VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 8/6/14)—A powerful earthquake magnitude 6.1 hit southwest China on August 3rd. Hundreds of people have been killed and some 1,300 injured according to state news agency Xinhua, reported by BBC News China. A major rescue and relief operation is under way. In response, $10,000 in emergency relief funds is being sent from One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) to the China Christian Council to help victims of the earthquake.
By late Monday, over 398 people were reported dead and nearly 1,900 injured from the quake in Ludian Country, 277 miles north of Kunming, the provincial capital. More than 22,550 houses collapsed and nearly 200,000 others were damaged, according to an assessment by the international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, as reported in the LA Times.
Judy Sutterlin, former IM development worker in China and current special assistant to China, is now in the U.S. so was not affected by the earthquake.
“We are very sad to see the loss of lives and the suffering of the victims in the earthquake in Yunnan,” commented Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chan, IM area director for Asia, India, Hong Kong and China. “However, I am impressed by how the China Christian Council quickly responded to rally pastors and Christian workers in the affected area to begin the relief assistance.”
Additional relief is urgently needed. To make an online contribution by credit card, go to: https://secure-q.net/donations/ABChurches/410. Write “OGHS-China Earthquake” in the comments section.
One Great Hour of Sharing is administered by the World Relief Committee of the Board of General Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA. The Committee facilitates American Baptist emergency relief, disaster rehabilitation, refugee work, and development assistance by establishing policy guidelines and overseeing distribution of the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering received by churches. Learn more: http://www.abc-oghs.org/
American Baptist International Ministries is celebrating 200 years of ministry in 2014. Organized in 1814 as the first Baptist international mission agency in America, it began its pioneer mission work in Burma and today works in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas serving more than 1,800 long-term and short-term missionaries. Its central mission is to help people come to faith in Jesus, grow in their relationship with God, and change their worlds through the power of the Spirit. It works with respected partners in over 70 countries in ministries that meet human need.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.