By Cruz-Teresa Rosero

In the evening of April 16, around 8 p.m., New York time, a frightening message from social networks appeared on my cell: “Earthquake in Ecuador!”

“Oh no, that’s not true!” I yelled, and called my mother, who lives in Chone, Manabi. There was no answer, just a cruel silence. I marked other numbers from other family members and all I heard was more silence. Anxiety started to permeate my whole being. I went to Facebook, and updated my status: “My Ecuador family, please report yourselves!” Gradually, the messages started coming. Through WhatsApp, my brother reported that he and my mother are terrified, but without power and water. They were planning to stay outside all night waiting for the aftershock.

It was a dark night. I was in vigil with them, through prayer and thought. I felt powerless. Being so far away increases anxiety. With my phone near me I prayed, cried and kept attentive to the news.

Around 3 a.m. came the expected aftershock. More fear and anguish. By that time all contact by phone was lost. I did not hear from them until two days later, when they were able to charge their phones using generators from people who had them.

Since then, the news has been more and more painful. Yet, in the midst of such a tragedy, my family is grateful to God because as they say: “We are alive!” My city, Chone, in the province of Manabi, was deeply affected, because the epicenter was in this province. Many people, including family, have lost their homes. Many buildings, hotels and shopping centers have collapsed. People have been trapped in the rubble. The hospital of my hometown is still standing, but so damaged that it can no longer serve anyone and will probably be demolished. The wounded have been treated in improvised tents and those in critical condition have been transported to other hospitals in cities such as Guayaquil and Quito.

In my hometown, and cities such as Pedernales, Manta, Portoviejo, Bahia, Canoa, Crucita, and other small villages, people are in shock. They see their dreams and efforts of a lifetime reduced to rubble. They are sleeping on parks and streets, wondering about their future. Hundreds mourn and bury their dead, under a burning sun, in cemeteries that are cracked and damaged. Others are still looking for their missing loved ones.

In the midst of misfortune, God walks with His people. Among the rubble, a Cross has been found with a broken Christ; and an image of the Virgin Mary has also been found still standing looking over her children. Helping hands from other provinces of Ecuador, and the rest of the world are evidence of God’s love.

It is not a divine punishment as some have said. My five-year-old granddaughter asked me, “Nana, why does God allow earthquakes?” What a profound theological question! I told her that the Earth needs to make these movements to accommodate the plates that hold the base because over time they move out of place. Yet when this happens, God comes to the aid of those who dwell on top of them.

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Cruz Teresa Rosero is a member of St. Nicholas of Tolentine parish, Jamaica.