I just got this in the mail and wanted to pass it on before heading out for the afternoon:

We want to let you know that the family of Marcos Gallardo, our leader in Arauco, was rescued from a very difficult situation. The place they were staying in at the moment of the earthquake was turning into a chaos, this because of the fear of a seaquake, the constant replicas and the burglary into the shops and supermarkets. Today they are safe in Concepcion and we expect to have them in Santiago very soon.

Referring to Pichilemu, they are all fine, the base didn’t suffer any damage and since they live in a high zone of the city, several people from the town took shelter in the base. We have been helping each other and also many churches have sent their donations to YWAM Pichilemu. From there we have made an operative to Bucalemu, a coast city that was completely destroyed. The tragedy that we’ve been facing is constituted by three elements: 1 first earthquake, 2 the seaquake, 3 the burglary.

The army went out to the streets and the peace was restored. They called out a curfew and this has allowed a better security.  It also allowed the people in charge of reestablishing electricity, water, telephones, etc. to work better. The fire fighters could also work more calmly.

Today there are 799 deaths, these are just the ones from the earthquake, they still need to count the ones from the seaquake because nobody knows exactly how many there are. They are waiting for 7 to 8 days to pass, because this is the time that the ocean will take to return the bodies. We have to add to this, all the missing people that were left under the bridge and buried in the mud.

Here we are preparing a plan of action to reach the places of most need. We are sending scouting teams and talking with the mayors and pastors from the different affected places. To give you an idea, there are close to 2 million people that will be left without a house. The depression is huge.

From Monday the 8th we will start to send the first teams to help remove the debris. We also need specialized teams: Those in the area of health, rescuing and construction. Also tools, generators of electricity to be able to work. We are creating 2 week time unit, in other words, every team can come for a minimum of 2 weeks.

The teams can arrive to our base and then travel to start the work. We are seeing which are the places where the teams can stay near the zones that are most affected and where they also can buy food.

There are many people that already started to take food to the most needy places, but our teams will have to buy their own food in the nearby cities and take it there. Also in those nearby places we’ll have a place for the teams to stay in. In the towns and cities that where more affected, the teams will have to bring tents, for example, in the city of Linares they can receive us and there we can buy food and there is electricity, there we also have a place to stay. In other cities and towns 25-30 minutes or even up to 2 hours of distance there’s no electricity, or water or food or places to stay.

From each base that wants to send teams we need to know how many people there are coming, for how long they will stay and in which way you can help.

The first phase is to supply food, water and medical attention. The second phase, that’s the one we want to start now, is to remove the debris. In a third phase we’ll have to help in the construction of houses, but for that we need teams of constructors and a lot of money, so we are enabling a bank account:

For donations from any part of the world, or for updated information check our web page www.jucumchil.cl where we are updating information constantly.

A big hug for everyone and we’ll keep in touch.

Ricardo Rodriguez

For photos please visit:
http://www.ywamsandiegobaja.org/articles.aspx?id=27705&menu=Resources