‘God is with them’: Wildfire response in Chile

Resident Marcos Olivares is surrounded by seminarians and pastors from Argentina and Bolivia as they pray together with other residents outside Olivares’ home on the hillsides of Valparaíso. The seminarians rebuilt the home after wildfires destroyed the neighborhood. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Sarah Reinsel

In February, the most devastating wildfires ever seen in Chile swept through the hills surrounding two major cities, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.

Over the past few months, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has followed through with its strategic plan, which included providing 40,000 meals to underserved families in Viña del Mar, supporting 50 families with emergency medical supplies and personal care and hygiene products, supplying 100 families with construction materials for rebuilding homes, and purchasing a minivan for transportation and food delivery in and around Viña del Mar.

Now, efforts to rebuild burned out areas are well underway. Though blackened house frames and melted cars can still be seen all over the hillsides, new growth on trees is starting to appear, and fresh plywood walls give shape to houses once more. To replace street signs and house numbers, Chilean flags are flown above many residences, with the house address and family name written on them in black marker.

In May, Argentinian and Bolivian seminary students traveled to Valparaíso to assist with rebuilding homes and providing spiritual care to victims of the fire by praying with them and handing out Bibles. These short-term trips help the seminary students learn about mercy work as well.

Pastors from the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile have been providing pastoral care to victims ever since the fire. The Rev. Marcelo Rivas, a pastor in Valparaíso, said that at first, it was hard to find words of comfort — he knew he couldn’t simply tell victims “that everything was going to be OK … because we live in a reality of sin and weakness.”

“Finally I realized that on my own, I don’t have anything good to say to anybody. It’s better to take your Bible and read the words of God. … It was really complicated thinking through what I had to say … [but] I realized I don’t want to say [anything] in my own words. … And I could say to [the victims], ‘Through the Word of God, you are not alone.’ ”

“The Lutheran response is constant,” said the Rev. Pablo Gonzalez, who serves in Santiago, Chile. “And of course, we have the Gospel of Jesus … and that’s our special help. That’s why we pray with [victims] and encourage them to look at their sufferings in the light of Christ … He is here with us through [His] suffering … on the cross. He takes our suffering as His own. Our work is to get people to see how God is with them.”

Watch a video about the response in Chile:

Lutheran Mission of Mercy in Chile from VimeoLCMS on Vimeo.

Posted July 3, 2024/Updated Aug. 13, 2024