“Alarma Sismica”
A single phrase has never caused so much terror before in my life. Of course, the first time I heard it, I had no idea what was going. On September 7, around midnight I was talking with my host cousin when I heard a strange sound outside the window. I asked Mena what it was. We were silent for a moment before she told me it was the “alarma sismica”. I racked my Spanish brain to figure out what that meant. So I made the connection between sismica and seismic, and I figured out it had something to do with earthquakes.
I probably would have started freaking out then, but I had no real experience to know what earthquakes are like. Mena seemed pretty calm about it. I just figured it was something fairly normal. I knew that Mexico has earthquakes. I wasn’t worried, yet.
Mena and I live on the fourth floor in our building. My host mom and her kids live on the third floor. Mena told me she was going to go check on the kids. I grabbed my phone and a jacket and went down to meet her. As I was getting ready to leave my floor, I noticed the building shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was actually the building or if it was just me being paranoid. I continued on my journey downstairs. Once Mena and I realized that it was actually an earthquake that we could actually feel, we woke up the kids and evacuated our apartment building.
The world was shaking, and I was shaking with it. My whole body trembled until well after the earth stopped. My phone started vibrating as well. Messages were coming in from all of my group chats. People were checking that everyone was ok. I responded to let everyone know I was fine, and immediately sent a message to my mom, dad, and brother to let them know there was an earthquake, and I was ok. It was a scary experience, but I thought it would end there.
The fear from the earthquakes did not end on the 7th. It continued because on the 19th there was a second earthquake. One Tuesday a month, I have a meeting with all the missionaries in my mission group. I have to find a substitute for my classes because I’m not in school those days. The 19th happened to be that missionary meeting. September 19, 2017 was the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake that took thousands of lives in Mexico City. Every year on this date, there is an earthquake drill at 11am to remember the lives lost. At 11, we heard the “alarma sismica” and left the building just like we were supposed to. We came back in after a minute and continued on with our meeting. Part of what was covered in the meeting was what to do during an earthquake. So we had our lesson, and the simulation was just like a quiz. I don’t think it crossed any of our minds that there would be an exam that day too.
Just a few hours later, the group of us frantically left the building after feeling the couches beneath us start to tremble. As my entire group stood outside in the street, I watched buildings shake around me. When the ground stopped shaking, I began sending out messages. The very first message I sent was to Anya, the school’s director, to see if the students were all ok. I was so focused on checking on them that I didn’t even ask Anya how she was doing. But, I cannot explain the relief that came over me when I received her message that the students were alright.
The second message I sent out was to my dad to let him know I was ok. So the first thing my dad heard about the earthquake was that I was fine. I had no idea how bad the earthquake actually was until the news reports started coming in. I thank the Lord that He kept me safe during this disaster. I am still devastated by the loss suffered by so many during those days.
The effects of the earthquakes are still felt. My students still jump at unexplained noises because they are afraid it’s going to be the alarm. But recovery is happening. I have never been so proud or so happy to be a part of this country as I was after the earthquakes. As much as I wanted to, I did not immediately go out and help. I couldn’t go out and help. So many volunteers flooded the streets that many were turned away. There were too many volunteers and not enough space. I cannot explain how amazing I think that is.
This past weekend, I was able to go and help in another city in Mexico. I went with my church to help get rid of rubble from a fallen building at our sister church. It was awesome to see everyone come together to do very hard and taxing work. I was able to see how God can bring life out of devastation. These past few weeks have been challenging. Being here has been a lot more work than I was expecting, but I know that I have grown more than I could have pictured. I am able to trust God more now. He continually proves Himself worthy of that trust. I think the main thing that God has taught me through this is that I am not strong enough to handle any of this by myself. I can only deal with this through his strength.
I know I will go through more trials, challenges, and stretching experiences while I’m here, and I find myself looking forward to seeing what God will teach me next.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4