CRC Staff Safe In Chile ‘Quake
A Christian Reformed Church staff member was spared injury in the severe, 8.8-Richter scale earthquake that rocked Chile last weekend, killing at least 700 people and causing widespread damage to buildings, homes and roads.
The staff member, who is a follow-up worker for Back to God Ministries International, is the only CRC employee based in the country. His name is Julio Caro. Both he and his family are safe.
But there are other ties between the CRC and Chile.
"Our hearts go out towards our Chilean brothers and sisters, including those who are separated by thousands of miles from their relatives and loved ones. The Christian Reformed Church has benefited from the fruits of Chile, as some of our finest leaders were born and trained in this great sister country," writes Javier Torres, regional leader for Latino Ministries and the Southeast U.S. for Christian Reformed Home Missions, in a letter to members of his ministry team.
"I would humbly like to invoke a call for prayer for our Chilean brothers and sisters, both in Chile and here in the U.S.," says Torres. "I pray for the churches of Chile that despite suffering destruction themselves, that they would find the strength in God to be a light in this time of darkness. I also ask that we pray for the Chilean government, a government that’s in transition, so that politics can be put aside for the sake of the Chilean citizenry."
Christian Reformed World Missions has no one stationed in Chile. The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee does not work there, although it has set up a fund for relief and aid for Chile. BTGMI is the only CRC agency that currently works in Chile.
The BTGMI Spanish Ministries leader is Rev. Guillermo Serrano, who was born and raised in Chile. He has been the Spanish voice of BTGMI since 1991. Members of his family live in Chile and are safe. He is currently attending the National Religious Broadcaster’s association meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
BTGMI Spanish ministry broadcasts on 55 radio stations in Chile and 16 TV stations. The ministry also mails Cada Dia (Today) print devotionals to readers in Chile and have an extensive Internet audience.
BTGMI has also partnered with church leaders and communicators in Chile to present pastoral and technology workshops. An April 2010 workshop was scheduled for the city of Linares, Chile (300 kilometers south of Santiago) and (198 km) north of Concepcion.
Serrano works out of the Palos Heights, Ill, office BTGMI, but does his broadcast from a studio in Brazil, where BTGMI is building a new ministry center. BTGMI is assessing what role it can play in response to the earthquake.
Meanwhile, the CRWRC has opened the fund to accept donations for an emergency response to the Chile earthquake. The organization will work with partners and networks on the ground in Chile as funding channels while considering plans for an organizational response.
To donate to CRWRC’s Chile earthquake response fund online, go to US | Canada. Checks designated "Chile Earthquake 2010" can be mailed to CRWRC, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560-600. Credit card gifts can be phoned in to 1-800-55-CRWRC in the U.S. during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.To read what CRWRC has written about the quake, visit CRWRC Chile story.
News reports say that it was the worst quake to hit Chile in 50 years. At least 1.5 million homes have been destroyed. The earthquake was centered about 70 miles from Concepción, Chile’s second-largest city, with half a million inhabitants. Much of the death and destruction was centered in coastal towns, hit by both the earthquake and a subsequent tsunami.
As a result of the quake, waves over seven-feet-tall waves crashed into Chile's coast, causing further destruction. At the same time, huge waves moved across the Pacific forcing hundreds of thousands to be evacuated to safe ground.
About 50 countries and territories from New Zealand to Japan were put on alert, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people, say news reports. But the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement that the effects of the tsunami may not be that great in other countries.
CRWRC mounted an $11 million response to the Asia tsunami in 2004, providing immediate, emergency food, water, shelter, and non-food items. The organization just completed long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction projects on hard-hit Banda Aceh in June, 2009.
“The initiating earthquake and resulting, multi-faceted tsunami could displace and possibly leave homeless much of the surviving population where these disasters hit,” CRWRC director Andrew Ryskamp said on Saturday. “CRWRC has the expertise and networks to provide effective and immediate relief in this type of devastating disaster.”
BTGMI employs ministry leaders who are fluent in their own languages to provide leadership in production of culturally relevant programs and follow-up in order to present Jesus Christ and help people to grow in their faith.
BTGMI has ministries in the Arabic, Chinese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Russian and Spanish languages. The ministry of the CRC reaches people in more than 190 countries worldwide. Many people contact BGMI ministries each month—asking for prayer, or requesting Bible study materials, copies of messages or other follow-up materials. To learn more about BTGMI and its programs, go to www.backtogod.net.
To learn more about CRWRC’s international relief programs, including Haiti Earthquake response, go to www.crwrc.org.
CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America ministering to people in need around the world since 1962 with relief, development, and justice.
