Today I spent the majority of the day at the church building making calls to check on people we had not heard from. It was surreal to see many of the images on the internet of what is going on in the south. I also had the chance to update some people in the States about what is happening. Here are some of the things we know now...

All the church members in Santiago, ours and other churches of Christ, are safe without any major damages and most of their families are accounted for. There are three areas that no contact with the churches has been made, Chiguayante, Coronel and Parral. Those church are located close to the epicenter of the earthquake. We have some members from our church who have loved ones stranded in other countries waiting to return to Chile but cannot because the airport is closed due to damages. (The airport was the hardest hit area of Santiago). Some Christians have minor injuries but all are thankful that it is nothing greater. Also there are members in areas of Santiago without water and electricity but doing fine.

As far as the country the death toll is close to 800 but is expected to grow as they finally are able to get to some affected areas by land that had been cut off. There are coastal towns in the VIII region of Chile that no longer exist. In the V-VIII region, all adobe house are almost completely destroyed. The communications to the most destroyed region are cut off because all radio and phone tower’s batteries are out, they still have not got power back to the region. Transportation is flowing but very slowly because most of the bridges have collapsed or have structural damage. Rescue efforts continue with more firemen and army rescue arriving every minute. Most of the cities in the region are now under a night curfew because of the raid of stores and homes. Some are trying to protect their belongings while others are trying to take advantage of people’s situation.

In the church we are looking at ways to help the suffering people of the south. We are joining with the Red Cross as a way to provide the best aid because Robinson Talavera, a member of the church, works for them. Many friends in the U.S. have shown interest in helping. We will let you know just as soon as we can what the plan is and how you can help.

As I sit here in the dark writing, I am reminded about the situation as aftershocks continue to bring us back to the reality of our situation in Chile. May the Lord bless you. Please continue to pray for the Chilean people.