Jilin Churches Join in Successful Mountain Rescue Effort

Male believers from churches in Linjiang City, Jilin Province, were searching two missing persons on the Changbai mountain since June 4, 2021.
Male believers from churches in Linjiang City, Jilin Province, were searching two missing persons on the Changbai mountain since June 4, 2021. (photo: Jilin CC&TSPM)
By Mark Cui June 16th, 2021
中文English

Recently, male believers from churches in Linjiang City, Jilin Province, worked together to rescue two missing persons on the mountain.

On June 1, two people from Linjiang went missing while they picking wild vegetables in the Heihe Forest Farm in Bagongli Village, Manjiang Township, Fusong County, according to Jilin CC&TSPM. Three days after they lost contact, their family members asked for help from Senior Pastor Zhang Laijun in Xinglong Street, Linjiang City. He immediately convened a meeting of staff workers to explain the situation, organizing personnel to search for the missing people.

In order to expand the scope of the search and rescue effort, the pastor organized a rescue team of 17 persons. The team consisted of the faculty and believers of the church in Huashu Town in Linjiang City, a father and son who were faculty members at the Manjiang Village Activity Site in the Chinan District of Changbai Mountain, and 12 male Christians with mountaineering experience from Xinglong Street Church. They dispatched three vehicles for the search, together with the police from the Forest Public Security Bureau in Manjiang, Songjiang River, and folks from the Bagongli Village.

They had been lost for four days without food and shelter from the cold, as there has also a spike in wild animals due to the ongoing ecological recovery of the area. The weather was unusually cold due to continuous spring rain in Changbai Mountain, so the rescue team had to overcome unexpected difficulties. They relied on sips of spring water whenever they felt thirsty, chewed on cold dry food when hungry, and took short breaks when tired. At times, conditions were too harsh to risk going on the mountain.

After the rescue team led by Rev. Zhang went onto the mountain, Christian members began to pray for the missing persons and the search team. After six days and five nights of effort, they succeeded in rescuing them. When found, they were too cold and hungry to walk and in a state of hypothermia. After timely treatment, they were out of danger, expressing their gratitude to the churches for helping them in times of crisis.

- Translated by Abigail Wu

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