Nearly two and a half weeks before the earthquake, Sister Lisa Laycock was awakened in the middle of the night by a spiritual prompting. She did not hear a voice, but the prompting was very clear, as if a voice had spoken: "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." She shared the prompting with her husband in the morning and he immediately began organizing their missionaries to prepare for an earthquake. As they began talking with their mission office staff, they discovered that they were not alone in the prompting they had received. Two other missionaries had been warned in the form of dreams of the need to prepare for the possibility of an earthquake.
Schedules were arranged so that every apartment in the mission could be visited and checked for safety. Elder and Sister Laycock presented each missionary with specific instructions for preparing for an earthquake, including assembling a "go bag," or 36-hour emergency kit, as well as what to do and where to go.
When the earthquake hit, the missionaries were prepared. Because they were prepared, they did not panic or feel the fear experienced by their neighbors. They experienced enough discomfort to be reminded that God has all power and is in charge; that we are nothing without Him and dependent on Him for every breath we take. But in the midst of great pain and suffering, they have witnessed miracles happen every day since the earthquake hit.
All 171 missionaries survived the earthquake unharmed. The weather has been warm with no rain; 6 weeks and counting. The missionaries visit their neighbors, pray with them; bring hope and comfort. They share the water filters they got for their 36-hour kits to provide safe drinking water for those around them drawing water from wells. They translate for American doctors who arrived to set up a mobile hospital. They hand out food and are helping rebuild homes. They make hygiene kits for those who lost everything. Being personally prepared with emergency food and water supplies, the missionaries were able to focus on helping their neighbors and communities.
The quake, one of the biggest ever measured, struck just after 3:30 am local time on February 27, 2010 and lasted for a minute and a half. Aftershocks were felt 2000 miles away in Sao Paulo, Brazil and waves swelled more than six feet above their normal height along the country's long coastline. As much as 80% of some towns in the coastal region have been destroyed by the quake itself or subsequent tsunami waves. Many of the dead were trapped in the wreckage as their homes collapsed around them. Others succumbed to heart attacks brought on by fright.
Earthquakes are not uncommon to Chile, a long, mountainous country nestled between the towering Andes and the Pacific Ocean. Some of the strongest seismic activity ever recorded has occurred here. Still, February's earthquake was the worst in 50 years.
How many were killed in that earthquake? How many were left homeless? How long did it take to apprehend looters, escape prisoners and restore a semblance of law and order? How many days passed before humanitarian aid arrived? How long will it take to rebuild, and at what cost? Are these and other questions like them the most important questions to ask?
