Devastating pictures of the Chilean earthquake 8.8 on the ricter scale...
As many of you know, I was a Missionary in Chile for 18 months. I lived in and around Santiago (the capital). So you can imagine how my heart jumped into my throat when I heard about the disasterous 8.8 magnatude earthquake which hit there. And, there were many many many secondary quakes. The last count that I heard was 70! I've got some very dear friends down there, people who are as dear to me as family, and I'm terribly worried about them. Fortunately, they're mostly in Santiago, not Concepcion, which was the worst hit. But, that doesn't mean they're out of danger!
I woke up that morning February 27th, to CNN covering this massive quake that hit my beloved Chile...I must have stared at the t.v. and cried for a good 4 hours. I emailed, facebooked, and did pretty much everything I could to try and get a hold of someone from there to make sure they were ok. My heart felt like it was ripped out of my chest and I felt so helpless. The news was covering the city and the big buildings and businesses, but my heart and mind was with the millions of families living in shacks that I knew, the people that I served with, the people that I loved. I kept wondering and asking myself if they were ok, if anyone was hurt, if their houses were still standing.
I had a long list of things to do that day, but nothing seemed as important to me at that time as finding out about my people. I spent the good part of the day trying to get a hold of someone, anyone....but had no success. Finally, I heard from Evelyn....a young woman in one of the wards I served in. She was ok and so was all her family, but she said it was terrifying to be woken up and 3 in the morning to incredible shaking. I can't even imagine. Throughout the rest of that day and week, I was able to get a hold of more of my Chilean people. Everyone is ok. Some houses are ruined, but those can be rebuilt.
Serving and living among the Chileans for 18 months makes them my home and my family...so when this tragedy happened, it hit home for me. I'm so grateful that nobody I knew personally lost their lives that day.
Even though it happened a while ago, there are still people who did lose loved ones and millions of people that are homeless, so please spare a thought and prayer for the Chilean people!
2 comments:
When were you there? My brother served in the Santiago, Chile East mission...Eric Brown...maybe before you, 1997-ish I think. It's so sad the many recent disasters that have happened. He was trying to get a hold of a woman named Isaleina, she was like a mom to him...he even named his daughter after her.
We definitely will keep them in our prayers! Thanks Monica!
I was there from 2000-2002.... so he was a little bit before me. Yeah I agree that it's crazy how many recent disasters are happening. I was teaching a lesson on Sodom and Gommorah a couple Sunday's ago in Sunday School....it's crazy to see how evil the world is now...sounds worse than back then. It's scary! That's awesome your brother served there...I'm sure he had the same feelings as I did when he heard about the quake. Thanks Ane!
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