Here in the West we are sheltered from the harsh reality survivors face daily almost a year after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China.
Donna Carter, with Straight Talk Ministries and author of 10 Smart Things Woman Can Do to Build a Better Life, along with her husband Randy visited China with WorldServe Ministries just a few months ago. During the trip, she was genuinely surprised to see the state of devastation still gripping the Sichuan province and felt completely heartbroken for the people struggling to survive in an area that seems unliveable.
Although there is temporary housing available, there is no way for the people living there to make a living. Instead they live in a constant state of despair with nothing to do with their lives. While most of their basic needs are currently being met, their spiritual needs are often neglected.
“Everyone there has post traumatic stress disorder,” said Donna, adding that during the week she was there one man strangled his wife and then killed himself, leaving their two young boys behind.
She reported that the Chinese government would only provide counseling for orphans, but not for children with at one parent still alive. Sadly, every child and adult in the province needs counseling; no matter how many family members they lost.
Could you imagine being pinned under rubble, with dead people all around you? With dead family and friends crushed beside you while you struggled to stay alive? This is the haunting reality most survivors live with every day. How do you go on with life when something that terrible weighs down your soul? There is only one answer.
In a world full of darkness and hopelessness, Donna and Randy saw the hope of Jesus making an incredible difference.
“The people that had come to Christ were very joyful compared to the hopelessness surrounding them,” said Donna.
These individuals radiated an inner peace that can only come from the one true God. In a place where they have nothing, not even hope for a brighter future, God gives them a unique hope in Him.
Let’s keep that hope alive and growing through the creation of WorldServe’s Sichuan Hope Center.