Visit to families affected by the earthquake.

The Coordinator of the Office of CPTLN-CHILE-LHM, Marianela Bravo visited families affected by the earthquake in an area close to the office. These are low-income families and will be a long time to build their houses. In addition to support, comfort and delivery of materials like the brochure “Strength for Difficult Times”, the coordinator gave to those people who are suffering the message of hope of our Savior.

Video: Delivering the Message of Hope

The council of local development of the Mafiolletty Health Center,  invited our Lutheran Hour Ministries Office of Chile, to participate in a fair to deliver information to the residents of the sector.

Missionary Omar Kinas

The Director of our Ministry Center received with happiness to the new Missionary Omar Kinas, who is working closely as volunteer of CPTLN-Chile.

ETS Workshop with new volunteers of the Misión-Santiago

This month an ETS Workshop was carried out, dictated by the Director to new volunteers of the Misión- Santiago. These volunteers were prepared with this program to help to reach responses, referrals and connections in Santiago, as well as in the diffusion of the Message of hope.

Lutheran Hour Ministries Prepares Active Response to Chilean Earthquake

Early last week, the Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) director in Chile, Marianela Bravo, met with local leaders and pastors of the Lutheran churches in Valparaiso to decide on a plan of action to deliver much needed material support to those affected. Specific necessities were identified such as food, beds, blankets, water pumps, and construction materials. LHM will also begin to immediately assist in the rebuilding efforts of low-income families in La Granja, La Florida, Ñuñoa, Paine, and Puente Alto, which are towns near the LHM-Chile ministry center in Santiago.

Lutheran Hour Ministries is already printing 10,000 brochures entitled “Strength During Difficult Times,” which will be distributed by volunteers at health centers and other places around the city.

“More than anything, we want to deliver hope to these people, and give them consolation through the message of our Savior, Jesus Christ,” said Bravo, whose home also suffered damage.

Though the worst of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake is past, areas continue to tremble with powerful aftershocks. A tsunami triggered by the earthquake has also caused damage along the coastal region. The Chilean government estimates the cost of repairing the damage to be approximately $30 billion, and that it will take 3-4 years to rebuild affected places.

In the days, weeks, and months ahead, LHM will continue to work through our ministry center in Santiago, along with its church partners, to provide assistance to those affected. Please bookmark this blog at for news updates.

Please pray for the people of Chile and for our staff and volunteers working there. We are asking for monetary donations for our ministry efforts in Chile. If you would like to help support our ministry in Chile and in other countries around the world, please make a contribution online or mail them to:

Lutheran Hour Ministries
Chile Relief
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, MO 63141
Telephone: 1 800-944-3450

Bringing hope in the middle of the desolation. (Earthquake in Chile)

“Be Strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discoyraged, for the Lordyour God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1.9)

God’s words to Joshua served very good to rise the spirits to the challenge facing all Chileans and also in a special way the Lutheran Church.

Looking to the future from the destruction we see in every corner, from the loss of dreams and hours of work is without a doubt a difficult task, because the sadness is shipping to most people, which is anyway moving on.

The pain, fear, tenderness over the loss of houses and intermingle with the words you hear over and over again: “Thank God for saved my life!” But at the same time is perceived, in the disconsolate, that that God is far away, perhaps in the pile of debris that buried the hopes of people.

God is with us in a special way with His grace through Jesus Christ, and taht makes us face the future with hope.

Because there is a job to do, which is to reconstruct the life, the home, the country. But it can not be done without the company of one who does not finish, which endures despite everything and everyone. Hopefully Chileans understand this! Life can not be assumed without God, without God’s grace, without Christ and his forgiveness!

Rev. Cristian Rautenberg, Santiago de Chile

LHM—Chile Meets to Plan Aid for Earthquake Victims

Today the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile will meet in Valparaiso to determine a plan of assistance for those affected by the earthquake that struck early Saturday morning. The Director of the ministry center in Chile, Marianela Bravo Oyarzún, will be attending to represent Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Marianela reports that nearly 800 people have been pronounced dead and many more are still missing, but staff, their families, and members of partner churches are accounted for and unharmed. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the region of Maule, which is 30http://lhmchile.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=3610 km from the LHM office in Santiago. Numerous roads and bridges were destroyed in the disaster, which has rendered several remote villages unreachable at present, and the conditions of those areas are not yet known.

Though the worst of the magnitude-8.8 earthquake is over, the areas continue to tremble with aftershocks of the earthquake, and communications with the LHM—Chile staff are still unstable. In her most recent update, Marianela said, “Let’s keep praying to God for strength and continue to deliver the message of hope to all who suffer.”

In the less chaotic cities, some supermarkets have opened their doors to survivors desperate for food. For other regions, a curfew has been declared to prevent looting.

“Thanks for everything, dear brothers,” says Marianela. “I ask you to keep praying for our country and ask the Lord to give strength to all the families that have lost loved ones.”

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