That's what friends are for.

The earthquake that shook Costa Rica like a boat at high tide on Jan. 8, was big news all over Central America. Several of our friends in Honduras emailed to make sure we were okay. Liliana, our beloved Spanish teacher, even called us that night. We felt so loved, and we were so grateful to be able to say, "We're okay!"

Another friend, Carlos, called tonight, because he'd heard that there had been other earthquakes. While that's true, the recent quakes have been so much less severe that we look at each other and say, "Did you feel that or did I imagine it?" But it still means so much to us that Carlos and other friends like him are thinking of us!

We are thankful for every one of our wonderful friends who are praying for us. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness!

We're Alright!

Some of you have expressed concern for our safety after the earthquake that hit Costa Rica this afternoon. Thank you! We want you all to know that we are safe and well. At 1:21PM a 6.2 (Richter scale) earthquake hit the area of Alajuela, Heredia, and the Central Valley where San José (the capital of Costa Rica) is located. The epicenter of the earthquake was a few miles from the Poas Volcano.

Our family was at Lindsay’s school at the time. The building began shaking and continued shaking, as if it were swaying on a wave of water, for quite some time (40 seconds according to some reports)! We have become accustomed to feeling small quakes from time to time, mostly at night, but this was much stronger and lasted a lot longer that anything previous. We just heard on the news that this was the strongest tornado felt in the area in the past 20 years.

Reports say that two young girls selling candy to tourists on the road near Poas were killed when they were covered by a mudslide, but we haven’t heard of any other fatalities. Damage in the area around the volcano is pretty severe with dozens of homes damaged or destroyed, 100’s hurt and more than 35 KM of roads destroyed. Reports of damage in the city of San José have been minimal.

We are thankful that Meghan flew out of Costa Rica early this morning, long before the earthquake hit, and is now safely in Chicago. If anything more develops here, we’ll keep you posted.

Please pray that the Lord would protect, especially those who live in unsafe houses.

Grateful for your prayers!
Henry, Marcette, Lindsay & Jordan