Reflections: My Family’s One Year Anniversary Surviving the 7.8 Quake in Nepal

A week and a half ago I woke up to Facebook notifications that 3 friends were safe in the effected areas of the Myanmar earthquake.

I realized that it had been almost a year since the earthquake in Nepal. Now a year later looking back it seems like such a bizarre experience, like a movie, full of terror, tragedy, heroism and teamwork.

Flashbacks started running through my mind of panicked individuals and groups who decided what their personal, family and organization response would be.

I’ve been in a time of reflection. This was one of the most traumatic experiences a family overseas could live through. However, we feel greatly privileged to have been part of a team of extremely gifted and seasoned people to help coordinate efforts to rescue and rebuild. We felt like hobbits in the world of elves.

This was one of the most traumatic experiences a family overseas could live through. However, we feel greatly privileged to have been part of a team of extremely gifted and seasoned people to help coordinate efforts to rescue and rebuild. We felt like hobbits in the world of elves.

For the Nepali people in Kathmandu many huddled in their family and tribal groups for primarily emotional survival. In effected villages all the homes were destroyed, and most were paralyzed by fear and did not know how to rebuild in a way that would sustain the heavy aftershocks. Many courageous locals joined efforts to bring relief to the hardest-hit areas.

The heart of the expat community is clearly exposed when any crisis hits. The United States Embassy was offering free one-way tickets home and warned that homes with any hairline cracks were not fit to be inhabited. Many foreigners left Nepal, saying they would come back when the situation was more clear, or that it was simply their time to go. Others stayed and worked on personal survival. Others stayed, also struggled, but came together and acted quickly with clarity of mind, unity of heart, and a belief that there was a future and a hope and they were part of it.

There are many crises happening around the globe now. Mynamar, Ecuador, and Japan have all experienced major 6.8+ quakes in the last week. The Syrian refugee crisis is just 3 million people short of be the largest mass migration in recorded history. Chicago has experienced a record number of shootings since the beginning of the year. And many large nations are in a state of economic and political instability.

Our response can be one of panic, terror, blame, and fear mongering…or one of clarity, unity, compassion, action, and the belief that though things look bad there is a future and a hope and we are part of it. As Mother Teresa said, “Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle.”

Here are some ways to light a candle in your corner of the world:

1. Get to know your neighbors. Develop a healthy community. No matter what happens, good or bad, this is a great investment of your time and energy.
2. Break fear and prejudice (both ways) by entering a community that is not your own and bringing about a positive image of your own community through simple acts of kindness, repentance, and forgiveness. Serve, be a voice for the voiceless, find and tell stories that break prejudice.
3. Get out of debt. Position yourself to be like a fruit tree, not just having your own life cared for, but with branches and fruits that provide shade and nourishment to others.
4. If you’re an American and bothered by next year’s candidates, consider using your unique right as an American and join a write-in movement.
5. Have a contingency plan for a crisis whether it be a natural disaster or otherwise. Have a week’s worth of food stocked up for your family, and water for you and your neighbors. We wish we would have had a bug-out bag in Nepal in the aftermath. The first thing we did when the quake hit was go into a store, take several cases of bottled water, and leave cash on the counter.
6. Consider having a plan that doesn’t just include your household but your neighborhood, school, workplace or faith community. We were at church when we were in Nepal, and the way out was very dangerous in the aftermath of the initial quake — even though in the end everything was fine, it would have been good to have an evacuation plan as we knew the earthquake was cyclical and due at any time.
7. Don’t invest so much into possible calamity that you forsake the now. Actions that are rooted in fear are not fruitful. Plant seeds, plan for the good things to come as well. Be like the Marines, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

A year after the earthquake in Nepal, most people in the country have returned to life as normal. It was a life-defining event where our choices helped shape who we are now. The people and communities are stronger in their spirits for having come together. Like a forest fire, events like this begin in death and destruction, but also mark the promise of greater fruitfulness and new life.