On May 16, 2018, seven people died and six townships were affected after a heavy downpour and hail struck China's northwestern Gansu Province.
Elder Bai Shengxing of the local county church said he was leading a three-day retreat in a rural gathering when the disaster occurred in Minxian County of Dingxi City. He added that about 20 local churches were free from damage with no casualty and the believers just suffered from the farm loss like other victims.
On Wednesday evening, the gathering's congregation prayed for the victims. The county church also prayed for the afflicted people at Thursday and Saturday evening services.
The local congregations voluntarily joined in the post-disaster work, like helping victims clean their farmlands.
Torrential rains with hail hit the county in 2012 and one year later, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake followed. After the disasters, the church in Minxian paid visits to the affected people and donated money and supplies to the disaster areas.
- Translated by Karen Luo
