Anqing Church was granted permission to build a love service center at the old site of a local middle school, with brothers and sisters helping in the preparation of the center. In addition to assisting the elderly, the church also has rescue centers for physically and mentally challenged children and abused women.
Anqing Zhongsheng Service Center is located in Hushan Village, Wuheng County, Yixiu District, Anqing City. The former middle school complex covers an area of 24,007.98 square meters and has five large buildings, with 24 rooms each, and two rows of single-story houses.
The church had been preparing for the nursing home since June 2014. It tore down the old building, buried water pipes, installed septic tanks, placed the finishing touches on the interior of the buildings, etc. According to Sister Zhang, a fellow worker of the nursing home, various brothers and sisters of the church tried to save money by doing much of the work themselves, which includes purchasing materials and doing the interior finishing.
One volunteer couple settled into the home without water or electricity and brought their own food. They reclaimed some of the wastelands, eradicated weeds, mended the houses, and smoothed the road with marble. They also visited people living in the area to open lines of communication.
More and more believers have participated in the construction over the last three years.
The service center is committed to building a garden style church nursing home. According to Pastor Zheng Yuguo, the director of the home, the Anqing Zhongsheng Service Center wants to teach the Biblical truth that the church needs to engage in social service and to provide seniors not only with a comfortable retirement but also a happy life. Residents will be able to stroll, feed chickens, grow vegetables, and farm fish while in the center.
Two buildings have already been finished, one of which is for the care of seniors, whether they can care for themselves or not, and it can accommodate 60 residents. Two more buildings are being finished.
Translated by: Grace Hubl
