ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE SHAKES BUILDINGS AND LIVES

Pastor Andrew Thomas from the Apostolic Church in Italy writes concerning the recent earthquake, ‘The earthquake which hit Abruzzo, (where we live), was more serious than the local population expected. It is a mountain region, and has always experienced some minor or greater quakes, even in the last year there were several small tremors. Houses have been built according to some recent anti-quake laws, and everybody thought they would be safe.

As it is, the death-toll is around 300 dead, but it could well have been far greater: over sixty people were dug out of the rubble alive because of the speed of the rescue operation. At latest estimates, about 30% of all homes in L'Aquila and surrounding area are either destroyed or unusable. Though it is about 180 miles from our home, several people in our suburb felt the quake (we didn't, it happened at 3.30 in the early Monday morning).

We have four apostolic churches in Abruzzo, and the pastor of our church in Pescara has been named as Area Co-ordinator for all the evangelical churches in the region (around 20). They will be looking after four small refugee camps with food and clothing which we shall all be providing together with the relief agencies.

In one of our assemblies (Montorio) a brother's car was crushed by falling masonry from the belltower, and a niece of one of the church sisters was a student in the university hostel in L'Aquila and was among those killed; in Pescara the AoG church collapsed and a young girl, daughter of a Romanian couple in the church, was also killed. That is all the losses as far as we know. We trust that this delicate moment will be a key to unlock hearts in Abruzzo, a traditionally Catholic region steeped in religious observance without any real life. Thank you for your interest and prayers.’

There are 120 Apostolic Churches in Italy.