Our First Free Flight

Well, we finally managed get free of Pichilemu and the YWAM base, to actually go look at the reality that Chilean victims of the earthquake are living in. This happened on Tuesday. We left at about 4.30 in the afternoon, and drove well over an hour through winding roads and over bridges cracked by the earthquake. One bridge in fact a 2 horizontal splits in it, split cleanly from one side to the other. If another quake hits, that bridge will be unusable.
We went with a completely Latino team from the base, and as we drove the leader, Tio Chelo, told us what happened to some of the villages we were passing through. One place, Cahuil (which is the next town when driving south of Pichilemu), had over 200 homes destroyed. They were all fishermen's home situated along the river leading out to sea. A big wave rolled in, coming to well over 2 meters above the homes, washing everything on the low-lying bank of the river away. A church bench ended up in the toilet of nearby school, and pieces of the homes were found on in hills above.
Tio Chelo and his team are doing whatever they can with the limited resources they have, and he was saying how important it is to make sure all the school buildings are reconstructed and up and running, because the children spend their whole days there, getting food, shelter and an education. At home, their parents have enough on there hands trying to rebuild their homes, and finding food for themselves.
As we headed to the small pueblo, we passed through a small town named Paredones. There most homes we saw had severe structural damage, beyond repair really. They explained to us that this is because the homes are made of cheaper materials like mud and clay, to make them affordable. Unfortunately, this also means, again, that the poorest are also the most impacted by the quakes here.
We got a chance to see what kind of temporary homes the Chilean government is offering the victims of the quake. They consist of 3x6 meter boxes made of thin planks, hardly enough we are told to get people through the cold and rainy winter. See the picture on the left.
The looming winter is really what is making the whole relief effort so urgent. The rains will start within about a month, and will be bad enough by the end of May that the many dirt roads will be unnavigable. This means teams can't go out to help build homes for those needing shelter, and no supplies can be sent out to the families.
The picture to the right shows a sticker posted by the government to assess the extent of damage to the homes in the pueblo we went to. This particular sticker indicates a 'total collapse' of the home, making the home 'unlivable'.
We went to this particular village to give out food, clothing and school materials for the kids, while keeping them entertained with two clowns. Meanwhile the mothers were free to sit with a team from UNICEF to talk about how they were faring after the quake, to receive some tips and be given a listening ear. Some families (like Vicente and his mom, see pic) are currently sleeping outside, without tents in the cold night air of 10 degrees celsius. Luckily, they can still remain dry for now.
On the drive home, we overheard Tio Chelo calling different people, asking for basic supplies like nails and hammers. He also says that there is a shortage of cars to even get able bodies to the villages to help out.

Ness and I meanwhile, are struggling to get our Spanish up to a more conversational level. We would love to get out the villages more often, but transportation is limited right now. So instead we help sort donations at the base, and are talking with a few men leading relief teams, to get a better grip on how the work is being coordinated and where we can fit into all this.
Please, be praying for all the families affected by the quake, and for relief efforts to get coordinated quickly and for more resources!!