Other information regarding activities here in Chile:
Since the original 8.8 earthquake on Saturday morning, it seems that we have felt the ground moving quite frequently. As of right now (Wednesday evening), we have had roughly 143 various earthquakes or aftershocks that have been over 5.0, 11 of those being over 6.0. We haven’t felt every single one of those here in Santiago, but we have definitely felt many more than what we wanted to. The damage here in Santiago is not as great as down south, but it is still significant, and the garbage is beginning to pile up outside the various houses who lost furniture or had various walls collapse. I read today that the earthquake has affected 70% of the Chilean economy. Often you see the pictures of cracks in the ground from earthquakes, well I came across those this morning when I was running where, for a good distance, cracks ran up and down the running path I take in the morning, with a whole section sliding down into a local canal for the water to run through. It was an eerie reminder of the power that rippled through the ground here in Santiago.
As Heather mentioned our pastor, Christian Contreras, took a trip today down south to deliver some food and supplies. They still have not returned yet, but hopefully should be back within the next 5 hours or so. Mark Rubin, one of our teammates, has talked with another pastor who went earlier this week, and he said the situation is definitely hostile right now due to lack of basic services, but we are really proud of the reaction of the national churches who are stepping up to the plate in this crisis. (***Update—they did arrive back safely after nearly 26 hours round-trip). Another team is planning to leave this Saturday to the town of Constitucion, which was the town destroyed by the tsunami.
Please continue to pray for these pastors and other believers taking relief supplies down to the churches, and pray that we as ABWE would find ways to effectively work with our national churches in this incredible situation.
If you feel God prompting you to contribute to the many needs here in Chile, you may send a check to ABWE Donor Services, PO Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585, with a note clarifying that it is for the Chile Earthquake, and the account number 0717151-002 (CQ10013257). You may also give online at www.abwe.org/give. This is an account that ABWE as a mission has set up to meet the many current and future needs for Chile relief efforts. Please continue to pray for the health of the ABWE team, the national churches, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ would shine strongly during this very dark time here in Chile.
God Bless,
Doug
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