I had the privilege of traveling to Concepcion, Chile a couple weeks ago. I went with Barbara LaChance who has connections with a few churches in Chile. My son Kyle tagged along as well. We went to minister to and encourage the churches there. You may recall that Concepcion was the epicenter of an 8.8 earthquake in February.

The earthquake was very violent. However, comparatively, loss of life was relatively minor and much of the city is getting back to regular life. A couple of nearby villages were not as fortunate. The earthquake actually shifted the entire ground mass 10 feet southeast into the Pacific ocean. The resulting tsunami completely destroyed seaside tourist and fishing villages. Chileans are familiar with earthquakes, so villagers knew to try to flee to the hills before the tsunami hit. Many lives were spared but homes and belongs no longer exist.

One of the churches we connected with in Concepcion has adopted a government provided makeshift "village" in the nearby town of Penco. 50 families are living in 8 by 15 foot one room wood shacks. There are no kitchens and only a common bathhouse like you would find at a campground. In addition, Chile is approaching their winter season, so Chile was getting quite "chilly"!

We decided Wellspring would provide each family with a large bag of charcoal. It would last a couple of weeks for cooking and heating. In so many ways it felt insignificant, but at the same time it was a privilege to distribute the bags of charcoal and pray for and with the families. I also prayed with the government coordinator of the village who was a Christian. I believe the Lord blessed her spirit with encouragement and strength. I will share some more with you this coming Sunday in the services. Thanks to all for your prayers for us and the trip.