Elgin pastor helping Chilean quake victims

One week, two earthquakes.

That could sum up life for Henoch Fuentes, a pastor at Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin.

Fuentes helped organize the Salvation Army effort on Feb. 21 to pack 1 million meals to be sent to Haitian quake survivors.

Then, last Saturday, he was caught in the pre-dawn earthquake in Chile while visiting his sister, a church pastor in Rancagua, a city about three hours from the quake's epicenter.

Now, the church, which is still standing, is a place for overnight refuge for about 150 residents and Fuentes is working with the government and relief agencies to get food to the area.

"I have been able to be there (to) comfort and pray for the people," he wrote to his wife, Nidia, in an e-mail last weekend. "This is major devastation."

Nidia Fuentes said her husband flew to his native Chile for his annual trip to visit his sister and to attend the International Covenant Church Convention in Argentina.

Nidia said she finally got in touch with Henoch late Saturday night.

"It was the longest minute ever that he experienced in his life. Everything was falling and shaking," she recalled from her conversation with Henoch. "In a way, I feel it's God's will that he's there."

Nidia said her husband planned to come back March 12 - two days before their 18th anniversary - but now his return date is uncertain.

She didn't panic while trying to reach him Saturday.

"I knew that he is OK. Of course, I wanted to hear from him. Now I am worried because I don't know when he's going to come back," she said.

Nidia said her husband has sent her e-mails from a cyber cafe powered by portable generators. She is praying for his safety and the Chilean people.

"There's no water, no electricity. They want to feed the kids. They can't feed everybody, but at least they can provide for the kids," she said. "There is no transportation between towns. The train is not working. The subway is not working. The roads aren't in good shape."

Jonathan Wilson, pastor at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin, said when church leaders heard about the quake and didn't hear from Fuentes, they called around and activated a prayer tree.

By Sunday's church services, Henoch had contacted his wife and church officials announced to the congregation that he was unharmed.

"It was exciting to hear," Wilson recalled. "Pastor Henoch has been closely involved with many big events in Elgin.