PrayerPoint is a bimonthly prayer digest of Samaritan's Purse that was created so you can join us in this essential aspect of the ministry. A subscription to PrayerPoint is free with your gift of any amount.

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PrayerPoint archive

“Father! Save me!”

Eleven-year-old Wang Jiayi’s desperate plea was muffled by clouds of choking dust and the anguished cries of her trapped classmates. Her school in the town of Luo Shui was among many that collapsed on May 12 when China suffered one of the deadliest earthquakes in recent history.

Then she heard her father calling her name. With her one free arm she waved to him. He wedged his shoulder against the rubble and moved it enough for Jiayi to escape.

“When I saw my father, I felt full of hope,” Jiayi said. “I knew that no matter what, my father could save me.”

Jiayi was one of the fortunate ones. For three days and nights, trapped children and teachers cried out from under the three-story pile of rubble while frantic parents, neighbors, and soldiers tried to dig them out. Hundreds were rescued, but over 200 children died.

Tragedies like these were all too common in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that left tens of thousands dead and millions homeless.

Samaritan’s Purse responded immediately with donations to Chinese churches and then sent a 747 cargo jet carrying 90 tons of emergency supplies. By the time Jiayi recovered enough to leave the makeshift tent where her family now lives, we had set up a water filter in her hometown to meet the daily needs of thousands of survivors.

The needs in China are overwhelming, and reconstruction will take years. Even worse, relatively few of the survivors have the hope of life in Jesus Christ. Ask them where they find hope, and they mention family and the government. Though Christianity is spreading rapidly in China, there is no visible church in places like Luo Shui.

Let’s pray that the work Christians are doing in China will prepare the way for Jiayi’s family and many others like them to call on their heavenly father to save them.