Earthquakes are nothing new to Peru

Little girl wanders through the remains of a neighbor’s home in Llanquiza, about 3 hours from the capital city of Lima


Kirk Noonan just filed this on-location report:

In 1970 a massive quake in the North-Central part of the country killed more than 60,000 people. In 2001 an earthquake wreaked havoc on the city of Arequipa, one of Peru’s major cities. Most recently (on August 15) a 7.9 earthquake rocked this country killing at least 500 people and leaving thousands of Peruvians homeless.

The devastating quake also destroyed at least 15 Assemblies of God churches throughout this country that is tucked among Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and the Pacific Ocean.

Within hours of the earthquake AG representatives in Peru and in the United States were coordinating relief efforts to bring immediate help to those who needed it most.

Food, water, blankets and clothing were the first items distributed by AG missionaries Rich Ferguson and Ronnie Mask, and their teams in the days following the disaster.

“Our efforts are not only for church people, they’re for the communities surrounding our churches,” says Ferguson.

Last Thursday, Ferguson toured the city of Pisco with local pastors. Here, more than 200 people were killed while attending a funeral when the roof of the church they were in collapsed. No AG adherents were among the dead.

But in a nearby village Julio Mitacc, the pastor of The Good Shepherd Church (AG), informs us that two women from his church were crushed to death by a falling wall.

On many fronts there is much work to be done ranging from meeting people’s basic needs to rebuilding churches and homes of pastors and laypeople. Not an easy task when one considers the low wages many of the victims of the earthquake earn (for most less than $8.00 a day).

For an in-depth look and more on-the-scene coverage pick up the November World Missions Edition of TPE.

—Kirk Noonan

Church in Pisco where more than 200 people diedPhotos by Kirk Noonan