Update: Missionaries safe after Chile earthquake
April 1, 2010 Update: We have been in contact with the Morseys and Niemeyers, our missionaries to Chile. The Niemeyers, who are our only missionaries currently on-field in Chile, have not been directly affected by the recent earthquake, but they are in contact with churches whose members have families in areas that have been affected. We are waiting for more information about the extent of our outreach and will keep you posted.
March 1, 2010
We have received word that John and Laura Niemeyer made it safely through the devastating earthquake that hit Chile on February 27, 2010. The Niemeyers, who are our only missionaries currently on-field in Chile, gave this e-mail update on the evening of the quake. As of the next day, the Niemeyers still did not have power.
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Santiago, Chile! We are all safe and sound, well, maybe not sound, but we are safe and in the center of God’s will. We experienced our first, and hopefully the last, significant earthquake during the night last night. The center of the earthquake was five hours south of us, but we felt the quake at a 7 or 8 on the Richter Scale.
We woke up to a strong shaking of the sliding glass doors, floors, and everything around us. We jumped up to make sure the children were safe and found it difficult to walk through the house. It felt like walking on deck of a ship in the midst of a storm, or maybe you can relate by imagining yourself trying to balance on a surfboard. It was very strange when things that are normally steady and secure were rolling beneath our feet.
A few table lamps fell over. Our car slid a foot forward even with the emergency brake engaged. Other than that, our house sustained no obvious damage. The airport expects to be closed for the next several days, and we have seen minor damage around town. We have been feeling tremors all day and are told that we can expect those to last for several more days.
We have no electricity yet but have been able to check e-mail and Facebook at our friends’ house. We will keep you updated as we are able. Please continue to pray, especially that this crisis will create opportunities to share Christ.
Sincerely,
John & Laura Niemeyer