At 2:28 p.m. on Monday, May 12, when an 8.0-magnitude earthquake shook the foot of China’s Tibetan plateau, the only thing that seemed to stand still was time.

Farmers planting rice were thrown off their feet and into paddies where acres of placid water suddenly churned like the ocean. Shop owners scrambled toward the street as their shelves crashed down. The air was filled with choking dust, screams, and the rumble of falling concrete.

In the village of Long Ju, the three-story school building stood long enough for all of the younger children and teachers on the first floor to escape. Then the front half collapsed, dooming 61 students and teachers.

“It seemed like the earth was in real anger,” said Chen Zhong Fu, who manages the water system in Long Ju.

In the days and weeks since the earthquake, however, people in places like Long Ju have experienced another powerful movement: Christian compassion in the form of earthquake relief delivered by Samaritan’s Purse.

We have installed water systems in a dozen communities such as Long Ju, distributed enough plastic to build emergency housing for over 3,000 families, and provided 16,000 blankets and tons of medical and health supplies. Samaritan’s Purse also gave $150,000 to Chinese Christian leaders to assist with the disaster response.

Relief work provides an opportunity for Christians to demonstrate the compassion of Christ in towns and villages where the Gospel is largely unknown and people put their faith in the government.

“We thank our American friends who have come over to help us,” said Shi Ming, the Communist Party representative in Long Ju.

People in places like Long Ju are living in makeshift tents filled with furniture and keepsakes that they have salvaged from their houses. Even the houses and shops that are still standing are considered unsafe. Aftershocks are felt almost every day, a terrible reminder for grieving mothers and the surviving children.

In the rubble of Long Ju, two structures stand out. One is the school, now guarded by soldiers, where a banner displays the names of the 59 children and two teachers who were killed. The other is the town water tower, built of plastered brick, which once stood 100 feet tall. The earthquake was so powerful that the tank, filled with 80 tons of water, landed upside down more than 30 feet away.

The town well survived, but the earthquake left the water cloudy and unsafe to drink. In the days that followed, people waited in line for government trucks to bring bottles of water.

Long Ju was the second of 12 locations where Samaritan’s Purse installed new water filtration systems and storage tanks. It took only a few hours from the time the site was cleared of rubble until the taps were running, and people gathered from throughout the village to fill their buckets or just drink straight from the spout.

The water system can provide 10,000 gallons a day. In a village like Long Ju, with a population of about 5,000, that’s enough not only for drinking and cooking but also for most other household needs.

In larger towns that use the filters only for drinking water, one system could serve up to 20,000 people.

Technicians with Samaritan’s Purse regularly visit each site to train the local water workers and make sure the system is maintained and operating properly. With each visit, they are able to build relationships that give them opportunities to share the Gospel.

Chen, the water manager in Long Ju, was impressed by the technology, especially chlorination, which was lacking in the town’s former water system.

“The filter is very easy to use, and the water will be much better for our people,” he said.

Samaritan's Purse , China , Emergency Relief , Compassion for Earthquake Survivors