At least 38 people have been reported killed in twin explosions at stations on Moscow’s metro rail system, reports Al Jazeera.  The first blast took place at the Lubyanka station in the center of the city.  A spokeswoman for Russia’s emergencies ministry, told the news sources; “The blast hit the second carriage of a metro train that stopped at Lubyanka, at 07:56 (03:56 GMT).”  The headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, is located just above Lubyanka station.

A second blast followed at Park Kultury in the southwest of the city.  Moscow authorities believe that the explosions were carried out by two female suicide bombers wearing explosive belts.

ELCA Global Mission has had a long standing relationship with the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (MPC), an international, interdenominational Christian ministry serving the English-speaking community of Moscow. The Chaplaincy was established in 1962 by the National Council of Churches of Christ of the U.S.A. and today has many social ministries serving vulnerable groups in Moscow including refugees, students, elderly and the poor. ELCA Global Mission currently supports the work of MPC soup kitchens, serving more than 200 people a day, five days a week.

Rev. Robert Bronkema, chaplain at the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy, sent the following message early this morning:

We just got news of the bombing on the metro subways stations. So far we have not received any notice of MPC members who have been affected by the blasts but have not been able to contact a number of them. Please keep MPC in your prayers during this time and especially all of the bombing victims and their families.

The blasts occurred on the red line which is the line that we use fairly much on a daily basis. It is also the line where the foreign student university is located and I know of one group of students who were on the line during the blast, but quite a ways away from the actual blast.

We continue to try to reach all of our community. We had to close one of our Soup Kitchens for the day, Kuznetsky Most, which was exactly at the station where the first bomb went off. All the other ministries are running.

May we continue to hold our brothers and sister in Russia in our Holy Week prayers. We pray for those who have died and been wounded. We pray for families and care givers. We pray that we may all turn away from violence and respect the dignity of the other.

Karen Anderson, missionary of the ELCA assigned to EPES writes:While nervous parents lined up to get water from the EPES well, accompanied bychildren too frightened to stay behind at home, the EPES staff produced crayons and paper from office supplies recovered from the disarray, and encouraged thechildren to draw.

“All the drawings and all the talk is about the earthquake,” reports Maria Stella Toro Santiago-based EPES educatorwho traveled to Concepción last week to support the local staff. “The level oftrauma is high.”

In the street, children are taking turns tossing one another about in an old handcart in their newly invented game of “Earthquake and Aftershocks.

— “How strong was that?” someone asks.

— “That was a 9!” the young girl vigorouslyshaking the cart announces, as a little boy relinquishes his space in the hotseat to the next comer.

As the shaking gets more energetic (“That’s an11!” an onlooker announces), the little girl’s bravado crumbles. “That’senough, Karina,” she pleads, “not so strong.”

Bravado,acting out and game-playing are all coping mechanisms that children adopt inthe aftermath of traumatic experiences like Chile’s 8.8 quake, one of thestrongest ever recorded in a country whose deceptively modern facade iscrumbling along social fault lines exposed by the seismic cataclysm.”

The reality is that the trauma caused by the earthquakes and after shocks both in  Chile as well as in Haiti, needs to be adressed. EPES has been working with an organization that is providing them with the tools and skills to work on trauma healing with children. The Lutheran Church in Haiti has in its agenda to do some treauma healing with the communities where they work. Trauma healing is the least that comes up in our minds when we think about disaster reflief but it is a fundamental issue to address. The scars are long lasting.

actually on the ground functioning in Hualpen (the municipality was looted as were the clinics).

We are keeping things going by sending relief teams from Santiago (staff and volunteers) but that means

funding is needed and less people in Santiago where we also have an enormous amount of work to do. Carlos Rauda

who is here funded by the LWF to carry out an assessment will be hosted by EPES in Concepcion as he

works in the region. Food and health kits were distributed from our Center. We are

committed to responding with all the strength, organization, commitment, faith that we have.

We are working with Mercy Corps who approached us because of a former wonderful intern Matt Streng —

EPES is their local partner, to develop a post trauma program for children in Hualpen and other

areas of the region. Comfort for kids is a program they have done in China, Peru, Haiti, etc.

We are also working long, long hours and are faced with situations we have not

handled before.”

Please keep Karen and the EPES staff in your prayers.

On March 11, Rosario Castillo , executive director of EPES informs that the situation in Concepcion became difficult again.There have been strong aftershocks all day and there are rumors that a stronger aftershock will come as well as another tsunami. People are terrified and the level of trauma is overwhelming. EPES continues to treat many, many people whose levels of stress are off the charts.

EPES is trying to pull together a third team to go to the Concepcion area because their staff there needs support from the Santiago office.

Only Dr. Lautaro, director of the Concepcion office is there regularly because the transportation is scarce and other staff is too traumatized to go to work.

Aside from material resources such as water, food, shelter and health kits, the people both in Chile as well as in Haiti, traumatized by the earthquake and aftershocks are in need of our prayers and will need specialized pastoral care in the area of trauma healing. That will be in the hands of our companion church the Evangelical Lutheran church in Chile (IELCH).

A delegation of church leaders is making their way from Santiago to Concepcion, bringing prayers and fellowship in the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.  Here are a few of their reflections. 

Thursday March 4, 2010:

As we departed we joined hands and Pastor President Gloria Rojas of the IELCH (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile) led us in prayer asking God to accompany us throughout the journey. 

In general the trip was calm and faster than we had thought, though we were surprised by the damage to the highway, the large cracks, roads bulging up, bridges that no longer served as bridges and more than one drop in the road to remind us that we needed to take it slow.

3. In Talca our first meeting was in a low income community, where from the outside it did not seem that there had been a lot of damage, but as we listened to people’s testimonies we were surprised by the level of pain and need that was inside the houses.

It is what we call “the Earthquake that Lies”. 

We met with a pastor in Talca, his face still reflected a very painful experience and his strong embrace expressed gratitude for the visit of his brothers and sisters who said: “Pastor, you are not alone, we bring affection, greetings, and solidarity from thousands of people both in Chile and abroad.”

Dear friends, the journey was not tiring, what was tiring was to see the faces of anguish of the people and to hear their fears about aftershocks. But we are encouraged by the testimonies of solidarity, of how they see in us the hope of assistance, but above all what is valued is:  that you are here with us. 

With an embrace, feeling each one you close.

Inter-Church Emergency Committee Chile 2010

 Mary Delasin is one of the Synod Hunger Leaders in Florida-Bahamas Synod.  This Synod has been instrumental in the Haiti Earthquake response as the companion along with the ELCA of the Lutheran Church of Haiti.  I’m sharing a recent note from Mary sent to Hunger Leaders. Thanks Mary for letting me share your note. 

Thanks everyone for the continued prayers and support for Haiti. 

Dan.    (Daniel Rift, Director ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal)

A note from Mary Delasin, Florida-Bahamas Synod :
Lots of exciting things are happening with the Haitian relief effort! Louis Dorvilier, Director of ELCA Disaster Response, is in Haiti right now working with the pastors of Eglise Lutherienne d’Haiti (Lutheran Church of Haiti). It is a model for how accompaniment can work on a grand scale. They are setting priorities together and working together to carry out a plan that is sustainable in the long term. And working to meet the immediate needs of the people in spite of the overwhelming situation. All of the Haitian pastors and people I have spoken to are all very clear, they want sustainable change for the long term this time. They are tired of so many organizations who do not get past immediate aid, and do not work to change life through sustainable solutions. So often things are looked at through the eyes of what we would want vs. what Haitians need to rebuild a better life for generations.

So much of what we learned in (our Hunger work)  is applicable to Haiti.  In seeing close up what those World Hunger and Disaster Response funds support, there isn’t a better way to truly make an imprint on this planet for generations to come. God is good. May He richly bless you all in your work!

Mary