E a Rt H qU aK e - The BI Damage (cont.)

Continued from the previous post...

It was important to visually check each building, each room, each wall, during the first days after the quake. With the daily aftershocks, any damage could continue to get worse.

Daryl and I found some major structural damage to the second story multi-purpose room. The wall behind Daryl on the right had separated and moved towards the neighbor's property.

It was determined that the building was no longer usable, since the structural damage was so severe. Starting next week, we need to set up a temporary wall and tear the damaged wall out. Losing this building just before the Bible Institute classes were to begin was a HUGE blow. A lot needs to get done in the next weeks. Classes have been delayed two weeks, because of the earthquake.

A view through the crack in the wall down to the neighbor's property.

The rest of the entryway roof was torn down on Friday. The neighbor's fire wall needs to be torn down and rebuilt before we can build a new entry. We need to contact the owners of the building next door and ask them about their timetable on this fire wall repair.

This broken fire wall is a dangerous issue for the BI, since it is more than two stories above our entryway. Pray that this will be resolved ASAP.

All of the beautiful green vines were cut down off of the BI wall so we could fully inspect the property wall for any major or minor damages. Thankfully, the vines will grow back in the near future.

Another serious structural issue that was discovered was on the second story of the BI apartment building. This is the building where our mentors, Daryl & Earlynne Thompson, live. At each corner, there is some cracking and separation of the pillars and wall. The wall in between the pillars is starting to lean towards the alleyway.

Standing in the alley, looking at the damaged pillar.

Thank you for your prayers and concern for our family and ministry during these past days. Many have sent emails and Facebook messages with their kind words and questions of how they can help in any practical way. If you would like more information about the BI earthquake project, please contact me via email: davenkris7 (at) gmail (dot) com

In the next post, we will explain what our family is currently doing for the relief effort up in Concepción.