Urgent Needs Continue in Earthquake-Stricken Chile

Greetings in Jesus' name to our friends who love the ministry in Chile.

We are now two weeks into the disaster that has stricken a wide area of Chile. The aftershocks continue. Our Chilean friends are at the end of their nerves, as the ground continues to shake, it seems, almost continually.

We are collecting funds to help the people of Constitución, Chile, where our church in Ciudad Satélite, Maipú, have extended family. Practically in an instant, in the 8.8 earthquake and tsunami 15 minutes later, these families lost everything, literally with only a water meter to mark where their homes were. There are no groceries or potable water, few refuges. We need to get tents, sleeping bags and pads, clothes, and medicines.





We welcome the cooperation of the EMELY MOVEMENT (http://emelymovement.blogspot.com/), spearheaded by Madelline Abourched, a student at Hillcrest Christian School who went last year to Chile on a short-term mission. "Emely" is arabic for "Hope." Her organization, with the support of her family, was formed to provide help to earthquake-damaged locations, such as Haiti and Chile. Madi, her mom, and two cousins will be going to Chile with Cheryl and me on April 2 to deliver some goods and to film a documentary to be used in an event later in April. More information to come on that. Pay a visit to the Emely Movement blog! And please pray for a successful trip.

The Chileans in the midst of suffering are showing resolve to rise up from the rubble. Even if you can't understand Spanish, I URGE you to spend 7 minutes watching the impromptu TV interview of a 7-year-old boy in the earthquake zone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1PHZL2gzj4. This young boy will fill you with hope. A reporter spotted him with his sleeping pad in the rubble. He volunteers to take the reporter on a tour of what used to be his school. He shows the reporter what used to be the dining room. He allows as how the food really was pretty tasteless. He shows what formerly was 3rd and 4th grade rooms. He reports that he really doesn't like school all that much, including girls. All the while keeping his foam pad close at hand. This is spirit.

We continue to ask you to open your hearts with love to a people who love us here in the US. Your gift will reach "ground zero" with no overhead - all funds will serve those who are in need. We welcome thankfully your contributions via check to CCM, 37747 Bristol Court, Palmdale, CA 93550 or invite you to donate online at www.ccmchile.org. Also, you are invited to join us traveling to Chile April 2 and June 14 (you choose how long to stay).

God bless,

CHILE AFIRE IN JANUARY 2010

Greetings to everyone in the midst of summer wildfires in Chile. Just like California, Chile has dry summers and dry brushy hillsides. And we're in the middle of summer here. Since I (Jim) arrived on the fifth, there have been fires about every other day. A few days ago, a wildfire in Valparaiso on the coast destroyed 13 homes. It's sad, because the people here who live on the outskirts of the cities generally can't afford any kind of insurance. On the other hand, the government will almost certainly take the place of the insurance in helping people rebuild.

Not all the fires have been bad ones, however. To my great pleasure, upon arriving I found that five men of our Chilean church have been working hard to clear the land of weeds and useless trees. The men have burned literally tons of brush, having cut down 70 trees. We will have lots of firewood to sell for the benefit of the church, which has provided so much help. Again I say, the students and families of Colegio Cristiano Conosur are going to have a beautiful tranquil campus where they can excel.

I've had the pleasure of working alongside the men a couple of days. Last Tuesday we had lunch in a "picada camionera" a rickety shed on the side of the road with outdoor tables where truckers stop to eat. The food was great and cheap, and the flies and local dog Fifi came at no extra cost! Afterward, we had a big watermelon. The watermelon in Chile is the best I have ever tasted, and I consider myself a connoisseur (Conosur?) of watermelon.


We are within days of beginning the restoration of the 5800-sqft house that will be the administrative offices and community center for the new school. The house has lots of windows. The bad news is that the best estimate for windows in the house came to $48,000, or almost half the entire budget of $110,000 for remodeling the house.



The good news is that 15 minutes ago, I completed the deal to buy all the windows AND doors, AND hardware, AND just about everything else that used to be in the house, for the sum of $13,600. What a blessing! The previous occupant of the house had removed all the windows, doors, banisters, railings, etc, and put them into storage. To those of you who knew of this problem, thanks for your prayers. There is a bunch of stuff we won't need, so it may be time to introduce the concept of the YARD SALE to Chile.

Everything in the house was top-quality. To give an example, our architect Andrés tells me that each of the 15 or so doorknobs in the house is worth $70 new. Please pray that we will come in under budget, using the excess funds as the seed for the bigger needs coming up.

The church will have a big barbecue on the school parcela on Saturday to celebrate the beginning of tangible work toward the school. The pool is almost ready to go, with new paint and, we hope, a new pump. The parrillas are prepared to receive the steaks and sausages. The tables are rented. It will be a great time of prayer and thanksgiving.

We are in good shape financially to do the restoration of the house, 100% supported by people like you. THANK YOU! We have a long way to go in raising the funds for the second phase, building the classes and infrastructure for K-5 students. We need $1.5 million to pull the trigger. We achieve this simply by 150 donations of $10,000 each. We have received several donations like that, so it's not crazy. Please join with us in prayer and fasting (if you feel so moved) to seek God's direction. Selfishly, I pray that God will move quickly, because we lose a year if we don't see the funds by end of US spring. But we are committed to allowing God to lead this project to an end that glorifies him in Chile and in your hearts.

James & Cheryl Green