Christ’s Compassion in Tibet [The Qinghai Province Earthquake]

20 Apr

Christ’s Compassion in Tibet [The Qinghai Province Earthquake]

tibet earthquake woman praying
A quake survivor who lost ten members of her family gestures in prayer while holding onto her nephew in Gyegu, Yushu County, following the April 14th earthquake. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Dear Friends,

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 6.9 earthquake that struck a remote area of Qinghai Province, northwest China, last week. The damage centered on the Tibetan town of Yushu, home to 85,000 people. More than 80% of the buildings there have collapsed. The death toll is over 2,000, with many people still missing. Thousands of people are without shelter.

I’m glad that I Was Hungry is connected with those in China who rushed to the Yushu region to offer emergency supplies and a Christian witness. Within hours of the earthquake, a team travelled to the disaster zone to help. Most of the team members were involved with the earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan Province in 2008, in which we were also involved. The combination of their loving help and bold witness for Jesus Christ saw thousands of people in Sichuan come to faith in Jesus.


At left: Rescuers carry a 13-year-old Tibetan girl, who had been buried in the ruins of a collapsed hotel for more than 50 hours. (REUTERS/Donald Chan) At right: Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Night-time temperatures in Yushu are below freezing, and so the Chinese team initially provided blankets and warm coats to afflicted people. Now they have put together five-hundred emergency aid kits to help the worst-affected families. Those kits include a solar panel and battery lighting system and USB charger, a USB-heated blanket, ten pounds of rice, a liter of cooking oil, a first-aid kit and a cooking pan.

Each kit costs $100 for the items and delivery into the hands of the most needy families in Yushu. I Was Hungry has paid for emergency kits for thirty families so far. We’d like to help more families.

If you would like to help us with relief efforts in Tibet by contributing to our Disaster Relief Fund, you can give securely by credit card through our website by clicking here, or by calling our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

If you are familiar with our policy, you know that 100% of all gifts to the Disaster Relief Fund are sent overseas to provide relief for disaster victims in the name of Christ. All administrative costs are paid by the general fund of Heaven’s Family. (We are, of course, continuing our earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, as Jeff Trotter, director of our Disaster Relief Fund, is there right now.)

I also ask that you pass this on to your compassionate friends along with your recommendation of Heaven’s Family, as that might also be a means to meet urgent needs and answer prayers in Tibet.

Sincerely in Christ,

David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family

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