From the Mid-Autumn Festival to the National Day holiday period, Shanxi Province experienced the continuous record-breaking rainfall. Churches in the province carried out disaster statistics and visits, as reconstruction work was conducted in many places for the rainy season had passed. The central and southern parts of Shanxi were battered by the heavy rainfall which triggered geological disasters such as landslides and floods.
Recently, Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, contacted Rev. Fan Wanmin of the Jiexiu Church in Shanxi to learn about their visits to the flood-stricken churches and believers which were carried out on October 14-16.
The meeting point in Shitunnan Village, Yitang Town, the only site with an official activity license in Jiexiu City, could not open for gathering due to being in a dilapidated state. During this precipitation, the top of the cave dwelling where the meeting point is located suffered serious water leakage, with large cracks on the outer wall. The loess wall was loosened due to long-term soaking in rain.
After learning about the situation, Rev. Fan and the church staff went to the meeting point to verify the disaster situation and show sympathy to the local believers on October 14.
"Our visit this time was to encourage the believers to keep seeking and relying on the Lord in adversity, and not to stop gatherings. On the other hand, we also negotiated with the local village committee, hoping to find an alternative venue as soon as possible, so that this hard-won legal meeting place could continue to operate," explained Rev. Fan.
Next, they visited a female believer living beside a highway that was low-lying. Her basement was flooded, with some appliances such as the TV damaged due to a case of a backwater. But the home on the first floor was not affected much.
The pastor and church staff prayed for her, presenting money and rice, as the female Christian - who suffered from several diseases - was hit by the flood.
On the same day, they also went to the homes of two other believers to pray and communicate.
Jin Yuting, deputy chairman of Shanxi Provincial CC&TSPM, also came to visit the affected believers on October 15, supplying financial assistance.
The pastor and church staff paid a visit to two female related believers again with the money from the provincial CC&TSPM, whom they had visited and given thick clothes, noodles, and oil to six days ago. The two women from Song’an Village in Songgu Township, Jiexiu City, now stay with their relatives together, as their houses were damaged seriously and they didn’t take clothes and supplies when evacuating. The highest water level of the home of one even reached 1.5 meters. The chimney of the other’s old house collapsed, which caused the foundation to sink due to soaking in water for a prolonged period.
"The church plans to continue to pay attention to these devastated believers. After the local government and the village committee verified the results of the houses, we will provide assistance in the post-disaster reconstruction according to actual needs," Rev. Fan added.
According to the pastor, four rows of old houses of Jiexiu Church were also affected to varying degrees during the rain. Among them, the two dilapidated houses in the first row collapsed. And the church was planning to have them and the connected houses demolished to avoid subsequent accidents. In addition, the repair work was yet to be carried out, as the walls inside the church and the attached house for the choir leaked.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
中秋节后到国庆节期间，山西省遭遇了有记录以来最强连续降雨过程。山西中部、南部相继遭受强降雨天气，多地也出现山体滑坡、洪水等次生地质灾害。目前雨期已经过去，各地都展开了灾后恢复重建工作，而省内各地的教会也开展了受灾情况统计以及探望慰问工作。
近日，福音时报同工与介休市基督教会樊万民牧师取得联系，了解了当地开展慰问的相关情况。
10月14日至10月16日，介休教会同工多次赶赴市区周边各地受灾较为严重的农村聚会点以及信徒家中开展探访慰问。
位于义棠镇师屯南村的聚会点是介休市唯一一个获得正式活动牌照的农村聚会点，在此次降水中，聚会点所在的窑洞顶部漏水严重，窑洞外墙也出现较大裂缝，而且黄土被雨水长期浸泡已经松动，房屋目前已经处于危房状态，无法继续作为聚会点使用。
得知情况后，10月14日，樊牧师与教会同工们一同前往该聚会点核实受灾情况，并对当地信徒送上了慰问。
“（此次）我们前去探访，一方面是为信徒们送去慰问，同时也是鼓励大家，在遭受患难时也要保持寻求依靠主的信心，不要停止聚会；另一方面，也是与当地村委会协商洽谈，希望能够尽快找到可替代的活动场所，让这个来之不易的合法聚会场所能够继续运行下去。”在谈到为何要将师屯南村聚会点作为探访第一站时，樊牧师如此介绍道。
离开聚会点后，同工们又马不停蹄地赶往第二户信徒家中探访慰问，这位信徒姊妹的家住在公路旁，地势较低，在此次降雨中发生了洪水倒灌的情况，家中地下室被水淹没，诸如电视等一些家电被水浸泡损坏，但位于一楼的家并未受太大影响。
另外，由于姊妹身患疾病，此次受灾也对她的心灵造成了些许的打击，樊牧师与同工们用主的话语安慰鼓励她，并送上了大米慰问品以及200元慰问金，为其献上了祷告。
当日，教会探访组还前往另外两户信徒家中进行慰问，每到一处，樊牧师都带领大家同心祷告，互相交流、互相鼓励、增强信心。
10月15日上午，在樊牧师及其他教会同工的带领下,山西省基督教两会金玉庭副主席一行前往介休市慰问受灾信徒，并对房屋受损严重的几户信徒家庭给予了慰问奉献。
家住宋古乡宋安村的信徒宋姊妹与王姊妹是亲戚关系，在此次强降雨中，二位信徒的的家中进水都十分严重，王姊妹家中水位最高处甚至达到了1.5米，而宋姊妹的家本是老旧房屋，也由于长期被水浸泡，房屋烟囱也发生倒塌，地基下陷，墙面也发生了开裂，暂时无法居住。而一家人在撤离时没来得及拿衣服等生活用品，只能一同暂住在亲戚家中，处境相当艰难。
早在10月9日，得知情况后的介休教会同工便第一时间赶赴两位姊妹临时借住的家中进行慰问，并为他们送上了厚衣服、面、油等慰问品。在省两会慰问组到来后，一行人又走进两位信徒家中详细了解受灾情况，并对他们送上了省两会的慰问金。
“针对这些受灾较为严重的信徒，教会计划持续保持关注，待到当地政府、村委会对房屋的鉴定结果下来后，教会将会在灾后重建时，根据实际需求提供力所能及的协助。”樊牧师表示。
除了农村聚会点以及信徒家中有受灾情况外，实际上，介休城区教会也遭受了部分损失，据樊牧师介绍，在此次降雨中，教堂所属的四排老房屋也收到了不同程度的影响，其中位于第一排的两间危房已经倒塌，目前教会正计划将与其相连的房屋进行统一拆除，以避免后续安全事故的发生。除此之外，教堂内部的墙壁以及唱诗班等附属房屋也出现了不同程度的漏水现象，修缮工作还有待后续开展。
（感谢介休教会樊万民牧师提供图片）
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/58582
山西介休教会同工深入受灾聚会点及信徒家中进行慰问
From the Mid-Autumn Festival to the National Day holiday period, Shanxi Province experienced the continuous record-breaking rainfall. Churches in the province carried out disaster statistics and visits, as reconstruction work was conducted in many places for the rainy season had passed. The central and southern parts of Shanxi were battered by the heavy rainfall which triggered geological disasters such as landslides and floods.
Recently, Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, contacted Rev. Fan Wanmin of the Jiexiu Church in Shanxi to learn about their visits to the flood-stricken churches and believers which were carried out on October 14-16.
The meeting point in Shitunnan Village, Yitang Town, the only site with an official activity license in Jiexiu City, could not open for gathering due to being in a dilapidated state. During this precipitation, the top of the cave dwelling where the meeting point is located suffered serious water leakage, with large cracks on the outer wall. The loess wall was loosened due to long-term soaking in rain.
After learning about the situation, Rev. Fan and the church staff went to the meeting point to verify the disaster situation and show sympathy to the local believers on October 14.
"Our visit this time was to encourage the believers to keep seeking and relying on the Lord in adversity, and not to stop gatherings. On the other hand, we also negotiated with the local village committee, hoping to find an alternative venue as soon as possible, so that this hard-won legal meeting place could continue to operate," explained Rev. Fan.
Next, they visited a female believer living beside a highway that was low-lying. Her basement was flooded, with some appliances such as the TV damaged due to a case of a backwater. But the home on the first floor was not affected much.
The pastor and church staff prayed for her, presenting money and rice, as the female Christian - who suffered from several diseases - was hit by the flood.
On the same day, they also went to the homes of two other believers to pray and communicate.
Jin Yuting, deputy chairman of Shanxi Provincial CC&TSPM, also came to visit the affected believers on October 15, supplying financial assistance.
The pastor and church staff paid a visit to two female related believers again with the money from the provincial CC&TSPM, whom they had visited and given thick clothes, noodles, and oil to six days ago. The two women from Song’an Village in Songgu Township, Jiexiu City, now stay with their relatives together, as their houses were damaged seriously and they didn’t take clothes and supplies when evacuating. The highest water level of the home of one even reached 1.5 meters. The chimney of the other’s old house collapsed, which caused the foundation to sink due to soaking in water for a prolonged period.
"The church plans to continue to pay attention to these devastated believers. After the local government and the village committee verified the results of the houses, we will provide assistance in the post-disaster reconstruction according to actual needs," Rev. Fan added.
According to the pastor, four rows of old houses of Jiexiu Church were also affected to varying degrees during the rain. Among them, the two dilapidated houses in the first row collapsed. And the church was planning to have them and the connected houses demolished to avoid subsequent accidents. In addition, the repair work was yet to be carried out, as the walls inside the church and the attached house for the choir leaked.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Church Staff Visit Flood-Affected Churches, Believers in Shanxi
