It all started as a normal Saturday morning.
My husband yanking me out of bed so we won't be late for the Nepali church service. I got dressed quickly but had a strong urge that we should eat breakfast. My husband was concerned it would make us late for our church but finally agreed and cooked something up for me while I packed up my purse. I grabbed my water bottle and thought, I don't usually even drink this at church. Maybe I won't bring one today. I looked at my sweater. Will I need this? Well, this can't hurt. Sometimes I get cold. Umbrella? Who knows. Hmm. Snacks… oh, here is a snicker bar that will do. (My usual thoughts when leaving the house even when I lived in the USA).
We ended up being late for our church as Simon had feared; thus, Simon and I sat outside and listened from there. When the service seemed to be getting to a close, I leaned over and asked Simon to check the time. "11:56." He replied.
It must have been seconds later that I heard a loud sound.
It sounded like thunder coming from under the ground. Simon grabbed my arm in a panic.
"GET ON THE GROUND… IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!!!"
He managed to scream out before the shaking became too violent. Even though he was screaming, it was only faintly heard due to the thundering sound coming from beneath us.
Shock slowly began welling up inside me.
I looked up as I started to try to stand up from the chair I had been sitting on. "Earthquake… what's an earthquake…" My brain couldn't process this so quickly, as it seemed. Suddenly, my body was thrown to the ground. Fear welled up inside of me.
I looked around and saw sturdy men and women being thrown around like rag dolls.
And the noise. Oh, the noise. It was loud and rumbling. The screaming of the people. The terror that was around me. Was this the end? Simon pulls my arm and yells, "we need to get to an open space quick." I still can't process.. I can't figure out this terrible feeling of having no control. I felt sick. I felt like I had been pushed onto the world's worst roller coaster and there was no getting off. My body kept being thrown. I couldn't stand. I couldn't move. Neither could Simon. I leaned my body against him as we both fell toward the ground.
He leaned against a small wall as I leaned against his body. I remember looking up and seeing the people. Some were crying. Some were praying. Some just had a look of terror on their faces. The shaking felt like it went on for ages. It seemed to slow down a little bit so Simon and I crawled to a more open space and then the shaking continued and I fell flat on my face. I waited there until it was finally over and then I pushed myself up. I felt dizzy and confused. I looked around and found my mother in law. She ran to me as we embraced each other. We held each other tight both feeling shocked and confused.
At that moment, a small boy walked by us with blood all over his face, arms, and chest. He wasn't crying. He just patiently looked for his mother. My mother-in-law saw him first and she bent down toward him and then motioned for him to go to a more open space. At that moment, I realized why he was all bloody.
There was a wall that had fallen over onto the small children's ministry. All the men (including Simon) worked hard to pry this heavy wall up. They finally got it up and found that all the children had escaped! Something we will never understand. Only two people (one child and one teenager) were injured from that wall falling. I found the teenager and asked if she wanted us to take her to a doctor as she was limping. She said no, she just wanted to be with her family. We all stood around for a minute until I felt a push from behind me. It was my sister in law. "We all need to get out of here and into an open space! Go!!!"
My shocked mind couldn't process what she was saying. It's over though, isn't it? I kept thinking. But I followed orders. I was in too much of a shocked state to protest. We went to the street and it wasn't long before the next jolt put us to the ground. I looked around and saw people crying. There was one woman, in particular, that has been imprinted into my memory forever. Tears flowed from her eyes as she bent down in complete fear.
I heard sirens and looked to see about 10 or more Nepali policemen running down the road towards my in-laws house.
I felt fear.
I wanted to go down there and look to see what had happened, but the shocks kept coming. Finally, we had 10 or so minutes of stillness. We thought it was over. We decided to go to my in-law's home.
We had just arrived when we were nearly knocked on our feet again.
"Pheri Aaiyo!"
We heard a Nepali man shout. That means "It came again!"
We quickly ran to a nearby field and remained there for the next 5 or 6 hours. Simon went to a nearby shop to buy some snacks and water. We hadn't had lunch and were all hungry and thirsty. There was a house behind us that had collapsed with over 20 people inside. There were walls fallen down everywhere. There were people with injuries and wounds. There was a sense of fear seeping into the soil underneath us. But we could do nothing except sit as the shocks kept coming. We shared our water supply with other campers. There were people everywhere. Some looked calm and others looked terrified. We began panicking again when the clouds darkened. The shakes from underneath us kept coming so we couldn't sleep indoors, but we needed shelter. Thank God for a basketball court that the international school that I work at built. It was built with earthquakes in mind. We went there and spent the next 4 nights camping there as many shocks kept us alert and not ready to go home. We were not the only ones who sought shelter there. I believe there were over 200 people sleeping on one basketball court. It was a tight fit but great to know that so many people could take refuge. Our condition was way better than others who had extremely unsanitary conditions. I have heard of incidents of rape and sicknesses under the tarps that people were taking refuge under. With nowhere else to go, the people would have to use the bathroom nearby their sleeping and eating place. It was worse for them than it was for us. We slept on the ground, yes. But there were toilets we could use and even though they got pretty nasty… it was more sanitary than others.
Two nights ago, we spent our first night in our home and felt 2 tremors at night and one in the morning. Last night there was yet another tremor at 3am, leaving Nepal in a continued state of panic. But the real concern is getting relief to those in the villages who do not have the same story as mine.
Please pray for Nepal.
Please consider donating to the relief funds for Nepal.
Thank you so much.
Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
