Mennonite Weekly Review

CHENGDU, China — When an earthquake largely destroyed the church in Mianzhu in May 2008, church members were among the first to help their neighbors.

Peter Yuan, left, stands with volunteers in the Mianzhu, China, church building, where supplies replaced the pews during relief efforts after a May 2008 earthquake near Mianzhu. — Photo provided by MMN

This outward focus, backed by financial aid from Mennonites, has had specific results. For one, the Mianzhu church has grown tenfold in less than two years since the quake.

Millions of aid dollars rolled into China after the earthquake in Sichuan province. Some of that was from Mennonite donors and agencies. But most of the recipients of Mennonite aid will never know it.

Instead of sending prepackaged or foreign-shipped aid packets, the Mennonite aid was used to buy local supplies, distributed by local churches, volunteers and agencies — not by white-skinned foreigners.

Chinese leaders believe the aid and the growth are connected.

Peter Yuan, a Chinese pastor in Chengdu and an Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduate, helped coordinate tents and tarps as temporary shelters in Mianzhu.

Supplies arrived, purchased from local and national sources with donations from Mennonite Mission Network, Eastern Mennonite Missions, Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Church Canada Witness, through Mennonite Partners in China (an MMN partner).

Yuan then worked with the Mianzhu church’s pastor and other church members to distribute them from the church building. Besides food and shelter, members also offered medicine and health care for the injured.

“We’re still learning new ways, together with local leaders in the community and outside help, to be supportive and relevant in our community,” Yuan said.

The local government recognized the work done by the church and its growing importance in the community by making the church building part of the rebuilt central town square.

James Stabler-Havener, who serves in China through MMN and Mennonite Partners in China, said it was not the Westerners’ place to lead or direct the relief effort.

“If help from the church is always accompanied by a white face, or even primarily accompanied by a white face, it reinforces the notion that Christianity is a foreign faith,” Stabler-Havener said.

“In a time of crisis, when the [Mianzhu] church itself was largely destroyed, they still continued to focus on serving others instead of helping themselves. This was a powerful witness to a different way of life.”