August 30 was an unusual Sunday for Pingliang Church, in China’s northwestern Gansu Province. On this day, the church held a donation ceremony for rainstorms and flooding that occurred in Longnan City on Aug 17.
Recently, continuous heavy rains in Longnan City caused natural disasters such as flash floods in mountain areas, landslides, and mudslides, causing heavy casualties and property loss. Especially the heavy rain in mid-August brought serious damage to some churches in Wen County.
On August 23, the Gansu Provincial CC&TSPM issued the Proposal for Donations to the Flood-Stricken Areas in Longnan on Aug 17 to all churches in the province, asking believers to offer intercession for the people in the flood-stricken areas, as well as the officers, soldiers, and cadres fighting on the front line of the flood and the believers in the church.
More than 400 believers in Pingliang Church participated in the Sunday service and donation ceremonies. They donated more than 8,000 yuan on that day. Together with donations from other churches, the total contributed was 12,008 yuan.
Pastor Li Jianguo prayed the following blessing, "God’s mercy and care will be with the people there and help them get out of trouble and restore their homes as soon as possible!"
-Translated by Abigail Wu
