Hello there! I've been having a great time with my parents so far...the time is flying by so fast, but we are all enjoying their visit. I'll have much to catch you all up on after they leave, but for now I just wanted to share a quick story from today....what a day it has been!

It started at 3:12 a.m. as I looked at my watch when I heard Mama Carolyn talking outside. "Did I hear that right?" I thought. Sure enough...it was confirmed when she knocked on my door next, telling me to come outside as Ghana was expecting an earthquake to hit within the next 30 minutes. The strangest thing was that on Tuesday of this week many of my students in HK facebooked me over their concern that I was safe from the earthquake that hit Africa. Well, since it's difficult to keep up with the news here, I did a little quick search on the internet and found out that the earthquake actually hit Haiti, not Africa. So, I assured them that I was okay...Haiti and Africa are pretty far apart. :)

We all came out of our apartments, and all the kids were out of their dorms. We could hear people out and about in the village talking, as we congregated on the steps outside of our apartments-- trying to tune in to a radio station to hear the news. Before we had any luck with that, Pastor Sammy came over and said that the radio station said that the earthquake was no longer expected to happen. Whether or not earthquakes can actually be predicted that closely, I'm not even sure. In fact, I don't think they can. So, we're not sure how the rumor got started but it was on the radios and seemed to spread pretty far, as even our teachers who live 2 hours away were talking about being outside in the middle of the night.

After such a tragic and catastrophic event like the earthquake in Haiti, when a warning like this comes so unexpectantly, it really makes you realize how much we are not in control. Each day is a gift from God and we must live that way, because we never know what the next day will bring. I had all kinds of thoughts running through my mind. I even went back into the apartment to grab a big bag of water, thinking, "What if all the buildings collapsed and our food and water supply was covered? What if we became one of the millions of people focrced to wait in long lines to get relief food and water to survive? What if I had to go days without water?" All kinds of things run through your mind in moments like this, and it really makes you sympathize on a different level with the people in Haiti right now who are struggling to survive, fighting for their lives, and suffering from this terrible tragedy. So, although nothing came of it in Ghana (Praise God!), perhaps He used it to quicken our hearts to have compassion and understanding for the people who were not so blessed. Please join me in praying for the people of Haiti.