February 27, 2008
More than 10 church buildings received severe damage during heavy snowstorms in the Hubei Province of China in late January. Most of these churches are in impoverished, rural areas. In addition, one woman died and seven others sustained injuries when a church roof collapsed during a meeting.
In spite of the storm, the believers came to church on January 19 to worship the Lord. The storm continued to intensify with a mixture of freezing rain and wet snow. The group decided to conclude the meeting early so believers could return home before conditions got worse. Just as they left the church, 16 others arrived, having been delayed by slippery roads. Because of the distance they had traveled, these 16 decided to sing and pray together before returning home. As they sang, the church roof suddenly collapsed. Sister Xu, 74, died.
The next morning believers at another area church learned that their church’s roof also had collapsed. They recently had finished extensive renovations on the church building and had just begun meeting there a week earlier. In addition to the cost of previous renovations, they will now need another U.S.$2,800 dollars to repair the roof.
These are just two of the many tragedies caused by back-to-back blizzards and icy rains that struck central and southern China in the past month. The extreme weather killed at least 107 people, destroyed or damaged more than 350,000 buildings—including homes—and caused U.S.$15.4 billion in damage.
Pray that the Lord will comfort Sister Xu’s family as they mourn her loss. Also, pray for believers who suffered injuries or who need to repair damaged homes or church buildings. Gifts to assist churches in China affected by the snowstorms can be sent to the C&MA National Office, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500, and designated “China Church Disaster Assistance – Hubei.”