Ben & Jane Mock
Establishing Churches in Ecuador

Saturday, November 9, 2002

Dear Praying Friends,

    Our phone and email service remains erratic, but we are grateful for the calls and notes which have reached us from those expressing concern and assuring us of your supplications on our behalf. The situation with the volcano is quite literally volatile, and in response to your inquiries, here are some more details as to just what is going on:

    The initial eruption of El Reventador ("the bursting one") occurred on Sunday morning, with an energy level surpassing the current activity of Mt. Etna.  The pyroclastic wave and lava flows took out a section of highway, including bridges, and damaged the oil pipeline which provides nearly 70% of the Ecuadorian government's revenue.  A distance of just over 30 miles and a high ridge of the eastern Cordillera of the Andes protect us from the immediate dangers of the cone's output.

    What has made life difficult for those in our area is the immense volume of ash which was produced in the primary explosion and continues to emanate from subsequent bursts.  Dust from El Reventador is now circling the globe, but that which did not make it to the stratosphere and continues to fall locally, though in minute amounts at present, is causing a number of problems.  The first of the fallout appeared as an ominous fog, which hardly came creeping on little cats' feet, looking more like a Michigan blizzard, only this stuff was incandescent and caustic.  The dry material, carrying with it a pervasive smell of rotten eggs, gave way on Tuesday to torrential downpours of acid rain, accompanied with lightening storms which blistered the mountains around us.

    The bad thing about acid rain from volcanic ash is that you are left with acid mud, and this muck is a mess.  It doesn't wash away, but what has gotten into the drains is putting the city's sewer systems in danger of collapse.  When it stops raining, the ash dries quickly and is easily blown about my any movement, especially that of passing cars.  This, of course, continues to provoke severe respiratory problems and eye and skin irritations.  Our water is not good; filters which should last three or hour months are getting clogged in three or four hours on a purification system I have installed on our house.  Perhaps the worst effect of the heavy ash, though, is the havoc it is wreaking on the area's agriculture.  Only yesterday have national authorities recognized that Cayambe has been the area hit most severely in this regard.  Once fertile fields have been converted to wasteland, and what produce is making it to market has skyrocketed in price.  Flower production provides jobs to the vast majority of our area's population, and with 100% of exposed fields, and 30% of greenhouse flowers severely damaged, our people are in for tough times economically.  

    As we have learned through other similar experiences here, trials such as these are calls to reach out with Christ to the hurting, and we are grateful that He has allowed us to be in such a place at such a time.  Please keep praying, and thank you for your support.

In His Care,

Ben and Jane   

P.S.:  The sunsets here, colored with the ash, are unimaginably beautiful.  

Sent by Bethel Baptist Church, Richmond Hill, GA   *   Sent through WBF Mission Agency, Arlington, TX