Predicting Earthquakes

Playing with a friend

RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE - What???  Who is wrapping on our bedroom window? 

“Tom, Megan, wake up!” we hear our neighbor whispering loudly.

Tom goes out to the backdoor in his pjs.  “What’s going on?” He asks, bleary eyed.  Our neighbors are standing in the doorway.  Sleeping children draped over their shoulders, their eight year old swaying groggily at their side.

“Lock everything up in case of robbers, then get your children and get out.  The big earthquake is coming!”

“What?  What are they talking about,” Tom thought.  It took a moment for the language to register.  Finally, finding his words, “What do you mean, an earthquake is coming?”

“A big earthquake.  It’s coming.”  They say.  “Everyone’s going to sleep outside on the street.  Get your children.” 

“But you can’t know if an earthquake is coming.  What are you talking about?”

New cracks out front

By that point Megan has joined us and they explain it all to Megan again. “But you can’t know if an earthquake is coming.  It’s impossible.  I’m from California.  We have many earthquakes there.”  But our neighbors were convinced.  We stood with them in the doorway for a few more minutes and then returned to our beds while they left with their kids to sleep in the street.  It was 3:30am. Needless to say, no earthquake came. 

We have been experiencing a season of seismic activity.  Every couple days we’ve experienced some small tremors.  Nothing big enough to knock things over, but big enough to be felt and heard—and we’ve noticed some new cracks in the cement on our veranda!  But more interesting perhaps is the way of rumors and fear here on the islands.

We learned later that the rumor had begun on the neighboring French island.  Someone started the rumor that “the big one” was on it’s way and people all over that island headed out into the streets around 2am.  It reached our island about an hour later, around 3:00, and in both towns and villages around the islands people moved out of their houses to finish their night out in the open.  The speed and authority with which this rumor spread is somewhat remarkable.  In some places it was announced by loud speakers from mosques.  Ignorance and fear perpetuated the rumor.  We’ve learned that some knew that earthquakes could not be predicted, but many decided to go out anyway—just in case. 

In the aftermath of the earthquakes, an island friend told us, the prayer places have been full of people.  Many who don’t usually pray are going right now.  They are also placing blame for it.  Some say it is because a witch doctor buried a live cow and live cat and the earth is rejecting this dark sacrifice.  Others say it is because of the sinfulness of the people and people not following old traditions.  Classically, some religious leaders are pointing the finger at the sexually promiscuous behavior of women. (Not men, of course!) 

It is another illustration to us of  how the islands are gripped by fears and superstitions.  The ground occasionally rumbles and brings them up to the surface. Meanwhile we try to share our message of peace and hope.

No gas canisters for stove, so time to grill!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful to hear that our sisters are meeting again after a long time of difficult schedule conflicts.  The brothers and sisters have returned from the training safe and well.  We’re hoping they have many positive things to share.  Our colleagues who have been trying to get their visas to live on the French island finally arrived last week after nearly 6 months of trouble.  We are so happy that they’ve made it and to have them close by again.  It sounds like their new house and transition to life on the French island is going well. There hasn’t been any gas canisters (used for stoves/ovens) for a couple months. Our gas canister ran out this past week, but just as we’re writing this post we’ve learned that the gas has arrived!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
These earthquakes aren’t normal for the islands— pray for continued safety and that these earthquakes would stop and not intensify. Continue to pray for the trials of the month of fasting— we have a guide for how to pray this month (email us if you’d like a copy). Our colleagues on the little island have been told by the island government that they do not want them there— they can still pursue a visa via the federal offices on the big island, but it is discouraging to have lost favor with the local authorities. Pray for softened hearts there. Another group working on Clove Island is welcoming a new family in the coming days— pray for them. It is often challenging for families to transition to the new language, culture and climate of the islands, but it could be even harder during the fasting month. Pray for a smooth transition.