Earthquake.

I learned a new word yesterday... Terremoto which means big scary earthquake!

Remember my last post when I was on the bus heading to Xela yesterday morning and was so excited about getting here? Well about an hour after I arrived a 7.4 earthquake hit Guatemala about 30 miles away from where I was. Luckily, I had already been picked up from the bus terminal by Archy and was at his home with his 2 children when it hit. We had just finished taking the tour of the house and were sitting in the kitchen talking when the house started shaking. We just starred at each other until things started falling over. That is when we grabbed both of his sons and ran outside onto the patio. I am not sure how long it lasted, but it was long enough for us to sit there in shock until we figured out we needed to get outside, find the boys and run outside, then stand there until it stopped. Besides a lot of things falling over in his house there didn't seem to be other damage, but his neighbors house got a huge crack in the side. A few weeks ago we had a small one at the clinic which most people didn't even feel, but other than that I have never experienced anything like that before. All of the Guatemalans that I have talked to said that that was the strongest one they have ever felt. One translator, Jose, that I'm friends with told me that he ran out of the house screaming like a girl to which I replied yo tambien (I also).

The last major earthquake that hit Guatemala was in 1976 and killed 23,000 and injuring 76,000 people. Luckily, the structures are built better now, so the damage wont be near as bad. However, the area with the most damage is the village of San Marcos. As soon as we could we started watching the news and checking online for reports of damage. As of this morning the death toll is up to 48 with hundreds injured seeking treatment and hundreds more still missing. Many houses, schools, and other buildings collapsed in that area, so the photos of damage from the quake is terrifying. I was thinking about it last night and with my job at the church I spent hours and hours looking at photographs of damage from earthquakes. However, I was always looking at the footage from the safety of being in Houston. It is a complete different experience watching footage and hearing about the damage when it happened just 30 minutes away from me. We have patients that come to our clinics from San Marcos. I just keep thinking about them and wondering if any of the smiling faces I see in our hallways everyday are the ones now left homeless and wondering if their loved ones are safe.

Right now I am at the Guatemala Tours office in Xela, and there is broken glass from the earthquake. So thankful I was at home with Archy where at least I could feel somewhat safe and not in a mall with thousands of people running around screaming and glass breaking overhead. In case you can't tell I'm beyond over earthquakes!

Please continue to keep the people of Guatemala in your prayers. Also if you are looking for one more prayer item please pray that I can stop shaking. I really need to just calm down and trust that everything will be ok.