The siren blared outside today. Horns honked. All cars stopped, business suspended. The normal sounds of peddlers, trash collectors, and street sweepers were gone. The time was 2:28pm and the noise marked one week since the devastating earthquake that rocked the very core of China. We were both in bed reading, enjoying our lunch break, when we experienced China mourning. Any person located anywhere in China heard that same awful wail, a country crying together for 3 minutes, and it’s not something that can soon be forgotten.

We have just begun the first of three days of national mourning. All flags are at half-mast, all major government offices, both here and in the embassies abroad, have suspended all activities, and even the Olympic torch relay has been delayed. Schools, of course, are still in session and work will continue as usual, but there will be no parties, no banquets and no celebrations. These days are meant to commemorate the lives of those buried under concrete as well as those who have given their life trying to rescue any survivors.

Tonight we attended a candlelight vigil. It was actually an accident that we were there – we had at first intended to go to the swimming pool tonight, but it, along with many other major businesses, has closed its doors for the next three days in remembrance of this tragedy. Since the swimming pool had closed we went to the nearest attraction to hang out which happened to be the newly opened public park. While there we were witness to the gathering of thousands of Chinese people who brought flags, flowers, and signs as well as candles to light together. Poems were read, the national anthem sung, and random cries of “中国加油！” were shouted and repeated (this phrase is roughly translated as a cheer similar to “Go team!” except here it’s “Go China!”). It was an honor to be a part of this gathering and even more special to see how people seemed to accept us as foreigners to join with them in their mourning.

Relief efforts and donations have been pouring out of every city in China, and Karamay is no exception. Every teacher here in our city alone has been required to donate 30 yuan for the relief efforts, but most have donated tripled that amount. One English festival we were going to take part in was canceled and all money that would have been used to put it on was donated. Even the bus system in our city advertised that all income from one day of transportation would be donated to the relief effort. I read that 70% of the population has a connection to the Sichuan area in some way or another. I’m not sure how true that percentage is, but it’s not unbelievable. Just think, with a population the size of China’s, a small donation from every citizen adds up to be a good chunk of money. As of last Friday the people of China had donated the equivalent of over half a billion US dollars toward the relief effort. Wow.

Just so you know, all of this isn’t over yet. It won’t be over for a while. Yesterday an aftershock registering 6.0 on the Richter scale killed some rescue workers and has hampered relief efforts even more. Despite all the money pouring in, this poor area of China will have a very hard time getting back on its feet. Unlike America where most buildings and families are covered in some way by insurance, it is estimated that only 5% of the $20 billion in damage is insured in this area. Those numbers don’t even include the losses that will be felt by families whose only wage-earner has passed away.

Here is our hope: first we hope that America, and especially the organizations of believers, can somehow respond to this with love and support. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Arabian countries have donated far more than America has to help in the relief. Second, and probably most importantly, we hope that the “body” here in China can gather the courage to stand as a comfort, light and monetary relief for their countrymen and women. This is a wonderful opportunity for them and fear or lack of courage has kept them back so far. They need your thoughts. He can turn even a tragedy around into a marvelous representation of His glory.