Pray for Japan

News reports now place death tolls above 10,000. Some scientists fear catastrophic aftershocks. We must pray for this crushed nation.

Baptist Global Response will help you channel your donations for relief in Japan. See IMB.org for more information.

Pray for Japan

Re: Japanese earthquake/tsunami - Drudge reports the death toll in one area alone will top 1,000.

We must pray and we must put into practice our Christianity and seek to minister to these suffering people. For my brothers who would be tempted to point their fingers and proclaim that this is what happens to a non-Christian society, remember this: Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Don't cry judgment yet; I still see a log in some eyes....

Praying for Haiti

I am, as I am sure you are, praying for the tiny nation of Haiti. The latest report on Drudge.com's aggregate news site says that some authorities fear that as many as 500 thousand may be dead. Many are "comfortable" with saying that the death toll will exceed 100 thousand.

Tens of thousands are homeless. Water problems abound. Food problems abound. It is, in general, a picture of complete chaos.

Pray for Haiti. Pray hard. Southern Baptists can give via the International Mission Board's emergency relief. Contact them at 800-999-3113 and ask how to help. IMB response teams are headed there in the next few hours.

Many other organizations can also help you help Haiti. Choose one and give these unfortunate souls a hand.

Again, pray for Haiti. Pray hard.

The Times and the Seasons

First, it was Myanmar (Burma). Now it's China. Before this is over, I would not be surprised to see a death toll in both places that tops 100,000. That is astounding. Every death brings a deep sadness and lingering questions:

• How many of these who died knew the Lord and are now in his presence?
• Jesus told us to observe the times and the seasons. Is this an indication of his imminent return?

I cannot venture to say how many who died knew the Lord. I do know that each day thousands in China are turning to the Lord Jesus as their one and only Savior. But I do not know about the particular areas that were affected. Far less, however, are responding in Myanmar. That means that the likelihood was slim that many of them were Christ-followers.

Is it a sign of the return of Jesus? Maybe. Maybe not. I believe that will happen sooner, not later. I even hope it happens today. But if the Father chooses to delay Jesus' return, that is fine by me. I will serve him until he sounds that final trumpet.

Pray for Asia, as it recovers from these two massive disasters.

Planning and Preparation for Disaster Relief

The Mission has already sent one team down; their job was to assess the damages from last Wednesday's earthquake, give some immediate relief to the few they could help on short notice, and then return with a report. We meet today to form the response teams.

There are several teams in place all over the stricken area. But there are so many communities that were affected that no single entity can do this alone. We plan to be as strategic as possible, sending help where we can make the most difference.

Meanwhile, the aftershocks continue; with them, death continues to sting the survivors. Yesterday's 5.7 aftershock claimed a 12-year-old boy when a cement beam fell on his head. He had gone over to that part of his fallen house to pick up the sledge hammer and bring it to his father. It was his last act of obedience.

Heart-wrenching stories like this can be replicated a thousand-fold. There is no way to paint an accurate picture.

One local paper showed hundreds trudging out of the city, looking for other places to live. Hunger is driving them out. There is no food to be had. What food is available is under lock and key for fear of looting and robbery.

On the positive side, one pastor lost all he had. His house was completely destroyed. Yet, this man of God ignored his and his family's needs for shelter to help his and surrounding communities with their needs. His selflessness is astounding. May we find many more like Pastor Cesar before this tragedy ends!

The Earthquake: A Perspective from Within

The following is from the relief team leader's report to our regional leadership:

The first city we arrived in was in Cañete. We went to a section of the town were we have a new Baptist church. This community is called Santa Cruz. There are about 300 adults in the community. Counting children, the community is over 1000. This area suffered some structural damages to houses with 8 to 10 houses be completely destroyed. These families were sleeping out in an open field. They did not have any type of shelter. The community had been without water and electricity for two days. The community had organized a common kitchen area. With large pots, they were cooking food for everyone who could contribute something. While we were there, a small water truck from the government arrived. However, he only had a limited amount of water and was not planning to return to the community. Through the local pastor, we were able to contract a water truck to provide water for the next several days. We want to return to provide some temporary shelter for these the 8 to 10 families. There is the potential for a volunteer team to help with rebuilding the homes, since there was so few that was completely demolished. We would probably want to build the homes with materials that are similar to the other houses.

We went on to the next major town called Chincha. We decided to leave the trucks full of supplies on the main road and Debbie and I entered the town with the pastor and British missionary. The concern I had was that if the people saw the trucks full of supplies, they would want the items. We did not have enough to give out to large groups. The town, like most of the area was without electricity. When we entered the town, there was a lot of damage to the brick buildings downtown but some of the greater damage was in the poor areas. In these areas, the houses are made of adobe (mud brick) walls. We have a new Baptist work in a poor area called Pueblo Nuevo. Caesar, the young pastor, lost his entire house. When I refer to “house” I am typically referring to a one or two room structure. It is incredible to see the concern of this pastor for helping the people in his community when his house was one of the hardest hit. There were blocks of these houses that were completely demolished. In his community there are about 120 families. Again, the greatest need was water, food and shelter.

Caesar then took us to a larger community called Húsare de Junin. This community has 360 families. When we arrived in the community in my truck, several hundred people quickly made two lines behind the truck, ready to receive any help. I was very surprised how orderly the people were. This was not the case in most of the communities. I had to explain to them that this was an investigation trip. As we talked to several hundred people, the main need they had was for food and water. We told them that we would try to get a water truck to help them that day and return with other supplies. We rode around the town of Chincha in search of a water truck who would take water to these people. Water in these towns is a business. Owners drill wells then use trucks to sell water to the poor communities. We went to several areas that had wells many were already empty and the ones who had water did not want to sell it to us. We were very discouraged. Then we say another truck and Pepe and Caesar approached the driver. The driver was moved by our desire to help the people. He agreed to take water to the communities and only charge $16 dollars for over 5000 gallons of water. Only God can make that happen! We left money with Cesar to take 6 loads of water to the communities in the next several days. We need to return to these two communities to provide food and shelter.

In these two communities in Chincha (really, all of Chincha), the markets had closed because of looting. The small stores that were still selling food had raised the price to as much as 3 times the normal cost. The people who had a little money were not able to get it since it was under the rubble of their homes. Due to the disaster the town has virtually stopped functioning. There was no work and most people live day to day, buying food with the money they earn in that same day.

I will also add that when we were leaving the community Húsare de Junin, we made a wrong turn and entered another community. Several hundred people approached our vehicle asking for help. The people were somewhat upset that we were unable to help them. They were yelling things like, we need water, we need food. We left this area with several people running after our vehicle. While the people did not harm us or the vehicle, we understand how volatile the situation is. The people are desperate. In several occasions when we were talking to the people, they expressed their frustration that no help is arriving. They would often say, If you cannot give food to all of us, please give some food to the children.

When we left Chincha, we went toward Pisco. This town is one that has made much of the headlines. Most of the deaths had occurred in Pisco. It took several hours to get to Pisco because of the damage done to the roads. There were places that the asphalt road had been lifted or dropped 4 feet. Some parts of the road had slid off the cliff on the side to the ocean. Another difficult part of the stretch of road was damage done to a bridge. We waited over 2 ½ hours to cross the bridge. They would only let a few cars cross at a time. While we were waiting in line, looters were assaulting the vehicles that had supplies. There were some military soldiers who would shoot in the air and run off the looters. However, when the soldiers were some distance away, the looters would return. Some of them were able to open the back of one of our trucks and take several items. We were finally able to get the attention of one of the police who chased the looters off. This type of looting was happening all along the road from Chincha to Pisco, to Ica. When we approached Pisco, we decided not to enter the town for several reasons. One was that we did not have a contact in that town. Another reason was that our trucks were loaded with supplies that were headed for Ica and we felt that we could be at risk for looters. When we returned to Lima we would go through Pisco with the trucks empty.

We continued to Ica. We have a Baptist church in Ica. The Pastor of the church is named Daniel Terrones. When we arrived at the church, we had to unload the supplies quickly. There was a lot of looting taking place in Ica. The day before, the main market was closed due to looting. The church was completely destroyed. The front wall is leaning forward to the point that is will fall at any minute. Since no one can enter through the front door, the only access to the church is climbing on the roof of the property next door and going down a stairway to the pastor’s house that is connect to the church. The church is about 30 by 60 feet with a metal roof structure. The columns on one side of the church collapsed causing the roof structure to fall.

That evening, I went with the pastor of the church and Pepe Flores to a community called, Los Pollitos. This community is a squatters area. There are over 300 families in this community. It was dark when we arrived in the community. However, I could tell that most of the houses were completely destroyed. We talked to the people and asked them to prepare a list of every family. The community did not have water so we said that we would return the next day to talk about how to get water to them. Like all communities, we prayed for their needs and thanked God for sparing their lives. of their homes. In this area, like most of the areas we visited, the evenings drop into the 40s° with heavy mist.

There is a small school beside the church property. The guard of the school agreed to allow us to park our trucks in the school, on the courtyard. This was another work of God. The town of Ica is not safe and I was concerned about where to park our vehicles. The guard said that as long we were gone before the administrator of the school arrived at 8:00, we could stay. Several of the missionaries slept in the vehicles while others slept on the floor in a school room. Throughout the night we heard gun shots, police whistles and people shouting. Since the community had not electricity, there was looting most of the night. Several of the looters would approach a house with guns. They would enter the house and rob what they could. At times, people would bang on the metal gate that led into the school parking lot. I stayed awake most of the night walking around the vehicles. At one point in the night, we had two significant tremors. We could hear a lot of people screaming. They were running into the streets, thinking that another earthquake was happening. The people in the area are very traumatized.

The next day, we returned to the community, we found that they had water. Since this community is near more developed residential housing, they have access to several water faucets. We mentioned to them that God had heard our prayers and had help restore the water. However, as we looked at the houses, every house was damaged. Most were completely destroyed. The needs were similar, food, blankets and shelter. They also asked for flashlights since at nights, looters would come in and carry off any item they had that had survived the earthquake. Most of the people were sleeping in the streets, in front of the rubble of their homes. In this area, like most of the areas we visited, the evenings drop into the 40s° with heavy mist. The needs were obvious. While there were over 100 people around us, we were able to talk to the four community leaders. They presented a list of all families living in the fours sectors of the community. We told that we would plan to return with food and plastic to help them have temporary shelter. While we were talking with them, two other communities came to use with the list of their families. We quickly toured their communities, noting similar situations. We told the people that our contact was pastor Daniel.

When we returned to the church decided on a plan to distribute the water, blankets, and hygiene kits. The pastor would work with the community leaders to decide who has the greatest need at this moment. He would rent a taxi to take the materials to them. The pastor also mentioned several church members than needed some of the supplies. We had originally planned on giving out the supplies while we were in Ica but due to great number of people who where in need and the problems of looting, we decided it would be best for the pastor to give out these items on a personal basis. One idea he is going to do is to give each church member several of the hygiene bags. They are to find people in need and use the bags as a witnessing tool.

After we met with the pastor we began our trip home. The traffic around the difficult parts in the road had increased. In fact we passed about 16 miles of stopped cars and trucks going in the opposite direction. I know that many of these vehicles will not make it past the difficult areas of the road until tomorrow. On the way home we went to another town called Paracas. This town is directly on the ocean. When the earthquake hit, the large waves entered all the houses. While it did not demolish the houses, it did do damage. However, the houses are still livable, once the mud is cleaned out. We talked with a volunteer groups from the Civil Defense of Columbia. They mentioned that the 200 to 300 people would not return to their homes. They were living on a large sand dune. They were afraid to return to their homes. The problem is that they are out in the open without any shelter. The volunteer group has met many of the immediate medical needs of the people. They did share with us that they were low on medical supplies. They shared with us the most common medicines used in their disaster relief response. This list will assist us in the future. We may purchase some medicines to help this volunteer group. We don´t feel that we need to give anything to the people at this time but we could help in the cleanup.

From Paracas we went through parts of Pisco, the town we had bypassed earlier. There is considerable damage in this town. We later found out that one of the members of the church where Debbie and I attend has family in Pisco. This person may be a good contact for us. We should know more about this person this next week.

We arrive in Lima around 6:00 this evening. The return trip took about 9 hours. It typically takes 4 hours for us to make the same trip.

We found the people to be very responsive to our help and open to talk about God. Several times Pepe Flores mentioned to the people that they were blessed because they were still alive. They openly agreed with him. Pepe led the large groups in prayer, asking for Gods protection, provision, and forgiveness for not always following him. It was incredible to hear several hundred people repeating the prayer that Pepe was leading. This prayer will lead many toward a saving knowledge of Jesus. It was also so encouraging to hear Pepe and the local pastors talk about how they could start new churches and cell groups among the communities we are going to help.

Pray for Peru!

More Photos from the Quake Zone

Note the drop in the road. This scene was all too common. In some spots the road dropped away; in other places, the damaged part was pushed up.

Life still holds some joy for some, as seen below:

The rule at this feeding station was that you had to contribute to the common pot if you wanted to eat.

The tremors continue; we just had one (8:23, Lima time) that lasted well over four minutes. If we felt it that long and that strong here, imagine what those in Ica and the surrounding areas must have felt!

Pray for Peru!

Damages on Every side: the quake in Peru

If you look carefully, this dear lady on the right is almost stoic in her expression, resigned to the destruction that characterized her home. She stands where her door once stood, looking off at what can only be a memory of her precious few belongings that were buried by Wednesday's quake. She is impervious to the icy wind that bites at her exposed extemities. She is in survival mode.



The young family above stands in the entrance to their house. They lost everything. Everything but their faith. They cling to their life in Christ.

This scene is repeated thirty thousand times all over Ica, Pisco, Chincha, and hundreds of small towns.



Entire communities crumbled under the force of the magnitude 8 earthquake. One community had moved to their location just a few years earlier, having been forced out of their old community by mudslides. Once again they have lost it all: pots and pans were crushed under the load of the collapsing walls. Clothes, buried under mounds of rubble are now useless.

It will take weeks and months to recover from this terrible tragedy. Peruvians have shown themselves to be a resilient people. But this has taken its toll. This has bowed the backs of some of the strongest.

Pray for Peru.

Peru Earthquake - The Team Returns

The Team is back in Lima. They will compile a report and share their strategy in the next few days.

Today they were stuck in lines of cars as much as 12 miles long. There are many sightseers; but there are many up to no good, as well. They spoke with emotion about the danger they sensed while in Ica. They also recognized God was with them.

The team was very frustrated to not be able to give much away. The needs are just too overwhelming.

Give thanks for a safe return.

The Quake in Peru - Saturday afternoon

The team is slowly making its way back to Lima. They are still more than 100 miles away. Traffic is snarled and crawling at the pace of lukewarm tar.

The team was able to visit both Paracas and Pisco, both very hard-hit areas. They will give a better report when phone reception is better, or when they arrive.

Meanwhile, Peru's local paper, El Comercio, reported that they have 20% of basic services restored in Ica, with hopes of reaching 80% by nightfall. Lighted streets and running water will make a significant difference for the survivors.

Saturday morning, part 2

Pam just called in. They did not sleep very much last night. There were two strong shakes, looting, gunfire, whistles, and shouting went on all night long in Ica. The store owners won't open their stores this morning for fear of being looted. The desparate victims loot even more when they see there is nothing available to buy. The cycle must be broken. Pray for order to be restored.

The team is going to try to make it to Paracas, a historical town that is mostly under water now. Situated by the sea, Paracas was innundated during the quake.

The team hopes to be back by "bedtime" tonight.

Latest from Ica, Peru

I spoke with the research/relief team about ten minutes ago. They had an answer to prayer in that the school administrators allowed them to bring all vehicles inside the walled school property. They have also allowed them to set up tents inside and to use this place as their initial base of operations.

The team reports that the church building there is in shambles. There have been several thousand dollars of damage to that one structure.

Tomorrow the plan is to give each family of the church a relief package for themselves, as well as one to give to an unsaved family to minister both evangelistically and holistically.

The team thinks they may head back to Lima tomorrow to refit and head out again next week.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

In Ica, Peru

The investigation team is in Ica, Peru. The church that they planned to coordinate distribution efforts with has a building far too damaged to use. The school next door was in better shape and has allowed the church members to offload our supplies there.

The pillagers who ransacked one truck, by the way, only got away with a minimal amount of their blankets and personal hygiene items we had prepared for distribution.

My wife Pam tells me they do not know where they will sleep tonight. They are working out arrangements with church members at this time. They went prepared to sleep on the ground, or in the trucks.

Two words describe Pam's impression of what she has seen so far: devastation and danger. The people are desparate, hungry, thirsty, and very frightened. Pray for all involved.

Quake update

I just spoke with one of the members of the investigation team. They have been stuck on the Pan American Highway for the past 3 hours (approximately). As the traffic finally began moving across a bridge at a town called San Clemente, some people converged upon the trucks. They managed to get the windows open on one of the trucks and took out the supplies the team was taking to Ica.

No one was injured and the team is fine; but your prayers are important!

The pastor from Chincha was able to get one truckload of water delivered to his completely destroyed community. The team rejoices that they have been put in the right places at the right times to be able to minister.

The Quake, part 6

I just spoke with the team. We are pricing tarps for folks to use for coverings/walls. They are stuck outside Pisco, the hardest-hit city. The military has stopped all traffic on the Pan American highway.

In Chincha, an hour north of Pisco, the team was able to buy at least 5 truckloads of water for a neglected area in that city; that area is cut off from the main distribution center in Chincha. A local pastor will be on hand to coordinate the distribution of the water, which will supply that area for as much as 3 days.

Earthquake, part 5

News reports by local television showed large crowds of men and women standing along the highways, rushing any vehicle they thought might be carrying relief items. Vigilante justice is beginning to take over the harder-hit areas. Pray for our caravan of 4 vehicles that are loaded with relief items.

The team had stopped outside one of the hard-hit towns; there they sent in one truck with the adminstrative support leader for our missionaries. He was going to consult with officials and try to get some better indication as to where the team should consider investigating.

The aftershocks still continue at the rate of about one an hour--this, 2 days later.

Thanks for praying!

Earthquake, Part 4

The first report from our team is from Cañete. There is a tremendous lack of potable water. Our team coordinated with them to purchase a truckload of drinking water for the part of Cañete they visited.

This will be the greatest need, no doubt. Where there are wells, the water is very muddy from the constant aftershocks, making it undrinkable.

More as we receive reports...

Earthquake in Peru, part 3

Yesterday was spent checking on outlying areas around Lima where we have ministry sites. About 5 of us assembled at 2 to plan a trip for today to the most devastated areas, all between one hundred and one hundred-fifty miles south of Lima.

The death toll is above 500 now. We have heard of many small villages that are in desperate need of relief. Many villages in the areas most affected were completely leveled, are without running water, and without lights. People are sleeping in the streets; others are afraid of looters and are staying in houses that are structurally unsafe. Our team, which left an hour ago, will determine to what extent we can be involved.

The aftershocks continue. We just had a 30+ second shock of over 5 in the Richter Scale. I thought I was going to have to leave the house.

Pray for Peru!

Earthquake in Peru, part 2

Civil Defense puts the death toll in the cities south of Lima at 337 and climbing. More than 1,000 were injured. The Pan American Highway collapsed 200 kilometers south of Lima. Traffic is snarled and slow through that area.

As Drudge says, "developing..."

Earthquake in Peru

Our supper last night was rudely interrupted by the strongest tremor we have felt in more than 18 years of time in Peru.

Let Quentin Roberts tell the story from downtown Lima:

"We were downtown in the building when the tremors began….the building floor was shaking a lot….we quickly exit the building to meet total chaos on the streets. The streets were moving like water waves. All the people were running out of the discos and buildings. A lot of tension and confusion was in the air. The people were gathering in the streets and obstructing the traffic. We tried unsuccessfully to get a taxi….they were all filled…we finally got a bus and after 2 hours we arrived home safely.

Prayers are needed for the people who live in the buildings downtown…they are afraid to reenter the buildings because they are adobe and very weak."

It was a frightening 2 minutes. News reports claim hundreds have died. Today we will assess our participation in disaster relief in the towns south of Lima. It will be tedious and difficult due to the chaos this has produced.

Pray for Peru!