Shelters for Chilean families yield ‘open door’ for witness
TIRUA, Chile (BP)--Wiping tears from her eyes, the 21-year-old mother thanked Baptists for providing shelter for her family. 
"I want to give thanks to everyone for this shelter," Rosa Inostroza de Santibañez said of the 10-by-20-foot structure with wood walls and a tin roof for her family in Tirua, Chile. "We are very thankful. We are going to sleep under a roof tonight and not on the ground."
She and her family had been living in a makeshift lean-to pieced together by her husband Rodrigo after the family had to run for higher ground to escape an earthquake-induced tsunami Feb. 27.
"We didn't know what we would have done if you hadn't come," Rosa said of the Chilean Baptists and volunteers from Second Baptist Church in Russellville, Ark., who delivered the shelter March 24. "We didn't have any other options open to us."
Early in the morning of Feb. 27, an earthquake crumbled their roof. Less than an hour later a tsunami crashed into their Pacific coast town.
Rosa and Rodrigo grabbed their 2-year-old daughter while Rosa's mother, Luz, pushed her 30-year-old wheelchair-bound daughter up a steep hill amid neighbors running and cars racing to escape the wave.
The older daughter is living with other relatives, while Luz stays with Rosa and her family on the hill. They had been sleeping in a tarp-covered enclosure just large enough to hold two twin-sized mattresses pushed together. They've salvaged some of their belongings by making trips on foot up and down the hill to get dishes and blankets.
Iranian ponders Islam, Christianity
TEHRAN, Iran (BP)–“When one limb aches, the whole body aches. You who are not troubled by the troubles of others, should not be called the children of Adam,” says Ali*, quoting the 13th-century Iranian poet Sa’di. To Christians, that is a reference to 1 Corinthians 12. To Ali, Christian traditions borrow from Iranian ones, rather […]
Reaching into Iran with the Gospel
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supplements Cooperative Program giving to support more than 5,600 Southern Baptist missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas. This year’s offering goal is $175 million. The 2009 Lottie Moon offering theme is “Who’s Missing, Whose Mission?” It focuses on overcoming barriers to hearing and accepting the Gospel in […]
Iranian couple risk all to follow Christ
TEHRAN, Iran (BP)–Davoud* felt so disillusioned with life that he sank into a deep depression. He wasn’t destitute. Far from it. Davoud was successful in Iran’s entertainment industry. He brokered motion picture deals and created artwork that hung above fireplaces in the capital city of Tehran. He had a good home life. He loved his […]
