May 28, 2009, 2:44 AM Mountain time

You know that old song, “I felt the earth move under my feet?” Well, I just woke up to feel my bed move under my bod! At first I thought it was just the vibration from one of the numerous trucks which pass the house each night. But it kept goooooiiiinnnngggg. . .

Then I remembered where I was—Guatemala—in an area with numerous active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes! I flipped on my light to hear Mari calling to me to come into the garden area of the house. (She later explained that, when she married Leo years ago, she’d had this area reinforced with concrete to better withstand earthquakes.) Once out of bed the tremors didn’t seem nearly as strong, but they continued for almost a minute. This was nothing like the 10 second rumbles I’ve felt before! Standing there, I actually had to fight back the fear. . .”what if this is the ‘big one?’” Then I laughed at myself, realizing, if it was, there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it anyway, so I might as well enjoy the experience. At least now I have something to write about! I am going back to bed, however, asking God, “Are you SURE you said GUATEMALA?”

(7 AM: The news reports say there was a 7.1 earthquake in Honduras, just west of here. It appears it was off the coast, possibly with the epicenter in the ocean. Not much is known yet about damage or injuries and fatalities. This is all reported with about as much emotion as the stock market quotes. Am realizing, in this part of the world, earthquakes are just part of life. No one worries too much about them, and they just deal with the results. You could say, they just let God be God and remember that they’re not!)