And I'm back in the swing of things! So far the school year is going great and morale is high. This is a happy place these days. Maybe its because I know my time here is limited... or maybe it's because we have some fun new people.. or maybe it's because I'm just feeling like I'm in a better place... I don't know but these are happy days.
Last night however was a different story! I fell into bed and promptly into a deep sleep when I was suddenly awoken at 12:21am! My whole apartment was shaking, my bed was inching across the floor, I could hear people screaming and running down the hallways, I could hear tiles and things cracking and falling. I didn't know what to do! It was totally bizarre. The shaking lasted a good 5-7 minutes! Which doesn't sound like a long time but when your whole house is shaking and tiles are cracking... it's a LONG time! It just kept going and going! I'm on the 25th floor so it's not like I could run outside (which is a bad idea anyway), I can't jump from my window (another terrible idea), I didn't want to run down the staircase because being trapped in a collapsed stairwell with hundreds of screaming Indonesian university students seemed unpleasant... so I just threw on a sweater and poked my head out the door. I figured if my neighbour leaves, I'll leave. He's a smart science teacher type. But he was nowhere to be seen. Instead there were a few maids running around and a couple kids out from next door. They told me that it was an earthquake and their mom was making tea and having a snack so I shouldn't be worried. I told them to come get me if they vacate the building. And then I went back to bed... although didn't really sleep for a long time.
So that was my first earthquake. I found out that it struck deep in the ocean.. about 60kms from Jakarta and was a 7.5!! (although less by the time it traveled). I don't think anyone was hurt at all, we were just freaked out. It lasted a long time!
It was strange last night though, waking up in the middle of the night and having my sleepy mind race with thoughts that I may indeed die if this building crumbles. Realizing that the ground is not solid and there are things we can't control. Realizing just how small I am but also realizing just how important it is that I live every day as though it could be my last. I had a great day on August 8th, spent some quality time with God, told a lot of people I loved them but I'm really glad it wasn't my last one here on earth. So while this whole thing was actually quite terrifying and exciting, it was an excellent reminder of the importance of living every day for God and how quickly everything can change!
3 comments:
well, after that entry this comment will seem fairly lame. Suffice it to say that I'm quite pleased to know you are fine, shaken but fine. I was going to recommend a book to you when I came here today, so let's see if I can tie that in to your 'earth shattering' experience. Yes, I think I can do it. You ought to read a book called "Conversations with the fat girl". It is a funny book, with some deep thoughts. Like you said, choosing the life you want to live, choosing to live today the way you'd be pleased about. Except it is really funny too. However, I will add a disclaimer. The character in the story has a REAL potty mouth. So if you read it, forget that I was your youth leader a million years ago, and tell your dad you had your eyes closed the whole time you read it. In fact, tell him that I didn't even know what half of those words mean. ha ha ha. Still it was a bit of how I felt growing up, and it made me think of you and I always being partners together in those dreadful "pick up your partner" youth group games so that only you and I would ever know how heavy we thought we were. Maybe you can't even find this book while you are in South America (ha ha again), but if you can, and if you do, let me know what you think. Love you!
P.S. sorry this comment is so long.
P.S.S. no, I guess I'm not really. I mean, if I was sorry wouldn't I go back and edit out a whole lot of it? :-)
When I saw the title of this post I thought it was going to be about you getting kissed by a boy!
Barb- I will definitely look for that book! Ah the good ol youth group days! I am so glad I had you there with me! And I love that you used the word "Suffice".. not done nearly enough these days!
Dave - HA! Posts like that won't be occurring until I start writing this blog from another country! Stay tuned...
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