We’ve been watching the news sites (the BBC News site has had the most information) the past three weeks with more than a little anxiety as they have reported on the impacts of the winter storms in China and the massive problems those storms have caused the people of China. The storms have caused massive power outages — some still on-going, even at this point three weeks later — and disrupted pretty much all of the travel and transportation in large parts of the country. Those storms hit just as millions of people were trying to return to their families to celebrate the start of the Chinese lunar new year this past week.

With a little girl somewhere in China, possibly in the midst of this, we have been praying fervently (and asking for prayers) for all of the orphanages and the people of China as they struggle with this.

Our adoption agency posted a bit of information yesterday indicating that Li Zhong’s orphanage is doing fine and the children are all OK. Many of the other orphanages in the most heavily impacted provinces are still dealing with lack of power and/or lack of heat. Almost all of the orphanages in the impacted areas of China are dealing with shortages of supplies (e.g., water, diapers, medicine) as a result of the disruptions of transportation.

Knowing that Li Zhong’s orphanage is doing OK is a huge relief and an answer to our most immediate prayers, but there are still millions of people in China, including not just the orphans and their caregivers but also all of the families whose homes have been destroyed (one BBC News article indicated over a million homes had been destroyed or damaged by the storms), those who could not return home to their families for the holiday, and the Chinese government, who need our prayers and our help. Please keep praying…