That's one way to start the semester...

Where to start?

Thank God we're all safe, healthy, and calm enough to keep the school up an running. Classes aren't happening, but the buildings are said to be safe and we have been getting two meals out a day for students who choose to stay, their families, and the neighborhood. I think we're getting food free from CRS. We have plenty of water. Only two students...Ceron and Mithsuka...have injuries that we're carefully watching.

Patrick came back with three journalists, and it's nice to see him and have guests. In the mornings we usually are jump out of bed b/c of aftershocks. We still jump with bad aftershocks and rumbling noises. We're working with the kids...drawing pictures, playing games...to get them to tell thier stories of where they were.

I was upstairs in our dorm with Betsy and Mary when the earthquake hit. We heard rumbling as though the genorator was going crazy, then the walls started swaying and even though it wasn't vocalized, we knew what was happening. I got under a door way, Mary pulled down the standing fans, and Betsy yelled at us to get down. We had no idea what to do.

When the shaking stopped, we ran outside wondering whether or not our legs would hold us. Betsy said, "aftershocks...check on everyone..." we ran outside, and the first indication of how bad it was was that the front wall had fallen. We ran to the back, and saw Jon carrying a bleeding student. Then two more ran past from the playground supporting another. Patrick Fausten carried the last bleeding student that I saw before running up to the boys dorm with Mary. No body was there, so we ran down and were told to get to the basketball court.

The truck was out with the students within minutes and Zamy had taken control. We had a few intense aftershocks and watched bleeding limp bodies being carries past the fallen wall before we took the students back to the soccer field where they are still sleeping now.