China (MNN) — After a month of intense lockdowns, China has squashed a small COVID-19 outbreak.
Chinese vaccines have done well against the delta variant, though not quite as well as those produced in the U.S. and Europe. It’s good news for countries who relied on vaccine imports from China, like the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Turkey. However, some experts advise caution, saying these studies were small and have not yet been peer-reviewed.
Bibles for China
The pandemic has caused a lull in Bibles for China’s ministry. But Kurt Rovenstine isn’t expecting this quiet time to last. “This lull gives us a feeling that there’s something that’s going to happen. We don’t know what it is. But we really feel there has to be a shift of some sort in how we do things to be able to be relevant and effective in China.”
China’s government continues cracking down on citizens in new and increasing ways. In one bizarre recent example, Chinese authorities barred teens under the age of 18 from playing video games for more than one hour per day. And gaming will only be allowed from 8-9 pm on Fridays, weekends, and holidays.
But Rovenstine says Chinese Christians persevere. “The church is doing the best they can in all its various forms: whether that’s online, whether it’s the nonregistered church, whether it’s the registered church, or whether it’s just some people who love Jesus and want to share their faith with their neighbors. All those folks need the influence of the Holy Spirit and His direction, opportunity, wisdom, and knowledge to be able to spread the Gospel.”
Ask God to give these believers boldness. Pray many of their neighbors would be drawn to Jesus as a result of their witness.
The header photo shows COVID-19 procedures in China. (Liuxingy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
