Prayers for Chile

Please keep the people of Chile in your prayers after the massive earthquake there recently. Please pray specifically also for our sister synod and the family of Francisca, the youth who visited us this summer.

Here is an update on the situation in Chile from the IK Synod Office:

Partners in Mission,

As you know by now, Chile was hit with a serious earthquake the morning of February 27. The ELCA has released news about how the earthquake is affecting our companion church, the IELCH (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile). Here is a link to the most recent (as of 6:00 EST Saturday evening):

http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4461

In addition, through other communications channels I have received the following bits of information about some particular individuals and congregations, some of which is in the news release linked above.

From ELCA churchwide staff: The earthquake was really major and long. Both Pastora Gloria Rojas and Karen Anderson (ELCA missionary who works with EPES, a community health organization in Chile) are in their homes communicating by phone (cell phones do not work). Pastora Gloria has been able to contact all the congregations and pastors except Concepcion. Concepcion and Talca (near Concepcion) is where the major damage happened because of the proximity to the epicenter and has no communication. There are two IELCH congregations in/near Concepcion.

From an I-K Synod Global Mission Committee member's phone conversation with Pastora Gloria's son: Everyone in Santiago is doing well some structures tumbled they do not know how extensive the damage is at this time but they do know that Pastor Oscar (who serves in Concepcion) and his family are doing well.
I have sent a communication to Pastora Gloria assuring her that the people of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod are in prayer for her as she leads her church through this tragedy and for the people of the IELCH as they minister to one another and others around them even as many of them assess damage, work through grief and uncertainty, and look for a way forward.
Please share this information as broadly as possible, accompanied by encouragement to hold Pastora Gloria Rojas, the people of the IELCH, and the people of Chile in prayer. As more information becomes available we will share it synodically. In coming days we will also be in conversation with IELCH leadership about ways in which we as a synod can best express our companionship with our sisters in brothers in Chile, both in the immediate future and in the weeks and months ahead.

In the meantime, if folks desire to give immediate financial donations to Lutheran relief work in Chile they may do so through the ELCA's International Disaster Response at:

https://community.ELCA.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=537.

Thank you for your solidarity with the people of the IELCH and of Chile in general as they now seek to stand on the firm foundation of God's gracious promise of resurrection and new life.

Grace, mercy and peace be with you,

Pastor Bill Gafkjen
Assistant to the Bishop
(Campus Ministry, Candidacy, Global Mission & Synod Assembly Planning)
Director for Evangelical Mission