You Never Know....

Ever since the first of May I have been going to sit down and catch everyone up on our life.  The end of April/first of May were very busy for us.  Nicole walked for graduation at BYU on April 24th & 25th.  Her major is Special Education, and we may be prejudiced, but we think she will be one of those very special teachers who make an impact in someone's life. 

So, while we're attending Nicole's graduation and trying to get her moved out of her apartment, Jennifer is having a baby!

Isaac William Hanchett arrived on April 25th and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.  Isaac makes Grandchild #9 for us!  And now Elias is a big brother!  I spent the week with Jennifer & Jeff and the two boys to help out Jennifer and cuddle those two boys.

Next on the agenda:  Nicole flew out of Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 29th.  Destination:  Chengdu, China for the BYU Study Abroad Program in Dance.  Something she has dreamed of, planned for, and worked hard to make happen.  The schedule was to spend 4 weeks in Chengdu, 2 weeks in Guiyang, and the last week in Beijing.  Then fly home on June 14th.  We talked to her a couple of times and she couldn't believe she was really in China.  She loved it!

Which brings us to the next item:  On Monday, May 12th (China's calendar) there was a 7.9 earthquake with an epicenter located 55 miles from Chengdu.  At 7 a.m. in the morning, all I saw on the news was "7.9 Earthquake Hits Western China" running across the bottom of the screen.  I can't even begin to tell you what went through my mind as I ran for the computer and 'googled' the words "earthquake in Western China".  Just as the word "Chengdu" and "900 Students Killed" jumped out at me, the phone rang -- it was Monica calling in a panic wanting to know if I had seen the news.  When I called Roger, he told me to check my cell phone for any messages.  He remembered it "beeping" in the middle of the night.  Sure enough, there was a voice mail from a mom of one of the other girls in the program saying that there had been an earthquake, but that the girls were all okay -- no one was hurt. 

Do you know how grateful I am for modern technology?  And especially how grateful we are for the Lord's protection of "our" girls and their professors.  And I can't imagine what those other parents are going through whose children were the "900 Students" killed when their school collapsed at the epicenter -- but for one brief moment, I was afraid we might be some of those parents.

Calls to BYU and e-mails shared by parents of the girls kept news flowing as bits and pieces began to filter in.  Nicole was able to borrow a cell phone and make a quick one minute phone call that afternoon -- it was so wonderful to hear her voice!   Then we were able to call her that evening and talk for a little over half an hour.  Her brother and sisters were also able to talk with her -- again thanks to technology and three-way calling!

It's been quite a week as the girls coped with frequent aftershocks and the knowledge that thousands of people had died just a few miles from them.   Although the earthquake was 7.9 at the epicenter, it was 5.8 in Chengdu.  Strong enough to shake people and buildings in Chengdu, but not the damage that the outlying areas had.   (For Nicole's version of events go to her blog: Nichina: Earthquake R Us)

Although those involved in the Study Abroad Program are being taken care of very well by the Chinese people, BYU, the State Department, and the officials at the host university in China have been working together to try to determine what to do.  They finally decided it would be best to fly the girls to Guiyang a week early.  However, that was on the assumption that it is possible to get a flight going out of Chengdu with all the relief flights coming in.  So now we're waiting to hear whether they are in Guiyang or still in Chengdu. 

Thanks for all the prayers and expressions of concern for Nicole.  Of all the things I worried about when she went to China, an earthquake was not on the list.  My Uncle Bert summed it up when he said  "There are many ways for children to give parents white hair, but this is one for the books.  Glad that she is okay."