Today during sacrament four really big jolts occurred.
3.9 at 10.23am
3.5 at 10.25am
3.2 at 10.29am
3.1 at 10.30am
3.3 at 11.46am
3.5 at 12.05pm
It's bizarre being in an earthquake with 300 or so people all in the same room. The speaker hardly missed a beat, nobody ran from the building, nobody even murmured although I was holding on the pew in front of me and was not going to look around to see what anyone else was doing. I was talking to Bishop afterwards and he said you should have seen everyone's faces. From his seat at the front of the chapel he can see everything and there weren't too many shiny, happy faces after that swarm.
That 12.05 one was during Relief Society class and was so surprising, I think we all got a huge fright. Some mothers got twitchy to go to their children, other more experienced mothers said no, they will have hardly noticed and they will come here if they are upset - none came. Our chapel was at the epicentre of these babies.
Today's earthquakes were like the earth slipped suddenly, big jolts, the earth giving way somewhere and not that far below the surface. They are centred only about 7 kms below us.
But then after our soup mingle outside in the sunshine (and howling wind) away from the brick chapel, it was time for Mei's baptism. A reminder that life goes on and normal occasions like birthdays and baptisms go ahead earthquake or no.
Mei looked beautiful in her white dress. She bore her testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and her belief in Heavenly Father and her older brother Jesus Christ. The simple faith of an eight year old as she moves forward, crossing the thresholds of her life is a wonderful way of being reminded that faith and life go hand in hand and moving forward in the faithful footsteps of those who have endured much before us is the best way to go.
Don't think they had to sit in a member-built brick chapel from the 1950s with existing cracks in the walls though. I'm not scared of the earthquakes, I'm scared of the brick buildings falling down.
A well written and thoughtful post Sara.
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