South Focus Retreat Begins in Orlando

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 19, 2010  |  No Comments

Jason Brown leads worship as the South Focus Retreat begins.

The South Focus Retreat for Grace Brethren pastors began tonight in Orlando, Fla. Like other Focus Retreats that have been held around the country, it is led by Tom Hocking, moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (and pastor of the Bellflower, Calif., Brethren Church), and is an opportunity for refreshment and reconnection for pastors. Unlike the others, this is held on a weekend — a Friday night and a Saturday to allow bi-vocational pastors to participate. (Others have been held on weekdays.) It is also a smaller retreat, with 12 pastors gathered from around Florida.

Pray for the men this weekend as they study the Word, listen to God, and fellowship with one another.

Marvin Good Obituary

Posted by Terry White on March 17, 2010  |  No Comments

GOOD, Marvin A., 91, of Sebring, Fla., passed away Monday, March 15, 2010, at his home.

He was born February 16, 1919, to Rufus E. and Stella (Wolf) Good in Brecknock Township, Pa., and had been a resident of Sebring since 1988, coming from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was a service technician in the electrical and refrigeration industries and a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army. He enjoyed serving people and fixing things.

Marvin was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, and an active member of Grace Church of Sebring. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Good of Sebring; sons, Bradford K. (Vallrie) Good of Orange Park, Fla., and Kent C. (Becky) Good of Cambodia; brother, Kenneth Good of Lancaster, Pa.; sisters, Bernice Hunsicker of New Holland, Pa., and Hilda (The Rev. Robert) Reichenbach of Harrisburg, Pa.; and grandchildren, Kimberly and Staci.

Memorial services will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 21, 2010, at Grace Church of Sebring, Dr. Randall Smith officiating. In lieu of flowers, friends may contribute to Grace Church of Sebring for local hospice and international missions. Arrangements have been entrusted to Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, Sebring, FL 33870

Lester Pifer’s 70-year Ministry to be Celebrated March 27

Posted by Terry White on March 16, 2010  |  3 Comments

A reception honoring Pastor Lester Pifer’s 70 years in ministry and 90 years of life (so far!) will be held Saturday, March 27, 2–5 p.m., in the commons of the Grace Brethren Church of Worthington (Columbus), Ohio. Pifer is pictured here with his wife, Bonnie.

Everyone is invited to join the senior men’s Bible study, Keenagers, and cancer support group in celebrating this dedicated servant’s heart for introducing people to Jesus!  Pifer served many years heading the church-planting ministry of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches before joining the staff of the Columbus church.

Long-time Member of Lexington, Ohio, GBC Dies

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 16, 2010  |  1 Comment

Betty Curtner, 1917-2010

Today, the Mansfield, Ohio, News Journal carries the obituary of Betty Curtner, a longstanding member of the Grace Brethren Church in Lexington, Ohio. Readers of the BMH Editor’s Blog may remember she was featured in 2007, when at age 89 she signed up to take a class on Prayer and Counseling for Women at Equip07, the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. She wanted to be better prepared to lead Bible studies for younger women. Read the complete post here.

Betty C. Curtner

LEXINGTON: In 1942 a self-motivated and strong willed Betty Curtner walked into an Army recruiting office ready to serve her country. During WWII Betty served in the European Theater in Algiers working in the central postal directory for the Mediterranean Command. While in Algiers, Betty was one of three women sworn into the Women’s Army Corps. by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

On Sunday March 14, 2010, Betty C. Curtner, 92, of Lexington passed away in Mansfield MedCentral Hospital. Born October 23, 1917 in St. Paris, Ohio Betty was the daughter of Howard and Bessie (Graves) Jenks.

Read the complete obituary here.

Saturday’s Plaster Memorial Service to be Streamed Live

Posted by Terry White on March 12, 2010  |  No Comments

Pastor David R. Plaster

The memorial service to be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 13 at the Grace Brethren Church of Worthington (Columbus) Ohio will be streamed live online at  (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dave-plaster) for those who are unable to attend. The stream will begin at 5:45 p.m. EST, and is hosted outside the church.

Book on God at Work in Pro Baseball is Released

Posted by Terry White on March 12, 2010  |  1 Comment

Released: A Story of God’s Power Released in Pro Baseball by Grace College alumnus and former head baseball coach Tom Roy has just been released by BMH Books of Winona Lake, Ind., and is now available for shipping.

The 258-page paperback, liberally illustrated with photos, chronicles the birth and development of Unlimited Potential, Inc., a ministry to professional baseball players which Tom Roy founded and has led since 1979. Today UPI is active on five continents and in some 60 countries and its ministry extends to clinics, baseball chapels, ministry trips to the military, and much more. 

 The book opens with a January, 1978, phone call to Roy from his hero, Hank Aaron, the home run king of the Atlanta Braves. The book goes on to chronicle the growth and impact of the baseball ministry, giving insights into the life of a pro baseball player, special insights from players’ wives, lessons on leadership, and much more.

Sal Bando, former major league baseball play and general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, said, “UPI has been a spiritual resource and spiritual guidance in a very worldly profession. The friendships and community provided by UPI is most needed in the game of life.” All-Star pitcher John Smoltz said, “Without UPI, I would not be the person I am today.”

 More information about UPI and its ministry may be obtained from its web site at www.upi.org. The book, Released, is available wherever Christian books are sold in stores, online, or through BMH Books at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756. The book’s ISBN number is 978-0-88469-269-0 and it retails for $15.99.

If It’s March, There Must be Board Meetings!

Posted by Terry White on March 12, 2010  |  No Comments

March is traditionally the time when boards of the cooperating and national organizations of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches meet. The Brethren Missionary Herald Company board, pictured here, met this week under the leadership of its chair, Dr. Todd Scoles of Marysville, Ohio (Liz Cutler Gates photo)

Other organizations’ boards are meeting as well, including the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation and Grace College and Seminary, whose board will meet in Winona Lake, Indiana March 25-26.

Dr. Ngoumape Reacts to Plaster News

Posted by Terry White on March 9, 2010  |  No Comments

Dr. Francois Ngoumape

It was with great pain that I came to hear about the going home of Dr. Plaster. On behalf of my family, the students and teachers in the Faculté de Théologie Biblique des Frères I would like to express our condolences to you.

Dr. Plaster has been an inspiration for me in the ministry since I came to know him 20 years ago. His last visit to us in October has been so encouraging for us. We spent time talking together about the opportunity for him coming to teach in the seminary with the Aquila project and also his engagement to encourage the James Gribble Leadership Training Center, as the one that decided right away to send the first time in CAR.

God is wonderful and decides as He want to. We thank Him for His love to Dr. Plaster to call him back for the eternal joy. May God comfort all of you. Be assured of our prayers for you all.

Together in the ministry

Dr. Francois NGOUMAPE
Doyen de la FTBF
BP 240 Bangui (R.C.A.)

Columbus Paper Reports on Plaster Death

Posted by Terry White on March 9, 2010  |  No Comments

Here is an excerpt of an article on David Plaster from today’s Columbus (OH) Dispatch newspaper. To read the entire article, click here.

Great Canadian Adventure Invites You!

Posted by Terry White on March 8, 2010  |  No Comments

Come one, come all. Send someone from your church. This will be the beginning of something big! We need you to come help us start a new church in Alberta! – Join Us!

The Great Canadian Adventure DATE: 13-19 June, 2010 TIME: Sunday night – Friday Night LOCATION: Medicine Hat, Alberta GO TO:www.canadianadventure.org

This summer’s missions trip is all about starting something from nothing. We are needing people to come and help us discover who God is working in to lay the foundation for a work in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Join us in prayer walks, surveying and contact making, believing God for a core of families that will join with Shane & Cherly Edwards for a new church!     Your Help is Needed!

Ashland (OH) Grace to Present Family Speaker

Posted by Terry White on March 8, 2010  |  No Comments

The Ashland (Ohio) Grace Brethren Church (Dan Allan, pastor) and Ashland Christian School presents Dr. Voddie Baucham, author of “Family Driven Faith” and “What He Must Be If He Wants to Marry My Daughter”  speaking on “Truth & the Duty of a Christian” on Friday, April 30.

The event on April 30 will be at 7 pm (doors at 6:30) in the Grace Worship Center. Dessert and book signing will follow afterward in the gym. Ticket cost is by donation with limited seating.

To obtain tickets, please contact the Ashland Grace Brethren Church office at 419.289.8334, or stop by (1144 West main St. Ashland) Monday through Friday 8:30-5:00 pm.

Plaster Services Set For Columbus and Winona Lake

Posted by Terry White on March 7, 2010  |  1 Comment

David Plaster, one of the foremost historians of the Grace Brethren movement, is shown here in the summer of 2008 in central Germany on the hill overlooking Schwarzenau, Germany, where Alexander Mack baptized eight believers in August of 1708 to begin the Brethren movement. Plaster was one of the participants in the 300th anniversary celebration in Schwarzenau and led the Brethren Heritage Tour.

The following information currently appears on the CaringBridge site for Columbus Pastor David Plaster, who went to be with the Lord Saturday evening:

We will receive friends from 2-4 and 6-8 pm on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 N. High St. A memorial service will be held at 6 pm on Saturday March 13, 2010 at Grace Brethren Church. 

There will be a viewing on Wednesday, March 10, 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, Warsaw, Indiana, and a memorial service at 6 p.m. on Friday in the Rodeheaver Auditorium  in Winona Lake, Indiana.  More details will be posted later.

In lieu of flowers the family has started a memorial fund in Dave’s honor. Gifts can be sent to the Dave Plaster Memorial Fund c/o GBIM, PO Box 80065 City of Industry, California 91716-8065

Dave Plaster was born in Akron, Ohio, November 6, 1949. He found Christ at the age of eight at the Grace Brethren Church of Canton, OH. He married his college sweetheart Ginny Crees, December 18, 1970.

After completing studies at the University of Lyon, France (1970) and Grace College (1971), he entered Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana.  At that time he became the part-time pastor of Millwood Chapel in Etna Green, IN. After receiving a Masters of Divinity (1974) he and his wife Ginny moved to Armagh, PA where he began the Valley Grace Brethren Church.

In 1979 he returned to Warsaw, Ind., to serve as senior pastor of the Community Grace Brethren Church. In 1984 he completed a Masters of Theology and joined the faculty of Grace Theological Seminary full-time. He received his Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1989. He has served as Academic Dean of Grace Theological Seminary (1988–1991) and Vice President for Academic Affairs for both Grace College and Seminary from 1991-2007. In 1991–92 he was the Moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

 He was senior pastor at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus 2007-2010. He was a valued member of the NCO Ministerium for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Throughout his life two passions have made an impact all around the world mentoring pastors, and foreign missions. He has been a board member of the Grace Brethren International Missions for years.

Dave and Ginny have three grown children: Andy, the oldest (Warsaw, IN); Rachelle, and her husband Brandon Creighton (Warsaw, IN), and Rob and his wife Nichole (Paris, France). They have one granddaughter, Shelly Marie Creighton, who was the light of her Papa’s eyes, and a baby boy Creighton on the way. Dave’s mother, Jane Plaster, resides in his hometown of  Canton, OH.

Family will receive friends from 2-4 and 6-8 pm on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 N. High St., Worthington, Ohio.  A memorial service will be held at 6 pm on Saturday March 13, 2010 at Grace Brethren Church. In lieu of flowers the family has started a memorial fund in Dave’s honor. Gifts can be sent to the Dave Plaster Memorial Fund c/o GBIM, PO Box 80065 City of Industry, California 91716-8065 The family requests that all tributes be submitted to their website at www.caringbridge.org/visit/daveplaster.

David Plaster Home With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on March 7, 2010  |  2 Comments

David Plaster

David Plaster, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Worthington (Columbus), Ohio, is now home with the Lord. Here is a brief note from Plaster’s Caring Bridge site by his son, Rob:

At 9:40PM Saturday night, our Dad went home to be with our Savior. He went quickly, peacefully and quietly.  Details will follow. 
~ Rob for the Family

The family prefers that you do not send flowers a memorial fund has been started in Dad’s honor.

Brethren Digital Archives Board Meets

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 6, 2010  |  No Comments

From left to right are Jeanine Wine, of the archives at Manchester College; Jeff Bach, of the Young Center at Elizabethtown College, Larry Heisey, of the Brethren Heritage Center, Eric Bradley, of the Morgan Library, Grace College, (partially visible), and Ken Shaffer, Brethren Historical Archives.

A new website for the Brethren Digital Archives was unveiled Friday, March 5, as the group’s board met in Winona Lake, Ind., for its Spring meeting. The site, meant to gain more visibility for the developing organization, may ultimately be a portal to gaining access to digitized Brethren publications from the late 19th and the 20th Centuries.

The site, found at brethrendigitalarchives.org, was developed by Eric Bradley, a member of the board representing the Morgan Library at Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind. The board also reviewed sample digital scans from several vendors, analyzed quotes for the first phase of the project, reviewed a promotional brochure, and discussed fund raising options.

The group aims to digitize some or all of the periodicals produced from the beginning of publication to the year 2000 by each of the Brethren groups who trace their origin to the baptism near Schwarzenau, Germany in 1708.

Members of the Brethren Digital Archive Board view a book scanner while touring the HF Group in North Manchester, Ind.

The first publications to be digitized will be those published before 1880, documents that are common to all the groups. They include: Gospel Visitor, Christian Family Companion, Pilgrim, Weekly Pilgrim, Christian Family Companion/Gospel Visitor, and Brethren at Work.

Plans are now being made to raise funds for the first phase, which includes 49 volumes, 1, 504 issues, and 23,000 images or pages. It could cost up to $40,000 for this first phase. 

In 2008, estimates to digitize the entire collection, then estimated at 18 titles and 248,400 pages, were well over $100,000. Since then, more titles have been added, bringing the total magazines, journals, and other publications produced by the Brethren since the mid 1800s until 2000, to more than 35. Included in that number is the Brethren Missionary Herald magazine, the Grace Seminary Spire, and Grace Theological Journal.

A brochure describing the project will soon be available and the group is planning to have a presence, either with a display or available brochures, at several Brethren conferences this summer.

The organization includes representatives of Bethany Seminary/Lilly Library, Richmond, Ind.; Ashland University/Brethren Church Archives, Ashland, Ohio; Brethren Church (The Brethren Evangelist), Ashland, Ohio; the Brethren Heritage Center, Brookville, Ohio; Brethren Historical Archives, Elgin, Ill.; Brethren Life and Thought, Richmond, Ind.; Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Va.; Grace College and Theological Seminary/Morgan Library, Winona Lake, Ind.; Church of the Brethren (Messenger), Elgin, Ill.; Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International (The Voice), Mansfield, Ohio; Dunkard Brethren (Bible Monitor), Stryker, Ohio; Elizabethtown College, High Library, and the Young Center, Elizabethtown, Pa.; Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (Brethren Missionary Herald), Winona Lake, Ind.; Juniata College, Beeghly Library, Huntingdon, Pa.; Brethren Historical Collection, Funderburg Library, Manchester College, North Manchester, Ind.; McPherson College, McPherson, Kan.; Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference (The Testimony), Covington, Ohio; Old German Baptist Brethren (Vindicator), Englewood, Ohio; Old Brethren (The Pilgrim), Tuolumne, Calif.; and University of LaVerne, Wilson Library, LaVerne, Calif.

Chuck Davis Gives Haiti Ministry Update

Posted by Terry White on March 5, 2010  |  No Comments

Chuck Davis of Caribbean Vision Ministries sends this encouraging report:

Thanks for your continued prayers and material assistance for the people of Haiti. Because of people like you their life is being made a little better in the midst of a very tough situation. You know from the national news stories that life is improving some for the people but very slowly. And health issues are becoming an even greater concern as the rainy season approaches. Please continue to pray for the nation of Haiti and please continue to help in any way you can.

 Caribbean Vision Ministries has disbursed over $47,000 of disaster aid directly to those in need in Haiti. More will be on the way shortly. A 24-foot truck full of supplies is on a ship and on its way to Cap Haitien. It should arrive by March 8 and then to be driven directly to Port-au-Prince. The estimated value of these supplies is about $25,000. A 40-foot cargo container is on the same ship as the truck. This container has additional food and supplies and two housing units to provide temporary housing for forty-five orphans. Our first emergency response team will erect the housing units when they arrive on March 12.

We will also be taking appropriate response teams to Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, Haiti during the remainder of 2010. The first team will travel there March 12-22 to take additional supplies and plan for the remainder of 2010. We are teaming with a number of churches and organizations to provide appropriate medical help and ministry in each of the areas.

 The following letter from our friend Pastor Eddy Bazin in Port-au-Prince (Delmas area), whom we have been assisting, was posted on the PCM website recently. I think you will find it very revealing of the situation in Haiti.

Dear friends,

We thank you very much for your love gift toward PCM, our ministry in Haiti.  God has spared our lives to tell us that a greater ministry is knocking at our door. It is that of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked in times like these. We really thank you for sharing this great ministry with us. Haiti has changed for the best all the sudden. More than ever people are getting closer to Christ. There are new converts all over the country. Last Sunday, people begged my wife and I to get out of our vehicle and pray for them. Lots of witchdoctors, wizards, evil-doers are being converted and witchcrafts are being burnt.  From last Sunday to this past one 91 people received Christ at our church alone.

Last month, at a crusade by what used to be the National Palace,  5,000 came to Christ. The government ordered a three-day fasting; but some churches did it for five days. Though the nation is now poorer as ever; people are hungrier for God’s Word and swallow that by the thousands, just unbelievable. As you already know, we are in desperate need for financial help for the church and the school, in Delmas plus an orphanage, which we are trying to help in Fermathe. Every time you’ve put into this work it has been and will always be used very wisely. The guesthouse is safe and is available to Christians coming to Port-au-Prince and needing safe places to stay. Once more; thank you for your support.

 God bless

Eddy and Mirlande Bazin

As you can see God is working in a mighty way in Haiti at this time. We can have a part in helping this work to continue by supplying those who are on the front line in Haiti at this time.

Your prayers for our teams and your gifts to the “Haiti Relief Fund” would be appreciated. Any gifts for the “Haiti Relief Fund” should be sent to Caribbean Vision Ministries, PO Box 18317, Panama City Beach, FL 32417 and noted for the “Haiti Relief Fund.” 100% of your funds will be used to help the suffering people of Haiti.

For His Kingdom,

Dr. Chuck Davis

Executive Director

Recycler Helps Support Philippine Partners

Posted by Terry White on March 4, 2010  |  No Comments

Pastor Chuck Winter in Sunnyside, Washington, sends along this inspiring story:

Lawrence Getsinger, head usher of the Grace Brethren Church in Sunnyside, Washington, continues a long-time recycling ministry using a bin in the church parking lot as a collection point.  Each week he empties the bin of newspapers and magazines, aluminum cans and cardboard. Funds received from the recycling center go towards the ministry of David and Rose Torres, GBC National Missionary Partners in the Philippines.

 This past year, 2009, Lawrence collected 439.81 pounds of aluminum cans, 1353 pounds of cardboard, and 21,937 pounds of newspaper and magazines. That meant $507.95 towards the support of the Torres’ family.

Lawrence has been doing this recycling for as long as I have known him and that stretches back at least 13 years. Each week, come rain or shine or snowfall, he empties the bin, recovers it with the canvas top and delivers the load to the recycler. Over the past 13 years that means only counting newspapers and magazines he has recycled something like 142 tons.

City Honors East Side Trustee, Youth Worker

Posted by Terry White on March 3, 2010  |  No Comments

Whitehall father, husband, mentor lauded by city leaders

By KEVIN CORVO

Whitehall (Ohio) City Council members honored a lifelong resident of the city at their meeting Tuesday, March 2.

City Councilman Chris Rodriguez requested the resolution and appealed to council members to adopt it as an emergency, as Schumacher has colon cancer.

His wife, Joanne, their three daughters, and three of his eight grandchildren attended the meeting to accept the resolution on his behalf.

“Too often we don’t thank people until it’s too late,” said Rodriguez, who met Schumacher when he moved into his Robinwood Avenue residence in 1989.

“(Schumacher) has such love for his family and is a great father and husband,” Rodriguez said.

Schumacher is a member of the East Side Grace Brethren Church, where he has been a trustee and volunteer youth minister.

Auditor Kim Maggard read the resolution to Schumacher’s family and later thanked the family for how Schumacher shares the testimony of Christ with others.

Maggard, like Rodriguez, also was a neighbor of the Schumachers for 16 years until the Maggards moved to another part of Whitehall.

“He is a Christian mentor to so many people,” she said.

An avid sportsman, Schumacher participated in senior softball leagues and was a pitcher for the Columbus Vipers, a softball team for visually impaired or blind players.

Mayor John Wolfe shared knowing Schumacher for about the last 40 years and recalled he pitched for a team sponsored by Walter’s Foods, a former neighborhood grocery store in Whitehall.

Schumacher and his wife have lived in Whitehall for more than 45 years.

Church Planter Assessment Deadline Nearing

Posted by Terry White on March 3, 2010  |  No Comments

The next thorough church planter assessment sponsored by VisionOhio will be held March 30 to April 1 at the Sandberg Leadership Center on the campus of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio.

The assessment consists of three days and 48 hours of assessment, and the deadline for registration is this coming Tuesday, March 9. Additional assessment opportunities will be June 15-17, August 17-19, and December 14-16.

The Resident Assessment Center . . .

• uses trained and experienced assessors with a passion for Christ and His Church.

• takes place in an atmosphere that is comfortable, convenient, and focused on providing the best opportunity for an accurate and reliable assessment.

• invites, even urges, spousal participation because spouses are such an important part of the church planting work.

• produces a thorough, written report for the appropriate parties that will not only clarify one’s potential for church planting, but give helpful suggestions for refinement.

Ron Boehm, NACMI Assessment Coordinator, says, “If you or someone in your denominational/local church setting could benefit from our service, please go to our web site for further details, including cost. To begin the process, go to the Application page and submit a completed form.” Boehm may be contacted at NACMIBoehm@multiplication-training.org.

Dan Thornton to Pastor Hagerstown Maranatha

Posted by Terry White on March 2, 2010  |  1 Comment

Maranatha Brethren Church of Hagerstown, Maryland, this past Wednesday extended a unanimous call to Dan Thornton (pictured) of Soldotna, Alaska, to be its executive pastor. Thornton has accepted the call and he and his wife, Sue, are moving forward with selling the family‘s Alaska home and plan to move to Hagerstown in early summer.

 Thornton said, “We’re impressed with the Maranatha church leadership. My title will be Executive Pastor, with a role that is becoming increasingly common, providing overall ministry leadership and training, while sharing the pulpit with two other excellent preachers.

 “Ron Shank was youth pastor at Maranatha for over 20 years. He is currently chaplain at Brook Lane Mental Health (brooklane.org). John Miller previously led another church in Hagerstown and is currently a missionary with Churches in Missions (churchesinmissions.org). John and Ron have done a great ministry of preaching and providing pastoral leadership for Maranatha during this interim. The three of us will share the preaching responsibility for the church.

 “Josh Fretz (son of former pastor Jay Fretz) is doing a great job as Youth Pastor.”

 Thornton came to Peninsula Grace Brethren Church of Soldotna in 1986 as Pastor of Worship and Administration, becoming Senior Pastor in 1989, serving until 2007.

Chile Updates, Photos Available

Posted by Terry White on March 2, 2010  |  No Comments

Rebecca Wright, who serves with Grace Brethren International Missions in Chile, sends the following contact information for photos and updates on Chileans affected by the recent earthquake:

Thank you all again for your prayers!

People are outside trying to get groceries today, but the supermarkets are letting a limited number of people in and a few of the small businesses were overcharging.  Overall, though, people seem to be picking up the pieces and moving on.  Hopefully this week the church will be able to see what needs there are and work out how we can start helping!

I posted a few pictures on Facebook if you would like to see a bit of what it’s like here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153163&id=513284208&l=c6979d0011