The Tsunami

It took me a while to realize it, but the earthquake caused a Tsunami. By far, the tsunami caused the most dramatic damage. We saw the effects of the Tsunami when we visited Constitucion.

We met Pastor Juan Muñoz used to live in a house on the edge of the Maule River, where it empties into the ocean. There’s an island in the river just across the water from his house, a popular camping spot. On the night of the earthquake, about 200 people were on this island having a late-night, end-of-summer party.

When the earthquake hit, he and his household gathered to pray. Once the shaking passed, they quickly ran out to their car to escape to higher ground. They had always been taught that a tsunami follows an earthquake. The street was already flooded with water while they got into the car.

Looking across the water, Pastor Muñoz saw the lights of about 30 cell phones being waved by people on the island as they tryed to signal for help. But the water in the street was already quickly receding, signaling the coming of the tsunami. Horrified, Muñoz realized it was already too late to help them.

Only three of them have been found.

As Muñoz led our team through his devastated neighborhood, we saw whole blocks of houses flattened, the second-story of a home blocking the road, and people everywhere trying to collect their belongings. His own home was completely gone, and he wept as he tried to comfort his friends and neighbors.

What’s cool is that, despite losing everything, he’s still ministering. The church – unaffected – has become a haven and distribution center. And Muñoz opened up his produce business and gave everything away to help feed those without food after the disaster.

It’s amazing to see how – both here and in Haiti – God’s people have reached out to their communities in the midst of their own hurts

Military Connections

Unlike Haiti, Chile has a strong infrastructure, which has enabled the country to respond quickly. In Talca, the assessment team made contact with some Colonels at the nearby Regimiento Infanteria Number 16. Inside the army post, we saw a basketball gym repurposed to be a nucleus of earthquake response for Maule, the 7^th region of Chile.

Our company was invited into this nucleus to share information and resources. Though we would not be working WITH the Chilean military, we would be working ALONGSIDE them, to coordinate and compliment each other’s efforts.

In this nucleus, our assessment team also made contacts with the Governor of Maule, the President of the Association of Municipalities in Maule, the sub-director of Medical Services of Health in Maule, and the mayors of both San Clemente and Pencahue, two cities in Maule.

From these contacts, we learned that because the majority of aide was going to Concepcion, other affected areas were being forgotten. Our company decided to focus its efforts on Maule.

Young Missionaries in Molina

In Molina, we encountered a group of young Chileans who had stepped up to help in this time of need. The church in Molina is also the base for the Center for Young Missionaries, which trains young people to become missionaries. Since the earthquake, the students in the training center have reached out to local communities in need.

We went to visit one of these communities called Los Lizamas. In order to get there, we had to cross a precarious bridge. It was impossible for vehicles to cross anymore, and was so teetering that we had to cross only a few at a time - and spread out. I felt a bit like Indiana Jones as we carefully crossed it. We have since found out that aftershocks have collapsed the bridge.

In Los Lizamas, some were trying to repair their roofs, while others were trying to salvage belongings. The interiors of all the houses had been moved outside to prevent a roof from falling in on top of them.

Los Lizamas exists between two municipalities, neither of which has claimed responsibility for bringing aid to the people there. But the Kids from the Center for Young Missionaries is standing in the gap and making sure the people of Los Lizamaz – and other areas – are cared for.

It's cool to see people our age leading the charge to respond to this earthquake.

Chile Quake Coverage 1

When a catastrophe occurs, the company we work for sends an “assessment team” into the area before any other work is done there. This team makes contacts, surveys needs and determines resources. Once they’ve made their observations, they can form a plan for effectively responding to the disaster.

Our media team – our photographer, our videographer and I – shadowed the assessment team as it went through Chile’s earthquake-devastated area.

We traveled over cracked and buckled roads, slept on church floors and experienced strong aftershocks. We also saw much more damaged and collapsed buildings than we saw in Santiago. In some places, people were living in tents.

A journalistic challenge of the coverage was trying to gather information from the assessment team as they gathered information from others. They were very focused on their purpose – as they should be – and moved very quickly from one contact to another. The team would then sort of fill us in with a summary as we were leaving each location. Unfortunately, getting a good story requires spending time in one place, going deep into the story, and gathering direct quotes – things that were hard to come by as we moved swiftly from one place to another.

But, the assessment team learned how our company could be most helpful, and we were still able to get some stories.

Another Earthquake Coverage

Tomorrow I’m going down to Concepcion with the media team. We’re traveling with an assessment team that will be deciding the best way to utilize supplies and volunteers in the worst hit areas of Chile.

Today there was a 6.9 replica (aftershock) in Concepcion. The Chilean military has also been deployed there to respond to reports of looting in the city. And the broken roads are still a challenge for anyone traveling cross-country. Sounds like a recipe for adventure.

[Photo borrowed – Concepcion]

I’m actually really interested to see how this earthquake will compare to Haiti’s. Though it was larger, Chile was better prepared to endure and respond to the disaster. Better building codes mean less damage. And a better government infrastructure means a faster response. But no matter how “ready” a country, an earthquake will leave things – and people – shattered.

Still…. I saw how God is moving in Haiti. He will move here as well. He goes ahead

Chilean Friends

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to join one of our missionary couples for lunch at their pastor’s house. It was my first chance to socialize with Chileans.

The pastor’s son, Roberto, was also there with his girlfriend, Cecilia. Cecilia was a new believer. To my relief, she spoke English well (the whole family speaks some).

Cecilia told me she sometimes works as a translator and had recently done some translating for a missionary couple from the States (not the same couple that had invited me). She said she thought it was strange that the US sends missionaries to Chile, since Chile is a Catholic nation and therefore “already Christian.”

But as she translated for this missionary couple, she listened to the words they were saying. They talked about the story of the Gospel and the love of God in ways she had never heard before. They talked about having a relationship with God that was personal and real. By the end of her time translating for them, Cecilia had accepted Christ.

Roberto watched the transformation that occurred in Cecilia’s life. The son of a pastor, Roberto had been raised in church. But he drifted from his faith as he grew older. But, seeing the work of God in Cecilia’s life got his attention. He soon rededicated his life to God.

Last weekend was my second week attending their church, Iglesia En la Casa. After the service, we had a bar-b-q at the home of a couple from the church.

Roberto and Cecilia were baptized together in the backyard pool.

I like Santiago.

Chile Quake

A crash woke me up.

It was the middle of the night, and in the darkness everything around me was moving.

An earthquake.

I got up and tried to think of what to do. The floor shifted and jerked beneath me like a plane experiencing turbulence, and the air was filled with the noise of windows and cabinets rattling. I checked my cell phone: it was about 3:30 a.m.

Was it safer to take cover inside, or escape outside? I had no idea.

I figured I’d take my chances and try to enjoy the experience. I went out on the balcony to watch the event unfold.

Outside was cacophonous. In all directions came the sound of objects shaking loose and crashing to the ground. From the stories above me, people were shouting to each other.

In the nighttime city light, I could see tree branches swaying violently. The pool below my balcony was rippling like the glass of water in Jurassic Park. As the tremors increased, I watched the water form waves and begin jumping out of the sides of the pool.

Then the streetlights began to flicker. Buildings went dark in quick succession as the power went out. A moment later, I stared out at a darkened, moonlit cityscape, listening to the crashes and rumblings all around me.

In that moment, I thought of my friends in Haiti.

Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. I think every car alarm in ear-shot was going off.

I went back inside and found my flashlight. The crash that had awakened me was the sound of a potted plant falling to the floor. That pot was the only thing in my apartment that got broken.

The first thing I did was to sweep up the mess. Compulsive neatness dies hard.

After a few minutes there was a knock at my door. My boss, who lives across the street, had come to check on me. I followed him outside where the street was full of people who had exited their apartment buildings during the quake.

We joined our friends outside their building. From his blackberry, my boss found out that the epicenter of the quake was in the city of Concepcion. It was an 8.8 magnitude quake – bigger than Haiti’s.

Once we realized that everyone was ok, we all made our way back to our homes.

The next morning, as soon as our electricity was back on, I updated my Facebook page to let everyone back home know I was safe.