China (MNN) — Back-to-back storms have slammed into eastern China, drenching the financial hub of Shanghai especially hard.
Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in 75 years, made landfall on Monday. Then, yesterday, Tropical Storm Pulasan struck eastern China, including Shanghai — just as the area was getting back on its feet.
More than 414,000 people were evacuated from the Shanghai metropolitan area. Power outages were reported in some areas, and authorities said winds uprooted or damaged over 10,000 trees.
In times of crisis, local Chinese believers are ready to step up with relief as representatives of Jesus Christ. Bibles for China saw this last year during another overwhelming rainy season with one of their church partners.
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)
Kurt Rovenstine, President of Bibles for China says, “The church was deploying to step in and help those who were facing difficulty, and we’ve seen that a lot in China.”
Shanghai can be hard ground for sowing God’s Word. “In the cities, we find a little bit more resistance to the Gospel,” says Rovenstine.
“Maybe this kind of thing — when someone’s world is being thrown into turmoil and chaos, and there is fear for their life and their livelihood and everything that they hold dear — maybe there is an opportunity for Christ followers to share their faith, and for people to come to Christ in the midst of it.”
Pray for the Church in China to be Jesus’s hands and feet, and for people to have open hearts to the Holy Spirit. Pray also for physical needs to be met as storm-impacted individuals recover from loss and damages.
“It does seem as if it’s odd to say, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity for us to go and share the Gospel.’ But we don’t go with tracts. We go with assistance and with love,” says Rovenstine.
“I think we have opportunities in these moments to share the hope that we have that the world doesn’t have because they put their faith in the things that they can see and touch. So it’s…an opportunity for us to pray for the people of China, [and for] the Christians of China.”
Connect with Bibles for China.
Header photo: The evening of September 15 2024. Just a few hours before typhoon Bebinca was due to pass over Shanghai. (Photo, caption courtesy of Christian Gloor/Flickr: Attribution 2.0 Generic – https://shorturl.at/ikgRB)
