Our condolences and prayers go out to all those who have been afflicted by the terrible earthquake in Pakistan. In the midst of it all, we have received an email from former BIC members currently living in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Hårek Aspenes and his wife Moushumi with children Vincent and Amias, were active in the church before we started regular services in the fall of 2002. They are safe, thank God, but obviously shocked and tired. We include some passages that Moushumi wrote:
"It is definitely the worst I have ever felt in my life. Coming from Bangladesh, I do not know much about earthquakes since we hardly had it in BD... I jumped up when I felt the terrible shaking of the house. Whole house was banging and shaking. I ran outside after going down and waited for Vincent and Harek to come down. When they were late, all I was asking God was to stop this thing. It stopped and no one was hurt, but we lost our strength...
Today is the second day and often we experience the aftershock. The house moves and we try to hurry to go out. But we are fed up now. It is too much to run all the time. No one in Islamabad slept last night. I felt constant trembling when I lay my head and I was up and around. I planned how I will carry the boys down and out if the quake began voilently again. But Harek is as usual more relaxed. Anyway, just to tell you all, we are fine but shaken.
But we are praying for those we are still under that 19 story building. May be dead and may be alive. And we have lost one Swedish mom with her 3 children. Till now no sign of their bodies. Also one frined of ours, named Raheela Gul. Does the name ring a bell? She was becoming famous for hiking in dangerous places. She is a Pakistani - Norwegian. She went to that building to see a relative and spent the night with her relatives. Last night at 2am, her brother was still frantically looking for her. Such a pity. I talked to her two weeks ago. She booked hotel for us in Khagan and Naran valley. I have not got a chance to say thanks to her. She was very tall and very thin. Full of adventure. Life is often harsh. I pray that Raheela comes out of the debris alive and well. "
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Raheela did not make it.
The remains of the Swedish mom and her 3 children were buried a month later in Sweden.
Millions of homeless were asking for help everyday.
Children got kidnapped.
YOung women cried for help at all the hospitals as they lost their backbones during the quake.
Most men were out in the field as the quake struck, the women were inside the concrete houses working either with small children still sleeping or older ones out in the filed or at school. School children died, some children from the field could manage to come home to find it in ruins and mother and siblings dead.
The mishap was just too much to bear easily.
We were there at that time. We know.
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