Reed's Home in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, hosted a love feast for the bereaved families they served for a while. Several families have gradually overcome their grief with the help of continued attention and companionship.
On February 7, the organizer prepared blessing sentences featuring "peace," "joy," "blessing," "supply," and "promise" for the attendees to randomly select in order and read aloud during the feast, said Reed's Home.
Among those blessing quotes, there was “Suffering is the blessing beneath the makeup." Despite the short words, they touched the hearts of the present believers.
A Christian man from Danyang City, Southern Jiangsu Province, shared, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (Job 42:5 NIV)”
He lost his three children and his shop in a fire when he and his wife were out of town, leaving only an elderly grandmother and three kids at the store. When the fire broke out, the three children on the second floor were killed, but the elderly downstairs survived. The shops on which they relied for a living were burned down. After the tragedy, the wife suffered depression and now requires long-term medication.
In the face of such difficulty, the Zhenjiang Charity Federation, Danyang Charity Federation, Reed's Home, and the local church provided support to the family in overcoming the tragedy. Currently, the family has reopened their store and begun a new life.
They also volunteer at Reed's Home for Disabled Youth's family retreat camp, where they help those in need.
The renewal of life and the recovery of families are related to the guidance of community service and social service theory. Reed's Home also employs an in-depth theoretical framework to help bereaved families progressively recover from their struggles, which includes needs assessment, spiritual care, emotional comfort, actual assistance, and connections to social resources.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
