Dear Friends and Family,
As most of you have heard Peru was rocked by a massive earthquake last evening. The quake was a magnitude 7.9. At this point there are more than 330 fatalities and more than a thousand have been injured. The worst hit area was Ica, a city south of Lima. The first quake struck at 6:41 p.m. just as we were heading out the door for church. We usually stay in our apartment for tremors, but this one started so strong that we ran down the steps and to the nearby park. The quake lasted for over two minutes and was shaking violently the entire time We have to admit it was a terrifying experience. People were screaming and crying in the streets. Our neighbors were praying and shouting, “God help us!” Elizabeth was especially scared. It didn’t help that the neighborhood dogs were all howling and running in circles. The sky was filled with huge flashes of light as transformers exploded. The lights flickered on and off during the entire two minutes. It was easy to sense God’s power when we felt the ground rolling like waves under our feet. We praise the Lord that our apartment appears to be undamaged. We see not one crack on the inside and only a couple of tiny cracks outside. I suppose the landlord was honest when she said the building was constructed with tremors in mind. Our bookshelf nearly turned over and books were spilled out. All of the picture frames were dangling and swinging when we came in later. Nick-knacks were scattered about and fallen on the floor. Thankfully nothing was broken. Last night was a tough night for us all. We had tremors almost non-stop the entire night. (We actually have had a tremor while writing this email!) It was hard to not jump out of bed and head outside. During a few of the stronger shakes we heard the neighbors run outside again.
This morning we had time to talk with Daniel and Julie. They are also fine with no damage. Daniel commented that “old time preachers and evangelists” often say they pray for earthquakes. Some great revivals have started right after earthquakes have struck. We are NOT asking you to pray for more earthquakes! It is in experience that we hope to never have again, but we trust can be used now for God’s glory. We’ll head out today and see what witnessing opportunities come our way. Please pray for us today and over the next several days. Every time we hear a plane, a truck or a strange noise we almost jump up to run. I think we are all a little tired from the events of yesterday. Pray especially for Elizabeth, she doesn’t want to leave our side. Olivia probably wondered why we drug her outside in the night to just stand around with the neighbors! Thanks to the dozens of people that have written. We appreciate all of you so very much. Thank you for your prayers and kind support. We continue to have unstable phone communications. Our internet phone is not working. We’ll do our best to stay in touch in the days ahead.
