Lehigh Valley Baptist Church

Heinz Updates

Dear Folks:

Thank you soooo much for your prayers. God was at work in amazing ways on this trip. On Monday it did not seem that anything was going to be easy. But, on Monday afternoon the windows of heaven started to open up. I was able to make contacts with the Supermarket El Trebol. Then Tuesday morning as we were dealing with the administrator, the owner walked in. The church in Temuco rented their property from him and he was good friends with Garry. The owner gave us a very large discount, and we were even able to get the ball rolling on a larger shipment of food for next week. Then we hit the road and were able to fill our tanks with fuel before leaving Temuco.

We were able to get to Monte Aguila and check on Pastor Rodolfo Ventura. His house and family are fine. However, the church building will need to be raised. Also, they are not getting food yet. The stores were looted there too. We were able give them food and milk for a few days. They should get help by then. Please pray for his youngest daughter, she has not been able to sleep well.

We pushed on from there but were told that a curfew was in place as of 6pm. It was 5pm. In spite of that we were able to arrive at the entrance to Concepción. There the military met us and allowed us to continue on to Tomé. There the destruction was very noticeable, as it was the whole trip. There were bridges down, overpasses hanging, cracks in the ground and pavement, and long lines for fuel. In Tomé the soldiers told us that we did not have permission to be on the streets. They sent us then to the police. I explained our situation and how far we had travelled. They let us through and we arrived in Dichato around 6:30pm. There a town administrator led Garry and his group of men up the hill to three camps of homeless, where he preached and distributed food. I was led with a group of men down through where the tsunami had leveled the town. At the base of the hill where there were a few houses still standing, I was able to speak to those that were affected and deliver the food.

After we finished up we had to find somewhere to stay while there was a curfew in place. One camp ground was closed. At a private encampment the people would not let us in because they didn’t have permission. So, we headed to Rafael. With some help from the firecompany we were able to get back through Tomé. When we arrived in Rafael we were met by a truck full of police with machine guns. They directed us to camp ground, but the people would not let us is. We returned to the police, and they were able to get us in. The people were simply afraid of being looted. They befriended us in the night and in the morning Garry was able to preach to a large number of them before we left. They were amazed and touched with what we were doing. 

The trip home was uneventful, but we found out that Garry is going to have to drive the men from LVBC all the way to Santiago tomorrow to catch their flight. Please pray for their safety. Flights are leaving Santiago now on a regular basis. 

Next week we hope to do more. Please pray.

The Heinz Family