This is my first time this week with internet access.  As everyone knows we were hit with a 7.2 earthquake yesterday afternoon.  We were about 10-20 minutes from the epicenter.  Everyone is fine and in good spirits.  The students responded very well.

We were at the Healing Hands Ministries medical clinic when the quake hit.  The quake itself was very intense, almost knocking us off our feet.  It knocked a propane tank over which caught on fire, burning down a dormitory building here at the clinic.  Thank God no one was inside the building when it burned.  (We are not staying at this dormitory, we are camping about 20 minutes from here).  The dorm is completely gone and will need to be rebuilt.  Shortly after the quake hit, water started coming up out of the ground (I’m told this is called liquefaction).  It’s turned some large chunks of the clinic property into muddy messes.  Worst part of the water coming up is a pocket of it poked up inside the clinic, sending mud into hospital rooms (empty at the time).

It has been amazing to see God at work on this trip.  What a blessing for Healing Hands that we have a team here to help clean out the clinic.  I’ve seen Him open up students’ eyes as He completely protected them from danger.  God is our rock…..even when the earth below us seems completely unstable.  Our focus for the trip is now clear – we’re here to help this clinic in this small, rural community begin the stages of repair so they can minister and share the hope of Jesus with those who live here.

Prayer Needs:
Wisdom for Bruce Lacey, the administrator of the clinic
Funds to rebuild the facilities here
Work teams to rebuild the facilities here
Students’ eyes to continue to be opened to what God is doing all around them

Parents – you should be so proud of your kids. They responded so well in an emergency. They are all doing very well and are in great spirits. Our camp at Cuernavaca where we are staying is in good conditions. We were without power until about 5am this morning, but they have backup generators that took care of dinner and chapel. I am honestly privileged to be able to hang out with your students this week. They are doing an amazing job.

I will post further updates here or on my twitter account for shorter updates – twitter.com/mikelovato (this automatically updates my facebook status if you are already my friend on there.