May, 2008

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. “

--Psalm 46

Dear Friends,

I woke up Monday and looked at my email and saw that one of our teachers in Lanzhou had sent a message with “EARTHQUAKE!” in the subject line. He proceeded to tell us about being in class when the quake hit at about 2:30 in the afternoon in China (they have one time zone for the entire country), how panicked students from other classes piled into the stairwells to get out of the building and how it seemed to last forever, but was actually ‘only’ 2 or 3 minutes. Fortunately no one was hurt at his school, but since then we have heard terrible stories of unspeakable tragedy in nearby Sichuan province. That morning, Hugh Hewitt, a close friend and longtime supporter of the work, contacted me and suggested we set up an Earthquake Relief Fund, since we have a big staff in China and the infrastructure to handle donations, receipts and wire transfers already set up. I said we would do it, and he put the word out on his website http://www.hughhewitt.com , and then announced the link on his syndicated daily radio program. Since then, we have been inundated with emails and donations using PayPal and others writing checks and sending them to our Santa Ana address. These responses have been coming from all over America, and the donations are small, large, and everything in between. It strikes me that this is something unique about Americans and our culture. Our first response is to ask for God’s help, and then He directs us to do what we can.

I have been in communication with most of our teachers and all of our orphanages and the staff in China. I thank God that although the children were very scared, no one was injured and none of the buildings collapsed. There were cracks observed in some buildings, and due to the rash of aftershocks, most people are staying out of buildings and sleeping outside. Once the buildings have been inspected, they will return to them and settle back into their routines. Meanwhile, our medical team is doing all they can to assist and we are asking our staff there to be in prayer about how best to distribute the funds that we are sending for the emergency relief. I’ve seen reports that say basics like food and water are needed, but we all agree that it will be best to let those nearest to the damage make the decisions.

The Olympics are less than 3 months away. Just prior to the earthquake, the Chinese press was ridiculing the West for interfering in their politics by criticizing their role in Tibet and focusing on human rights commitments that have not been met. This had led to a lot of anti-western demonstrations and some of our expatriates even reported strangers lecturing them angrily about using the Olympics to make political statements. The national pride that most Chinese feel about hosting the Olympics is extremely high, and many naively think that sports and politics shouldn’t be mixed. Now that China has opened its doors to the world, they are finding that part of the package is outside criticism, and they don’t like it at all. Traditionally, this has led to a kind of ‘siege mentality’, that is defensive of all things Chinese and offensive toward all things foreign. Let us hope that in light of the earthquake tragedy, they also see that their open door also provides a means for compassion and heartfelt concern by those in the West for their people. Let us pray for all the families who have lost loved ones, knowing they will all be heard by our God of compassion who longs to make Himself known to His children there.

Yours in Christ,

Jon Dietz, President

Caring For China

PS: If you want to make a donation to the Earthquake Relief Fund, go to http://www.CaringForChina.org and follow the instructions on the “Make a Donation” section.

This is the joint American Chinese medical/Dental team during their visit last month when they set up shop in the lobby of the orphanage.