpose and comfort.

4. To those with depression and anxiety, it’s a challenge to overcome suicidal thoughts. May God use “Just One More Day” to help them want to live another day.