IELCHI – NEWS

The only thing visible is a pile of bricks and some men trying to put together a wall with the materials that were left. The house, or what was left of it, is part of the house next door. Misfortune, in this case, hit two neighboring families equally.

Nine people were living in the home of Juan Caro and Sara Catalán—maybe a lot of people for so little space, but that was their reality, like many Chileans. The couple’s daughters are Ruth, Cristal, and Marcela. Marcela is married to Alejandro and has three children: Paz, 7 years, Marlene, 3 years, and Yadiel, 15 days.

I couldn’t help showing them that God is their strength and their fortress, their rescue in tribulations. We told them that we would be praying for them and that we want to share their pain, sharing the Word of God but also helping them lift themselves back up.

Cristian Caro, Rev. Cristian Rautenberg, Juan Caro and Ms. Sara Catalán.

Pamela didn’t want to pose for the photo after going to see what the state of her home was. Maybe one of the explanations is that she always has helped other people, but now she is the one that needs help for her family. Despite this, she is still offering all of her daughter’s baby clothes to whoever needs them, since her daughter doesn’t need them as much now.

On Monday morning (March 1), in contact with the local government of La Florida, we found out that in the Las Lomas area of La Florida, about 2 kilometers from the mission’s chapel, there were various families affected.

The Huenchulao Quilodrán family has five people—Pamela and Rafael and their children Christopher, 19, Vanessa, 16, and Antonella, 13 months.

The house of light material had to be demolished.

(From left to right.) Christopher, Raphael, Antonella and Pamela.

“Mom, Mom, a pastor is looking for you!” said one of the twins, who has some problems, son of Mrs. María Varas. She lives with her brother and her three children, but in the same yard, one of her sons lives with his wife and María’s three grandchildren. The only thing left of her house was the floor, and on that site, they put together a tent while they waited for the local government to provide a small amount of wood, which would at least help while they sought out help for more long-term shelter.

“How did you get here? How did you know about us?” The answer is painful, because in truth, we just followed a trail of trash that was taken out to the corner for a truck to pick up. The people don’t demand anything—they are open to receiving whatever is offered. They say, “Life is the most important.” When asked how they feel about praying and having a devotion, they are happy and receptive. I promised them that we would return to see them soon, with God’s Word, and with help so that they can get on with their life as a family.

Rev. Cristian Rautenberg, twins William and Mathias (19 years) and Ms. Maria Varas.

Ms. María with grandchildren who live in the back of his property.

Wire Transfer

Swift code of the Banco Estado de Chile is:  BECHCLRM

Account Number:   23900054076

Name: Corp. Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de la República de Chile

ID: 72.625.500-8

Branch: Prat

City: Valparaíso

Reference Name: Carlos Schumann

My phone number: 00 56 32 2962125

Photos of the visit of Rev. Charles Schumann, the Rev. Alejandro Lopez, Rev. Cristian E. Rautenberg and Eduardo Segura, to the victims of the earthquake in the city of Cauquenes (VII region of Chile).

Photos of the visit of Rev. Charles Schumann, the Rev. Alejandro Lopez, Rev. Cristian E. Rautenberg and Eduardo Segura, to the victims of the earthquake in the cities of Curico, Talca and Constitution.

“Be Strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discoyraged, for the Lordyour God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1.9)

God’s words to Joshua served very good to rise the spirits to the challenge facing all Chileans and also in a special way the Lutheran Church.

Looking to the future from the destruction we see in every corner, from the loss of dreams and hours of work is without a doubt a difficult task, because the sadness is shipping to most people, which is anyway moving on.

The pain, fear, tenderness over the loss of houses and intermingle with the words you hear over and over again: “Thank God for saved my life!” But at the same time is perceived, in the disconsolate, that that God is far away, perhaps in the pile of debris that buried the hopes of people.

God is with us in a special way with His grace through Jesus Christ, and taht makes us face the future with hope.

Because there is a job to do, which is to reconstruct the life, the home, the country. But it can not be done without the company of one who does not finish, which endures despite everything and everyone. Hopefully Chileans understand this! Life can not be assumed without God, without God’s grace, without Christ and his forgiveness!

Rev. Cristian Rautenberg, Santiago de Chile

Psalm 46:1-3

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”   

 Living extreme situations often times causes people to have negative attitudes and behaviors that in other circumstances they would not have.  In this sense, it has been a time of surprises, both good attitudes as well as bad of which we have been witnesses these days after the earthquake and tidal wave destruction in Chile.  Nature’s forces have occurred once again and have made manifest the precariousness and frailty of our lives.  None of us expected to observe that which was firm, solid and stable to move and be altered as did the earthquake and tidal waves.  Many of us tried to hold on to something in order not to fall, but even that “something” shook as we clung to it and in some cases, also fell.  Maybe we even surprised ourselves when we began to shout out to God for protection of our lives in those very moments.  It is possible that we even saw the history of our lives pass before our eyes in seconds, searching for some kind of contact with God; maybe we pleaded for His peace and our own physical wellbeing.  After being so terribly frightened but seeing that we were favored with the gift of life, once again we are witnesses of the calling to have faith and hope in Christ in the midst of calamity.

 After all that we have lived through, do you really believe that God is your “refuge and strength”?  Do you believe He is your “ever-present help in trouble”?  The affirmation of the author of this Psalm is rock solid.  His answer is categorical. It is so that he uses an extreme case to prove his point.  He is confident that the care, refuge, help and strength are guaranteed even when the worst can happen, even at times of the most terrible happenings. For him there is no other proof than if the earth were to tremble to the point of disappearing and the mountains were to be buried in the sea, amidst such a fury that even the very foundations of the mountains would shake and disappear. 

 What the Psalm has to say describes perfectly what nature does when it is out of control – the same nature that is our home, which is supposed to be immoveable, and which should be safe for us.  Yet the experience we lived of such an uncontrolled nature undoubtedly has place our faith to the test.  And what we will be living afterwards will be even more profound.  Because the tribulations of these days, the fear, the loss and the mourning, the most dire necessities will move us to meditate on the meaning of His “ever-present help”.

And the faith to which we have been called, should find its rock foundation on that which does not tremble, nor shaken nor disappear.  It should rest in God’s Word, which affirms that He is our “refuge and strength, an ever-present help”.  These are true since He is the only one who can solve all doubts and guilt that come to mind when everything “roars and quakes”. This faith in God rests in our heart and its activity has kept us afloat.  Because today we continue to live and no matter what losses we suffered, nothing can shake our faith in God.

 It is important to remember another earthquake, the one that shook the earth when the Son of God died.  We are living in the time of Lent that reminds us about this event, His death.  When Jesus shouted from the cross, “It is finished!”, there was a strong earthquake that frightened everyone and the daylight turned to darkness (Matthew 27:50-51).

 Behold, in that well-known scenario which is filled with tragedy, God was actively forgiving your sin and declaring you free from sin and guilt.  The only death was Jesus’ and not because of an earthquake, but because He was nailed to the cross to pay for your sins.  There, God’s peace was sealed between He and you.  There, Jesus became your ever present and perfect help.

 The author of the above text instructs us that God has control over everything and no calamity can say otherwise.  No force of nature will ever deter God from caring for those who trust in Him.   Not even death, which is very much a part of our lives, can separate us from His love.  The well-known author of Psalm 23:4, declares: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  It is He who accompanies us even beyond this life into eternal life.

 Perhaps other kinds of help will come, but maybe not.  You will recover material things, you will remember those who died and you will live with this scar in your soul until the last day of your life.  But thanks be to God for the help you received when the earth shook the day Jesus died, because now you can be sure that He will dry all your tears. Revelation 7:17, beautifully declares:  “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Rev. Carlos Schumann

A long road amidst pain and desolation

March 4, 2010

It’s 9:30 p.m. in Chillan, 13^th region of Chile, half an hour after the curfew that has been declared by the authorities as a way of keeping the peace. There are four of us here: Rev. Carlos Schumann, Rev. Alejandro Lopez, Eduardo Segura, and me, Rev. Cristian Rautenberg (writing).

Since 7 in the morning, today, March 4, we have covered more than 700 kilometers touring various areas that were the most damaged by the earthquake. Already, at 60 kilometers outside of Santiago, you could sense the force and the damage from this cataclysmic event. Cracked roads, fallen bridges, collapsed houses, with increasing damage as we traveled further south. In each home, we shared the people’s pain and the Gospel message of hope with a prayer, a benediction, or a brochure from Christ for All the Nations (Lutheran Hour Ministries in Latin America), “Strength for Difficult Times.”

It’s not possible to not perceive the mission opportunity in each contact that we made today [March 4]. Lives that can be changed by the Gospel of Christ. This pain and desperation provides us with a beautiful possibility!

The first city that we visited was Curicó, (Seventh Region), at 194 kilometers from Santiago, with 12,000 inhabitants. The scene was potent—there are very few homes in the downtown area that did not have some damage. We searched for people, but there were many homes that had no one inside, because of the danger of collapse. We wanted to put a face to the earthquake. Soon, we met a young married couple (See “Leaving the pain in the hands of God”)

Curico people are formed to receive a ration of water.

The second stop was the city of Talca (Seventh Region), a little more than 250 kilometers from Santiago, with 200,000 inhabitants. Much closer to the epicenter, we saw a nearby neighborhood with various destroyed homes. We didn’t know where to begin, so we parked the car and chatted with a family that was outside of their home in the middle of avalanches (See “When the light came, it illuminated the face”). It was not necessary to go much further in order to find other families that had lost everything, and we had to leave, but we knew that we would have to return soon (See “The cook did not come today”).

Amid the rubble a sign of the popular religiosity catholic of Chile.

Our journey continued towards Constitución, a medium-sized city with 56,000 inhabitants on the coast of the Seventh Region. As we approached the city, many cars, trucks, and semis were coming out of the city with furniture, cushions, and equipment. We asked ourselves, “What are they fleeing from?” A few kilometers later, we began to realize the answer. Hundreds of people were begging for food, diapers, water, flour, or anything that one could give to them. This scenario increased in intensity the closer that we got to the city.

A family receives food, water and a message of encouragement at the entrance of the city of Constitution.

In Constitución, the stench of dead animals and petrified remains mixed with the dust, which in another moment, was the tsunami mud that devastated the whole coastal zone, up to one kilometer inside the city. Little was left standing, and what was left standing didn’t serve for much…the majority should be torn down. Furniture, cars, clothing, domestic equipment, and many other objects was scattered across every block. The people’s testimonies repeated themselves: “We’ve lost everything!” Everyone was equal in their misfortune: rich and poor—the tsunami water did not respect the home or the life of anyone. The tsunami was being blamed for 300 deaths and additional disappearances.

Some young people told us that God was very far from them, but various others have told us that they need the “food” that only God can provide. We talked with various families, we listened to their words and promised to return. We shared the little food that we could carry with us (some milk, cereal, and other items).

We went from Constitución towards Chillán, which was several hours’ worth of travel because of the state of the roads. We had many emotions, but the most prominent was that God was using us so that many people might know that Christ loves them in a special and unique way, so much so that He gave His life and now they might have a new opportunity.

Tomorrow we continue the journey, and other life stories await us. May God guide and watch over us.

Rev. Cristian E. Rautenberg

A Chilean flag flies at the point where there was a house before the tsunami.