Friday, January 28, 2011

OF EXPLOSIONS...AND EXPLOSIONS!!! (The day the earth shook!)

As explosions happen in ZC, the first thing that comes to mind is terrorism! But it isn't always that way....sometimes very unusual events happen and even if we open our eyes, mind and heart, we are still boggled by the "why?"s, "how?"s, " what ifs" of this occurrence!

The explosion really shook the building (which is about 20 to 50 meters away!)..and the hardiflex of the ceiling fell on my friend...but she is fine now! I covered another friend with me, but I myself didn't really know if what I did was right! She cried of fear and of the unknown since she is not from the place!

We thought after the first explosion, things would be fine...but no! there were several more and that's why patients had to be transferred to a safer place...and eventually, that was outside of the hospital! Miraculously, considering the difficulty for the patients, nothing bad happened! As we look back, God is so good because mostly, casualties were just near hits and superficial injuries and even the transferred patients were resilient. 

It was mostly physical destruction of the building and cars...and emotional shock from each person's experience.

They advised me to drive out of the carpark since the explosions continued. First of all, it was a blessing that my car was parked at the other end of the parking area and it was easy for me to go out.

But outside, where all of the activity was transferred, all the more we appreciate the efforts of the staff who did their best to help the patients out, and of course, all the leaders, civil servants, rescuers and health workers who all did their part.


But, I'd like to share that as we left the hospital and I knew I couldn't do anything there, all I could think of was asking God's help and we proceeded to the Carmelite monastery.
(Did you know, even some pieces of paper fell at the Carmelite grounds and that is really very far away!)

Actually, the convent was already closed, but Sr. Dilla still welcomed us. While we were praying, we could hear the beautiful voices of the sisters...
Lots of thoughts also streamed through my mind...
~~~one of which is how temporary material things are, and they could just disappear in a click!
~~~I worried for the patients and how they were doing...how the staff was helping others, but they, too, needed to care for themselves...for the top management that they may know what to do...and for rescuers that they remain safe!
~~~I also thought of how the Lord makes each of us his instrument and we should pray for enlightenment that we could perform our roles well.
Then, I became less depressed and with a lighter feeling...especially that there were more people praying with us and for us, especially the Carmelites!

Miracles do happen...and even if we are devastated by today's disaster, there are still so many other things we thank the Lord  for and we should open our hearts for more meaningful insights we may gain from this experience!


P.S.
Here is a picture of the front door of our house which is about 300 meters away! So you can imagine what happens 20 to 50 meters away!

1 comment:

  1. scary! I am praying for you and your family's safety. by the way, thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. I a now your follower. hoping for a follow back. :-)

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