April 15, 2010 – Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Mexico have already aided hundreds of families affected by the powerful earthquake which hit northwestern Mexico on April 5. The quake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, killed two people, injured hundreds, and damaged about 5,000 homes in the region. In all, 25,000 lives were disrupted.
No deaths or missing people were reported among the Seventh-day Adventist Church membership, although 135 Adventist families lost their homes and many more are living in shelters, according to Pastor Osvaldo Arrieta, executive secretary for the church in North Mexico.
Five Adventist churches in the region sustained damage, including two, Zaragoza and San Marcos, which suffered extensive damage, says Pastor Adan Dyck, president of the church in the Baja California region. All five buildings remain closed until the state government office clears the structures for occupation.
According to Pastor Edgar Sanchez, local ADRA coordinator in the Baja California region, worship services are being held in small group settings until the churches are deemed safe to enter. Local pastors and elders continue to minister to the needs of members who are living in tents in the surrounding parks and open fields.
“People are afraid to go inside their homes because there are dozens of aftershocks, from the large fault that runs in that area,” says Sanchez. According to reports, as many as 30 aftershocks occurred in just a few days following the earthquake.
But this has not stopped relief efforts.
“Two days after the quake, we distributed some 30 tents,” says Sanchez, who also leads out in Sabbath School and personal ministries in the area. “Our church members from several districts donated blankets, water and other needed items and helped distribute these as well.”
“We were able to distribute over 1,000 food baskets, 500 from ADRA and 500 from churches which sent support to families,” said Rafael Garcia, ADRA Mexico director. “Over 100 volunteers including master guides and pathfinders from eight neighboring church districts prepared ADRA food baskets and distributed them to the affected families in the Valley of Mexicali.”
According to Sanchez, ADRA and the church will distribute more food packets containing corn flour, rice, beans, oil, salt and sugar today and tomorrow.
There are nearly 2,000 Seventh-day Adventist in Mexicali.
View more photos of the response in Mexicali at http://www.flickr.com/photos/interamerica/?saved=1
