Sunday, February 28, 2010

Potential Tsunami Disaster

I have never been through a potential disaster (man-made or natural) until today. At 6:30 Hawaii time, Matt and I received a phone call from a co-worker of Matt's here in Hawaii. He said the emergency sirens were going off and they have ordered everyone to evacuate to higher ground. I have never been so shaky and scared. We were so unprepared. We had our clothes, but what about water and food? We were two tourists in middle of a real crisis. So after Matt calmed me down, we packed, and went through the whole condo and gathered all the supplies we had or thought we needed and packed the car. With the worse case scenario running through my head, and a prayer to Heavenly Father for protection, we left the condo, and joined the millions of others fleeing to higher ground. Gas stations were 10-20 cars deep waiting to fill up with gas and food and water disappeared from grocery store shelves in a matter of minutes as panicked people rushed to get the necessities for life. For the next six hours we waited in a Lutheran Church parking lot. At one point, while the emergency sirens were going off, I looked at the church and noticed three crosses on the lawn. Those crosses reminded me that The Savior was with us and not to panic or be scared. Finally a 2 P.M the "all clear" signal went out over the radio and we were all allowed to go back home.
What did I learn through all this? I was not as prepared as I wanted to be or am in my everyday life. This experience has reminded me to get my life in order. I need to have my year supply of food and other necessities. I also realized I need to have an emergency kit in all of my vehicles. You can never be too prepared.

This is my testimony, As long as you follow the warning voice of God's servants we will be prepared for life's unexpected trails.

Jessica Pope

1 comment:

  1. Jessica,
    I was thinking about you. And I'm so glad you guys are okay! Thanks for sharing your experience and testimony.-Katie Poland

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