As the sun brings early morning light to the island, there's a sense of peace and calm to the outside eye. The night has been anything but peaceful, and many have forfeited hours of sleep to anxiety and alarm. Around 2:30 a.m. we woke up to our bed shaking rather strong and the sure realization that an earthquake was in progress. We held each other, waiting for a much delayed end to the rumbling that seemed much longer than actual seconds that went by. Then it stopped. For obvious reasons, it took awhile to get back to sleep.
Around 5:15 a.m. (and the sun was up!) Ewings - our island friend who is like one of our staff - calls out to Larry, "Are you awake, Larry? Are you awake?" Larry's reply was, "Well, I am now!" Several islanders wanted to know what our computer said about the tsunami that was coming. We laughed and joked about it as the computer was booting and then to our surprise, we found out there really HAD been a tsunami alert, but it had been lifted. The earthquake registered 7.1 (now I am reading reports that say 7.3, if it matters!) and the epicenter was within 50 miles north of us. There was no reported damage on our island, other than TVs and other items that had crashed to the floor in some homes. No one showed up at our medical clinic. But it was the talk on the path. Spanish school was cancelled as we heard all schools in Honduras were cancelled, but our English school was in session. Before our bell rang, a number of younger students told me very excited versions from their viewpoint of waking up in the earthquake. It was great to talk to them and tell them about earthquakes and reassure them that God is in control. He protected us and was gracious, as He is that kind of Father to us. We are thankful the Lord allowed us to "ride the waves" a little differently this time!
