May 19, 2008

Dear Friends,

Things here in China have been quite turbulent in recent months. The nation is busily counting down the days to the Olympics while simultaneously counting the rising death toll from the massive earthquake that struck on May 12. As I write this, the official count is over 19,000 dead, and the estimate is around 50,000. The premier of the Communist Party in China, Wen Jiabao, has been in Sichuan since the day of the quake. I give thanks that none of my colleagues were hurt, although two of them have been evacuated from their school in southeastern Gansu due to the fear of their campus buildings collapsing. Many of my students come from Longnan, a county in Gansu that was hit by the quake, and while all of their families are alive and safe, many students’ homes suffered damage. I suffered no personal damage from the quake; since I was traveling in a van over a road filled with potholes when the quake struck, I didn't even notice any extra bumpiness. There were two aftershocks that night, both of which I managed to sleep through completely, although my students were awakened by them.

While we have been thankful for the safety of our friends and students here, the devastation in Sichuan has been heart-rending to witness. News of the quake and the ongoing rescues have been reported constantly on television, and in spite of my limited Chinese listening skills, the trauma of the event comes across loud and clear.

In the midst of the pain of this disaster, I have found comfort by the presence of the church and other Christian witnesses. The Amity Foundation has already sent a team of people with money and supplies to some of the most ravaged areas, and money to assist in disaster relief efforts has already been pledged. Churches in Hong Kong and the United States have already sent donations, churches in China are taking up charity drives specifically for the victims of the earthquake, and my own church had a special offering and prayers today for the relief efforts in Sichuan. I have been able to sit down to talk with students whose homes were damaged, and given hugs to those who were clearly shaken (literally and figuratively) by this experience. Perhaps most importantly, prayers have been offered, and continue to be offered, by people all over the world.

In Job 36:15, it reads, “He delivers the poor in their affliction, and opens their ears in oppression.” Certainly, it is the poor who have suffered the most from this disaster, as it is their homes which are often built without earthquake-proof materials. Already calls are going out to demand better workmanship and materials for the homes that will be reconstructed. The whole nation wept with Premier Wen at a press conference he gave to discuss the ongoing relief efforts. The voice of the afflicted is being heard, and the church is responding.

I give thanks to the LORD for keeping so many people safe during this disaster, even as I hold the victims and their families in prayer. I continue to hope that, as awful as this situation may be now, that good may come out of it. Our sense of complacency may have been shaken, but I believe that we may find a deeper, more solid footing in its place. I pray that all involved may find a foundation in faith. Jesus said that “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Matthew 7: 24-25). Indeed, even as the earth beneath us shakes, we can trust in His presence with us. May you also find a sure foundation in clinging to the Rock of Ages.

Resting on the chief cornerstone,

Rae

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 99