Early last year, our little church in Chi-Ba in the Yunnan province, conducted a sale. A piano, minivan, computer, desks and bench es, and other sundries were sold to raise funds to meet a human emergency. Some 4,000 other Adventists in the province joined the fundraising with their special donations. When the Good Samaritan ministry was over a few weeks later, our church was the richer, as it extended God's love and grace to members of another church that had been caught in a severe tragedy.
Last February, some fifty young people of the Miao Christian Church from Wu Ding in Yunnan province, China, set out by truck to travel to a nearby village to share their faith. The road was mountainous, the terrain rough and slippery, and the weather was snowy. During their journey, the truck skidded and plunged into the deep ravine of a river. Two died instantly, and the rest were injured, 17 of them seriously. The news of the tragedy spread through the country.
With the funds we raised, we rushed to the scene of the accident, with medical supplies, food, blankets, and other emergency needs. We also took with us a team of lay ministers who provided spiritual and emotional support to the injured and the suffering relatives. Upon arrival on the scene, we found the injured laid out on the floor of two nearby houses; they had no means to go a hospital. In the midst of their suffering, they were singing Psalm 46:1, 2: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will not we fear."
Fear was certainly not their lot, but pain was. We decided to transfer the injured to the main provincial hospital. But first we had to return to our church, provide a report to the members, and raise some more funds. When we got back to the site of the accident, we were surprised that not a single injured person was there. We were told that they had been moved back to their villages, to do whatever they could for themselves in their homes. Over the next few days, we tried to locate each injured person. The task was challenging, as the villages were far apart in mountainous areas.
Finally most of the injured persons and their family members were able to assemble in the church at Da Ping Di. The injured still needed medical attention, but now in the circle of Christian concern and love, they burst forth in praise and singing. Adversity was forgotten in those moments of praise, and those of us who were well could only marvel at the strength of the faith of the injured. The praise fellowship and preaching of the Word lasted well past midnight.The following day we moved them to the central hospital where good care was provided.
One day we traveled more than thirty miles to visit a chorister who was so seriously injured that he could not be taken to the hospital. When we got to him, we found him all bandaged from head to foot. His skull and lower jaw had been broken, and he had fractured his arms and legs. For days he could hardly eat or move. When we reached his place, we sang and praised. A faint smile crossed his face, and we were able to move him to the hospital.
The tragedy united the people in the villages around as nothin§ else would have. Even though people were poor, there was a spirit of sharing and willingness to help. The churches, regardless of denomination, united to bring help, healing, and hope. Our little Adventist church shouldered much of the responsibility of locating the injured, comforting the bereaved, counseling the families involved, and providing every possible help. For days our church turned itself into a make-shift camp.
Now, almost a year later, the injured are back to some normalcy. Other churches that joined this ministry of Christian concern and care marvel at how a tragedy turned itself into a triumph of God's grace. Our own church at Chi Ba discovered an identity of its ownXan identity that it exists not for some theoretical purpose, but to be of service to those who suffer spiritually and physically. Turning every scar into a star of hope is after all the central part of Christian ministry.
