"The Hope of all the ends of the earth..."

Houses destroyed in Chincha, Peru (top)
After earthquake & tsunami in Pisco, Peru


Wow!

There is so much to tell and so many thank-yous to give. I do need to say how very grateful I am to each and everyone of you that has taken the time to lift us and this country up in prayer during this difficult time. Also, to all of you that have given, I want to say a very heart-felt thank you. You have blessed so many lives by your generosity. You will never know how much of an impact that you have made in the lives of so many that you do not even know. My prayer for each of you is that you will be blessed as you have blessed others.

What a week! We just returned Thursday night from our trip to Chincha and Pisco helping the victims of the massive 8.0 earthquake that struck the coast of Peru 10 days ago. We arrived in Chincha three days after the initial quake that killed over 500 and destroyed or damaged well over 50% of all homes and businesses in the area. On our first night, we had to evacuate the hotel twice because of the aftershocks....many of which were quite strong (6.0). We returned to our candle-lit accommodations to try to rest, which was quite difficult between the aftershocks and the distant (and somtimes, not so distant) sound of gunfire. A prison had been destroyed during the quake and therefore more than six hundred prisoners were running the streets of Chincha. Needless to say, we all slept very lightly with flashlights in hand those first couple of nights.

The next morning, we met with representatives with Food for the Hungry and a team of missionaries from Lima to try and organize the local churches and begin distributing food to the communities. Chincha is a city of about 250,000 people with more than 100 local congregations. Because we were familiar with the area, our team was able to organize a meeting in the afternoon between 40 local pastors and the representatives of this relief organization. The meeting was a success and should be very helpful in creating some sort of long-term care in the area. However, it did not take us long to realize that immediate help was not anywhere close to coming. As with any large organization, it takes time to mobilize and act. These people need long-term care, and groups like Food for the Hungry, Samaritan's Purse and the Red Cross are going to be there to provide that for them. However, these people also need immediate help. And thanks to you all, we were able to be there to provide that for them. During our time there, we were able to distribute over 1000 kilos of rice, 1000 kilos of pasta, 2000 liters of potable water, 1000 liters of milk, 500 kilos of sugar, cases of tuna fish, cases of crackers and baby food. In addition, we gave out other items such as matches, candles, first aid supplies and bleach. We also distributed over 100 blankets, hundreds of meters of plastic for shelter and foam for bedding. In a city of 250,000, this may not seem like much...but believe me, in a time of crisis such as this, this was a tremendous help.

So, where do we go from here? Well, we are planning on a return trip. We have already purchased tickets for this Wednesday. We will go back to Chincha and do whatever we can to help. We spoke to a friend today who lives there. According to her, some help has started to arrive, however there are still many areas on the outskirts of town that are being neglected. We plan to go back with whatever funds that we still have and continue to try to meet some of the basic needs of these people.

Thanks for your generosity and thanks for your prayers. We will try to keep you informed as this week goes along.

Blessings to you all.

"...so that we may comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." ~2 Corinthians 1:4