Gempa "earthquake" part 2

My friend just reminded me that I have not written part two of the earthquake story yet. So sorry to keep you hanging!

Okay, so like I was saying...the day after the gempa (Indonesian word meaning "earthquake" pronounced "guhm-pah") was interesting as we were able to watch people who were openly grieving about their city and their family and friends who they were either unsure of their whereabouts or were sure that they were underneath the rubble...It was difficult to totally relate and empathize as we have never lost anyone close to us in that manner. We had just gotten a taste of their culture from being there one day. We did not know these people, and yet the deep cries of sorrow from within we were all too familiar with. The anguish written all over their faces that might not have been able to see hope during those moments were saddening. Grown men were talking to the news reporters and tears streamed down their face as they attempted to recount what had happened and their losses. The news was in Bahasa Indonesian so we had NO idea what they were saying, but our hearts did.

We also got goosebumps when we were watching the news that said that the Ambacang Hotel was destroyed, with 192 guests in addition to the staff working there. This is because when we were at home we were choosing between staying there and a homestay (a house/hostel). The Ambacang was a bit pricier than the homestay, but it had wi-fi in the lobby...It was a real toss up, but the week before we left we just decided to choose the less expensive one to save money. Had we stayed there and had we stayed one more day in the city, chances are we probably would have been in our hotel room when the earthquake hit. Thinking of it now just makes me shake my head in wonder of how God saved/spared us. Amazing...

So, anyway, we continued to check our cell phone and tried to text and call out, but it took forever to have the signal restored. When we finally did have it restored we were thinking only of the people back in Padang, not so much back home in America. However, we quickly found out--through my uncle's, brother-in-law's, and parents' phone calls--that the people back home were quite worried about us. I found that my mom was so distraught that she was unable to go to work the day they found out about the earthquake. We really felt loved when we got calls, emails and saw all the updates on facebook about us. Thank you for your prayers, loved ones.

Back to Indonesia...We wanted to go back to the city, but we heard about the landslides that happened along the windy, mountainous roads that we had just taken. (We were quite protected as we also could have been on those roads during the earthquake and then stranded there.) So, we ended up staying down south for several days.

When we finally did come back, what we saw shocked us. We can only imagine what it must have been like when it actually happened, but the pictures I'll put up here might be able to tell a better story than my words (pictures coming this afternoon!):


Friends, I don't know why this happened. I don't know why it happened while we were there. All I know is that we want to go back.

Now, the city is on the map because before that day I'm sure most of the world had no idea where Padang was. There is even more work that needs to be done. King has told people that pretty much every building has some structural damage, so it will take years to rebuild. It will also take years to build hope into people's lives. Please continue to lift these people up to God. He is the one who can help them and give them the comfort and love they need.

We are also going to be sending out a general update about our trip tomorrow, so thanks for being patient. Things have been interesting and busy since we came back. :) More on that later, as well!