DAY 23 - David Jones: CHILE
 

Dear saints in Christ Jesus:

A week has gone by since the devastating earthquake in Chile. There have been numerous aftershocks and although we feel the tremor up here in the north, they are stronger nearer the epicenter. An official figure of those who died is still not available for the government discovered an error in one of their monitoring departments and they reduced the number that was being made public.

Many who have written have told of pictures they have seen of the devastation caused and  they are not exaggerated. This report will concentrate on that which affects the assemblies and the workers in the country.

Only one brother died. Don Isidoro Mendoza lived south of Lota in the town of Iloca. His family live in Concepción and he was in his 80's. He used to come in to meeting every second Sunday to Talcahuano. On the day of the tsunami, people saw him walking on the beach when the sea withdrew before the tsunami came in. They found his body on the beach afterwards. 

I received a call from two of the elders in Talca asking me to go down urgently to assess the needs and see the damage, especially of the hall. They cancelled the Easter conference for the school where it is held is badly damaged.  

Along with David and Ruth Ann Rodgers, their daughter Elizabeth and Miss Margaret Ronald we went down last Thursday. Previously Margaret had made purchases of foodstuffs, including 5 and 10 kilo bags of flour plus yeast, powdered milk,  oil, etc. for about twelve families. We filled the car with the goods. 

The Chile EQ Fund 2010 has been setup up and we seek wisdom to handle the responsibility of administering it.  Already close to Twelve Thousand dollars has gone out. This has been used to purchase foodstuffs, building materials, and also help to families who have suffered loss. Some children are quite traumatized and don't want to leave their parent's side. We took down some candy and stuffed toys to comfort the kids. 

As the Christians saw us, they dissolved in tears, and would come and want to be embraced, and receive words of comfort. Leonel is an elder in the Talca assembly and he his wife Nora live in a house on the street behind the hall. They were miraculously spared. Their bedroom is in the front part of the house and when the quake struck they ran from the room. The adobe wall came down and filled the room crushing their bed under a mountain of debris. The weight of the wall was so great that it smashed the bed and broke the wood floor beneath. Their boys were still working at taking out wheel barrows of debris when we arrived. They had been at it for three days. Other parts of the house were spared because they were constructed with other materials. 

The hall in Talca has suffered and I was talking to a builder and two of the elders about what to do with it in the future. The firewall on the south side crashed onto the roof, went through the roof tore out the ceiling. Eleven benches were destroyed under the falling debris of adobe bricks. Other walls in the structure like those at the entrance have cracks in them.  Later on we shall have to determine what to do. One elder feels that all that is salvageable is the floor. The brethren have responded well and done a lot of cleaning up at the hall. 

Two single sisters live in a little house beside the hall and two rooms are totally unlivable. Usually adobe walls get weakened and the tremors which come with the after shocks could trigger their fall. A brother has offered these sisters a house without rent for the time being. I urged them to vacate. They have lived there for sixty years and it is hard for them to leave. 

As to the country, from our area of San Felipe and Santa María, we sent money to join with the Santiago assemblies in sending a truckload of foodstuffs down to Concepción and Talcahuano. From Los Angeles, Dennis Hanna went in with a truckload of food for the same two assemblies. Andrew Kluge took up a truckload of food from Valdivia for the Christians in Langunillas and Lota. Supermarkets are starting to open up again, so the need of food has lessened, although water in some cases is still scarce. 

Talcahuano is a port and the tsunami came rushing in flooding parts of the city. Ricardo Lessen's house had water come in on the bottom floor to a height of a meter (39 inches). The wave of water didn't get as far as where the gospel hall is located. 

In Peñaflor which is near Los Angeles, a number of people have lost their homes and from the Fund Dennis has purchased building materials to aid them. Andrew Kluge has designed a simple dwelling that can be built and David Rodgers he will lend Dennis a hand from next Wednesday on when Brendan McIntyre, Dennis' son-in-law arrives to help. In  certain areas, the government is starting to move in and expropriating a lot of the stock in building supply stores which prevents individuals from purchasing much. Dennis was able to make a good purchase prior to that happening. 

In summary, our analyses was that there were three main needs we had to address: 1. Food, 2. Dwellings of the believers, and 3. Gospel Halls. The first phase is being dealt with and now is less urgent. Now to phase 2 and we are trying to make sure that people have some protection from the elements. It is a blessing that it hasn't rained too much in the south. We are moving into fall weather and it rains quite a bit down there.  

The repairs to be done on the halls will have to be assessed. Talca and the Echaurren Street hall in Santiago are the most damaged. Part of the Concepción hall was damaged when a neighboring wall fell along the side of the hall breaking the windows and filling the driveway with debris. In Conchalí and Machalí, there are repairs to be made. David is assessing how extensive the repairs will be in Machalí. Quite a few other halls, mostly those built according to the strict building anti-seismic codes are structurally sound. San Felipe is a case in point. It cost us one third more in money when we built for we had to put in anti-seismic safeguards. There isn't a crack in the hall. 

As to the workers homes, three of us have damage. My own home has cracks in the walls of all the rooms but then since it was built in 1884 of adobe it is going to suffer. Repairs like replastering, etc. can be done later. It is livable and nine Christians worked all day Saturday helping me clear out the debris as well as putting some of the books away. There is still some work to be done. 

We visited Anne Reid's house in Talca. In the visitor's bedroom, gyproc fell from the ceiling, and some of the walls have cracks. Her house is of brick and livable. Her car was in the garage and is undamaged. Apart from the microwave which fell to the floor and the door broke off, we didn't see anything other artifact damaged. The Christians in Talca have been wonderful and did a good cleanup job. She has been down in the south and perhaps will get home in the early part of the week. She will have the job of putting her books back in place and doing a general cleanup and doing some repairs.  

Dennis Hanna used to get his water from a well but the sides fells in. The propane gas tank came off its moorings and the tank sprung a leak. He says they hope to get some small propane gas tanks for the stove. In the meantime they are cooking on a stove belonging to the neighbors, (also believers). Part of the old section of their house is damaged. 

We are still waiting for reports from others as to what damage has been done. However, there is gratitude in our hearts for those who quickly sent funds and we have been able to meet needs without hesitation.  

Monies send through Gospel Trust Canada, Truth and Tidings Gospel Trust, Missionary Service Committee, Gospel Perpetuating Foundation, and CMML, are deposited to my account and I have an excellent relationship with the exchange house here in San Felipe who change my checks without holding them for confirmation, so we can get the funds immediately. 

I have asked brother Dan Ronald to set up a website on which we shall be putting some pictures from different Christians in the country and trust it will soon be operative. 

I shall not add more to this extensive report but we all send greetings with gratitude for your prayers and interest.  Yours through grace,

David A. Jones.

San Felipe, CHILE

 

One of the bridges that was destroyed.

Pablo and Marlen with their daughters distribute food.

Bedroom in Dominguez home.

Irma stands beside rubble taken from the hall and her home.

Nor stands where her bed used to be.

Inside the Talca Hall.