Shaking things up!

I'm sure by now most of you have heard about the earthquake in Haiti. I figured that would be the topic of interest, even though there is SO MUCH I could say, I will tell you how yesterday went.

We were wrapping up for the day, putting our last kids back in the nursery and cleaning up the balcony, which is where I was. I was tidying up when all of a sudden the ground shook.... and shook, and shook. They say it only lasted 40 seconds, but it felt so much longer. The house swayed so precariously that I felt like it was going to topple. Up on the balcony, toys were sliding around, people scrambled to grab the kids and then something solid to hold onto. We saw dust rising from the places on the mountainside where houses were collapsing. When it finally stopped, we were all silent for a minute until the shock settled and we started all talking at once. We went to the nursery at once to calm the kids, who were all of course very frightened and crying. I think we all had three in our arms. When we finally went downstairs, we saw evidence of the destruction. The dish cabinet was open and there was broken glass everywhere. Large appliances had been moved from the wall, and many of the statues littered the floor in pieces. Supper was on the floor.
Miraculously, there was no damage to the building itself, and all of the fulltime workers, volunteers, families, nannies and children came out unscathed, except for being very shaken up.
We took all the kids outside on the driveway, throwing down blankets and towels and congregating. We sat there for probably four hours, while the nannies sang praises in creole. (The only one I recognized was How Great Thou Art) We held the kids until they started falling asleep. I held a few different kids, but ended up with one little girl. It took a while but she eventually fell asleep. I was going to put her down with the other kids but when I tried, she woke up and her face crumpled. She clawed at my arms and tried to get back into my arms, and my heart broke so I picked her up again. When I had to drop her off at the nursery at the end of the night, I left with a heavy heart.

It was a long night to say the least. I am on the top bunk of an already rickety bunker and the aftershocks woke me up frequently. Today we are not working with our kids, rather we are in the nursery as most of the nannies have gone home to be with family.

Keep praying for us and the rest of Haiti... it's devastating to see how little these people had taken away in less than a minute!

If I learned anything from this experience, it is this: When the earth trembles and building topple, my God remains unshaken. And so my faith remains in the hands of God, unmoved and unwavering because He kept us safe. He was here when the ground shook.