Shake, Rattle, and Roll or El Terremoto

The last few weeks we have experienced 3 major earthquakes.

1. An 8.1 in Chiapas/Oaxaca on Sept.7
2. A 7.1 in Mexico City and surrounding areas on Sept. 19
3. And a 6.1 in Oaxaca again on Sept. 23

We felt the 1st (it woke us up and we quickly turned on the TV to find out more).  The 2^nd we felt much more strongly (pictures fell off the wall, alarms went off, and we evacuated the building).  The 3^rd was early in the morning before we got up.  We didn’t feel it, but we still had to evacuate while most of us were still in our jammies. These were all rather sobering experiences, with a touch of wonder and concern for the unknown thrown in for good measure.  Now that the dust has settled (literally) I can assure you that we are safe in our little section of the city.  But much of the city and the surrounding cities and towns have been severely affected.  Thousands have lost their homes, over 400 have lost their lives, 100’s have lost their businesses and livelihoods, and almost all of us have been touched in some meaningful way.

            I saw a clip from a talk show the other day that captured a lot of the experiences here.  The Mexican celebrity who witnessed a building collapse in front of him, went on to explain that the Mexican’s knew their government could not be counted on to help much.  But instead of running away to safety from the explosion, people ran towards the building to see how they could help.  Individuals immediately tried to rescue and help those trapped.  Others brought food to those helping, and others were there to comfort whoever needed it.  There was such a huge and quick outpouring of charity in Mexico City that they had to send people away who wanted to help.  They had more help than they could use.

            We were glued to the TV to see what was happening since it was difficult to get of our own neighborhood, with roads clogged, traffic backed up for hours, and many areas blocked off completely.  Those parts most affected were the areas with older buildings that were not up to current earthquake codes.  The big fancy skyscrapers in our beautiful downtown swayed back and forth (scaring the wits out of the people inside) but they all weathered the quake quite well.

            I have been touched by the concern, resilience, and action displayed by the Mexican people here.  It only increases my esteem for the Mexican people whom I have come to love and admire this last year and a half on our mission.

            I have been privileged to help a few different times and everyone’s friendliness and concern were amazing.  We have cooked and delivered meals to helpers in damaged areas, and put together relief packages from the myriad of donations received in the Cuernavaca area.

            The many disasters that have fallen throughout the world the last few months are hard to believe. They make us aware of how vulnerable we all are no matter where we are.  I hope these experiences can help us find inner strength when we need it, and that we may all witness and appreciate the many angels among us.

Baby food and juices that we were separating into emergency bags for families

Busy filling bags for earthquake affected families

Armored vehicle at the federal police station in Cuernavaca where we were filling bags for distribution .  This was exhausting, but fun work.

It was raining outside as we worked under these tarps.  As you can see there were tons of food and personal supplies to be bagged.

2nd day of service was in a small area at the edge of Mexico City.  Here we brought food and fed hoards (or at least it seemed like it).

Workers at an earthquake site where we were feeding them food.

Serving food to hungry workers and volunteers.

Troop of missionaries helping with cleanup

The small contingency from our ward here.  The kids were out of school for 2 weeks to make sure their buildings were safe, so we had many of them with us on both projects.  They were wonderful.

Some images of the destruction here in Mexico City