emergency evacuation
Last night the power went off around 8pm and so we all went to bed in the dark with no fan on. For the past few nights, because hubby and I want to make sure our almost-one-year-old child sleeps well through the night, I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the older boys' room. (I guess with me in the room, baby tends to cry and scream at my direction. I can't tolerate his crying as much so I get up. If I get up, he also gets up and doesn't go back to sleep well.) As I was crawling into "bed" last night, it brought back the memory of the "emergency evacuation" I experienced when I was teaching in a very rural mountainous area, somewhere in Southeast Asia.
When I was a student in the university, I spent every summer vacation teaching at this school. Each time I spent about 3 months there. The area where the school was located was experiencing small conflicts on the borders. The last time I was there, I went back to teach there for a year. There were maybe about 1,200 students ages range from 5 to 25.
I remember one Saturday morning, I was in my room and suddenly there was a loud boom and the windows shook. Later we found out that a canon was shot and landed pretty close to the school. The border conflict was getting serious. The school authorities decided that everybody should evacuate to an abandoned school that is about 30-40 minutes away by car. With 1,200 students and about 30 teachers and many other school staff, we packed small bags not knowing how long we would be away. The air felt tense as it should. There were no children playing, running around or laughing on the journey. We all made our way to our "home" for the next 5 days.
Thankfully I had a good friend, a fellow foreign teacher and missionary with me. The school principal and his wife were very friendly to us so we rode in their truck while everybody else walked. (Maybe some other teachers also got a ride later.) We more or less set up camp at the abandoned school. The students dug holes so everybody can "go". We bathed and washed clothes in a stream that was about waist deep. The kitchen staff stayed back so they can cook and send food to us everyday. We ate two meals a day. My friend and I slept on the cement floor with a bamboo mat and cloth. The kids were rather happy because they didn't have classes during that week. These are the details I remember. I believe we were all relived when we learned that we could go back to normal life because the situation resolved somehow.
Maybe under different circumstances, it could have been a pretty adventurous and fun trip. I learned that I can be flexible and live in a minimal condition for a short time. (Now I think about it, my friend is about 20 years older than me so she was about how old I am right now. It's amazing that she was also able to flex under those circumstances.)
As I am writing this, I don't feel like I was traumatized or very much affected by the experience. I think that must be the grace of God and the peace He gave so I was not afraid or anxious at all. I am thankful for God's protection over our lives. I am still grateful today.
When I was a student in the university, I spent every summer vacation teaching at this school. Each time I spent about 3 months there. The area where the school was located was experiencing small conflicts on the borders. The last time I was there, I went back to teach there for a year. There were maybe about 1,200 students ages range from 5 to 25.
I remember one Saturday morning, I was in my room and suddenly there was a loud boom and the windows shook. Later we found out that a canon was shot and landed pretty close to the school. The border conflict was getting serious. The school authorities decided that everybody should evacuate to an abandoned school that is about 30-40 minutes away by car. With 1,200 students and about 30 teachers and many other school staff, we packed small bags not knowing how long we would be away. The air felt tense as it should. There were no children playing, running around or laughing on the journey. We all made our way to our "home" for the next 5 days.
Thankfully I had a good friend, a fellow foreign teacher and missionary with me. The school principal and his wife were very friendly to us so we rode in their truck while everybody else walked. (Maybe some other teachers also got a ride later.) We more or less set up camp at the abandoned school. The students dug holes so everybody can "go". We bathed and washed clothes in a stream that was about waist deep. The kitchen staff stayed back so they can cook and send food to us everyday. We ate two meals a day. My friend and I slept on the cement floor with a bamboo mat and cloth. The kids were rather happy because they didn't have classes during that week. These are the details I remember. I believe we were all relived when we learned that we could go back to normal life because the situation resolved somehow.
Maybe under different circumstances, it could have been a pretty adventurous and fun trip. I learned that I can be flexible and live in a minimal condition for a short time. (Now I think about it, my friend is about 20 years older than me so she was about how old I am right now. It's amazing that she was also able to flex under those circumstances.)
As I am writing this, I don't feel like I was traumatized or very much affected by the experience. I think that must be the grace of God and the peace He gave so I was not afraid or anxious at all. I am thankful for God's protection over our lives. I am still grateful today.
I remember this story you shared, especially about how you survived a gunshot graze! Praise God for protecting you!
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