More on the Earthquakes

May 30, 2009
After reading the newspaper and checking into some other blogs, it sounds like there have been more than just the one earthquake on Thursday morning. I am pasting in some information from the blog of a North American in La Ceiba who seems to like keeping track of the earthquakes.

La Gringa's BlogicitoLa Gringa's Blogicito: "Here is a summary of the recent Honduran quakes (times are UTC, not local) from the USGS site:


MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s LAT
deg LON
deg DEPTH
km Region
MAP4.62009/05/29 12:51:03 15.359-86.463 10.0 HONDURAS
MAP4.52009/05/29 02:45:44 16.118-87.591 10.0 OFFSHORE HONDURAS
MAP4.82009/05/28 09:06:25 16.353-87.377 10.0 OFFSHORE HONDURAS
MAP7.32009/05/28 08:24:45 16.730-86.209 10.0 OFFSHORE HONDURAS"

*MAP is the measurement on the Richtor Scale

One thing that is amazing is that with all of the earthquakes and tremors, only 6 people have been killed. Part of a major bridge collapses and two other are damaged; 17 people hurt; approximately 100 houses damaged, 10 schools, 6 public buildings, 2 hotels, 3 factories, and 9 churches. The headline of the newspaper said, “!Dios Nos Protegió!” (God Protected Us!)

As for other natural “disasters” or events, the neighbors around the camp are still burning off brush piles on their property so the air pollution continues. It also appears that we are having an invasion of locusts and tree frogs. The latter is a welcome addition to the camp, the former, not so much. This morning I found about 10 locusts chewing the bark off of exposed tree roots. According to the Williamsons these are the same locusts which in past years have taken the foliage off of most of the trees. With the land around us burned, the camp provides the best food source for them. The staff children have been roasting a few of the locust and eating them. I would like to try that… sometime.

The Road Ahead

May 29, 2009

The day is nearing it's end. I have learned a few more details over the course of the day. Apparently an underwater cable that runs from Miami to Honduras was damaged during the quake and for this reason most of the internet providers have nothing to offer at this point. It will take at least 8 days to fix it. So it seems like much of the country will be behind in communication for quite some time. What I wonder is how in the world do you bury cable under the gulf to begin with? Somethings are just beyond my imagination. Camp has internet so I am trying to make use of it before I return to the city tomorrow.

I also learned that there is the potential for at least the tremors to continue until June 11. Today there was one around noon, but I did not feel it. When I get back to the city, I definitely plan to sleep upstairs and not be too concerned. Tomorrow I need to go in search of a skeleton -- of an animal that is. There is one somewhere in the jungle that the group found last week and I have yet to see which would help in identifying it. I also need to finish preparations for next weekend and two activities that I am helping with here at camp.

A Peaceful Night

May 29, 2009

So last night there were no more quakes, at least that I felt. We slept downstairs just in case. This made for a very short night for Lisbeth since she would not sleep with the noise and lights from us moving around. We were up at 5:30AM since we wanted to leave early for camp. It is ironic that I have come to camp to find internet.

Alas the trip here did not go so well since Lisbeth lost her breakfast and milk about 15 minutes before we arrived. I have yet to go clean the car and her. I dropped Evelin off in town at the dentist so I get the joy of clean up. Not something I am looking forward to but it has to be done. Well, I am off to do some cleaning and hopefully put her to sleep so that I can get some work done.

Searching for Internet & Reflections

May 28, 2009 4:30PM

So it has taken me all day to find a place to hook my computer to the internet. Granted I was not looking the whole day but as I was running errands I looked here and there. I will confess that today was one of those days when I would have liked to have a TV so that I could see what had happened. The newspaper had very little news since the quake happened so late in the morning. I could not understand the monotone radio commentary enough to glean much from there so I have been wondering what is going on. From what I have heard from others there have been 4 deaths recorded and numerous houses and buildings with damage. Part of a major bridge collapsed leading into San Pedro from the north.

I have heard rumor that tonight at 7:00PM (9:00PM EST) there could be another quake or aftershock. I pray that the rumor is not true, but do not have time on the internet to look for more information. I cannot quite understand why I had internet immediately following the quake and then it has been out all day but I am thankful that I was able to make an early morning post since I had no idea the quake would make international news.

As I talked with people at the church offices and on the street, the quake was forefront on everyone’s mind. I realized that much of the reason I was not afraid is that besides not really feeling like my life was in danger, death is not the end for me. It is only the beginning of a new life with Christ. Those who do not have the hope of Christ and eternal life will be walking around in much greater fear. I also remember an occasion almost 15 years ago when I was doing an overnight solo in the woods (without a tent) and kept hearing scary noises which I was sure was some dangerous wild animal. At long last I realized that worrying was not going to change anything. If it was my time to die (by being mauled by a bear), then it would happen whether I worried about it or not. And so I managed to fall asleep. I need to apply the concept of not worrying to other areas of my life though and not just in the potential life and death situations.

Tomorrow morning I head out to camp where there is not too much damage. The walls of one of staff houses cracked but it does not appear to be serious. Perhaps more serious out there is the air quality. The landowners around the camp have been burning their fields for over a week and the Williamson’s have been suffering the effects of inhaling smoke for so long. I pray that things clear up there and that no further damage occurs if we would have another quake.

Waking to an Earthquake

May 28, 2009 2:45AM

Ah, waking up at 2:30AM is never fun but perhaps even less so when it is because of an earthquake. In Costa Rica I experienced one or two small tremors and in the moment of the event I always wondered what was happening. This morning was no different. There was a loud noise (like a train rumbling in), wind, and the whole apartment shook. For the first few seconds I did not realize what was happening. When I finally realized what was going on, it was pretty much over. The thoughts that went through my head: "You really should get up and go to the doorway." "Woa, that had to be pretty high on the rictor scale." "There will be an aftershock following, so you should not just stay in bed."

In reality I was tempted to just stay put. I sometimes have this false, naive sense of indestructability. It is not that I think I am indestructible, but I could not imagine a serious earthquake happening here in San Pedro. I got up during the middle of the aftershock and called to Evelin to bring Lisbeth to a safer place. Evelin was scared and nervous (of which I should have been more). It was probably her first experience and when you feel that kind of thing and hear alarms going off all over the city, it is a little unnerving.

After a few minutes of sweating to death because of not being in front of a fan, we left the doorways and headed back to our rooms to sleep. Nervousness is probably keeping her awake, while for me the desire to write has me here at the computer. The time for a morning run will come all too soon.

In reality I feel like there could be some serious damage in some part of the country because it felt like a pretty strong tremor. I will have to wait until the paper comes out later today or until the Prensa gives an online update. I am sure most of San Pedro Sula is glued to the television right now for the news, but since I do not have one, I have to look for information in other places.

Ready for an Adventure

May 23, 2009

It is Saturday and I am back in the city. Yesterday I had another Outdoor Education program and it went well but I am always a bit tired afterwards. This time we worked with 6-9 year olds. They had a shorter attention span and some trouble with understanding all of the English, but it worked out. On Wednesday I had driven out to the Copan Ruins to hang out with a Houghton College Mayterm class and to pick up to Recreation majors who were then coming with me to camp to help with the program. I had hoped for a little hiking time or adventure, but I only did one small hike that I had been on before. It was fun to go for an evening run with a group, a bit like cross country runs in college.

I have been feeling the need for an adventure in the great outdoors. A backpacking trip would be nice but I know that will not happen anytime soon. Maybe a nice long hike if I can find a friend who is interested in going along. It seems like it could be a while until I have a full day off to do something like that though.

Right now I am trying to figure out if a school group is coming next Friday and Saturday. Nothing like last minute decisions. It is getting a little too late for us because of all of the decisions we must make that go along with running the program and providing the food. Monday morning they should know if they have enough students committed to the trip. Until then I sort of plan as if there is a group, all the while knowing that there might not be.

When It Rains, It Pours

May 17, 2009

This motto has seemed to be true during many phases of my life and tonight I decided that it is happening once again. And for once in Honduras I am not talking about literal downpours of water. This evening I received a call from a teacher who came with her school one week ago for an Outdoor Education program. She called to ask whether I could do a program for another school in a little less than 2 weeks, and this time including 3 meals and an overnight. I have had hardly any programs for 2 years and now within the timespan of 5 weeks there are three programs in the working. It is so little compared to what I did in the States but for here in Honduras it is exciting and even a little overwhelming. And so now I am working with Wes, the director, to put together the packet to offer the school. Unfortunately it is not the only thing I need to do for tomorrow morning since I was already working on revising curriculum to work for the 6-9 year old school group coming this next Friday. But I must admit that it is good to be busy and even have time constraints. Of course this means that the other blogs that I had brewing will probably not happen for quite a while and I will be struggling even more to find a day off. For the moment though I am excited. God is beginning a work and He will also provide the strength to see the work completed.

An Outdoor Education Day

May 10, 2009

I am not sure how long it has been since I last wrote and with the internet being down, I cannot check. But a lot has happened this past week. Friday I ran an Outdoor Education program for a group of sixth graders from a bilingual school. It went really well despite some worries about whether the other staff person would be able to find a bus to arrive at camp in time to teach. There was neither rain nor thunder until the moment the students were about to leave when I heard thunder in the distance. Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the day was being able to teach in English. After the first Water class that I taught down by the river I suddenly remembered that yes I can teach and get my point across. I can make spiritual applications that make sense. And yet in Spanish I still struggle to be able to effectively communicate. Even living with a Honduran for the past 4 months has not seemed to help my Spanish all that much. Hence I need to evaluate what I can do to improve my Spanish (and pray for God to loose my tongue in this foreign language) or I need to look for ways to do more in English here in Honduras.

Anyway, the day went really well and the girl who helped me said that on the bus ride home they were all talking about the day and wanting to come back next year. On Thursday just before I had left for camp I learned that another school wants to come in less than two weeks. I hope that they are interested in almost the same program because it would make things much easier. I already have someone trained to help. We will see what comes of my conversation with the administrator tomorrow.

Fast Work

May 6, 2009

Much to my surprise I received word this evening that electric has been restored to camp, 48 hours sooner than the predicted time. Quite awesome! Tomorrow after lunch I head to camp to set up the last few things for the program on Friday. I am excited to not have to put as much effort into planning my meals as I would have if there still was no electricity, especially since tomorrow evening I have to plan for 3 people and a toddler.

This is probably my shortest blog entry ever but it is late and I am ready for sleep more than for rambling on. And so I say, "Good Night!"

All With One Pine Branch

May 4, 2009

I do not want to even begin to think about all of the things I have not yet written about over the past week or two. For now though I will forget the other things and only mention the latest from camp. Yesterday afternoon I drove out to camp and as I passed through Pinalejo I noted that it must have rained, judging by the many puddles on the side of the road. When I pulled into camp and stopped by the Williamson's house to pick up some of my refrigerated foods I discovered just how big the little storm had been. The winds had blown the rain almost horizontal so it entered the downstairs windows even though they are surrounded by a porch. Most signficant though was the that the rain and wind knocked a large branch off of a pine tree and the first thing the branch hit was some electrical cables. The force of the branch hitting the cables caused the pole that was holding them up to snap. The branch then continued its fall and struck the water pipe and sewer pipe which are above ground, passing over a small ravine. It broke both of the latter. And so there was no electric, no water, and in the area of my cabin -- no septic system.

Needless to say instead of plugging in the little fridge in my cabin I reworked my menu plan and helped Cindy accomodate their food in coolers. Last evening we had church by candlelight and lantern in their living room. I felt as if I was camping except that the cabin was my tent. I had to go across camp to use the bathroom and to wash dishes. I decided to forego a shower until I got back to the city in case camp was without water for a while and the staff needed all the water they could get.

I was the lucky one in that I got to return to the city today. The rest of the staff are still there battling the challenges of no electric and juggling when to open the fridge, how to do homeschooling without much computer time, etc... The water and sewer pipes were repaired shortly after I left but the electrcic will be out for several days. It is a 3-day repairation process and first the money has to be found for the project. The Williamsons are running a small generator every few hours to try and keep at least one fridge cold but even the generator is having problems. This coming Friday I have a school going to camp for an Outdoor Education program. It is actually a good thing that it is just a day program in that lack of electric should not be a big deal -- except that we are cooking for them. Somehow the food has to be kept cold until cooked. I will also have to start thinking now about what I will be planning to eat over those three days that I am at camp. The adventures never cease and sometimes I wish that they would. I pray that the repairs will happen quickly and that the Lord will give grace and strength to the families on camp.