There were no benches and dust was everywhere. This village had not had much loss of life, but practically everybody's house is in ruins, and they're camped outside, trying to salvage what they can. Sharing what they had gone through in both major earthquakes, the women freely said that they're not sleeping, that they can't eat, that they weep easily, and that they have no interest in doing anything. They can't do their usual household tasks, because there is no water to wash or cook with. There was a lot of talk about this being a punishment of God for sin, and in general, a fear that the earth wasn't going to stop shaking, and that the end of the world is coming.
Rumors are rife about more quakes to come.
We had to do a bit of talking about what causes an earthquake, and emphasize God's love for us, even in the midst of natural disasters. In the afternoon, we were scheduled for another community, Las Palmas, where 25 people had been killed, many in the huge landslides which blocked the river, and where the entire village is in ruins. We watched from on top of the high gorge, took pictures, and walked to the very precipice, until we looked down and realized that we were standing on top of another earth crack, which the slightest tremor could send it and us plummeting down to the bottom. What had been a narrow gorge now is an open valley, with loose white sand and dirt up its sides, and just a wet patch of sand in places to indicate where the water is trying to flow, and constant clouds of dust. That slide alone killed 17 people.