Kristy’s Perspective
For a number of weeks leading up to our vacation in Thailand I had had this feeling like something big and awful was going to happen. It all started when I read an article on Foxnews.com about Muslim uprisings in the South of Thailand. Immediately I thought of the American missionary couple who were vacationing in the Philippines and were taken hostage by extremist Muslims a couple years ago. I prayed and even considered telling Timothy that we shouldn’t go. But every time I prayed I really felt peace, like everything would turn out okay.
Within the first week of being in Thailand we had met two Muslim families and both had been so generous and kind to us that I knew that we didn’t have to worry about that. Timothy did try to witness to one guy, our tailor. He said that that was okay, as long as you believe something and are a good person you’ll go to Heaven. It was actually fun to watch the two of them debate because they are both salesmen and know how to sell their point.
We had a great time taking Clay on an elephant ride through the jungle. He got a kick out of feeding the elephants and was covered in brown elephant saliva. *gross* We got a picture of him handing a banana to one of them. He loved the beach! He played in the tidal pools and he ate sand…oh well.
During the first week we still had no place to go on the 23-28th. We could find another hotel on Phuket or we could go somewhere else (…like Phi Phi Island!). Timothy and I suggested Koh Lanta (Lanta Island) since Karen had brought it up a few times, so our contact, Mr. Mee, set it up for us.
The first several days we were in Ao Nang in the province of Krabi. That’s where we had spent a week 3 years ago and really liked the town. It’s changed quite a bit and there’s a lot more businesses there now, including McDonalds! The Thai people were friendly and giving…just like we left them and the feeling of dread was starting to go away.
On the 18th we went back to Phuket and stayed on Kata Beach (3 kilometers south of Patong Beach). Well, we stayed near the beach and way up on a hill. There were other families there that Tim and Karen work with in Shekou, China and we had a lovely time with everyone.
On the 23rd we got up early and took a four hour ferry ride to Koh Lanta. When we got to the place we were supposed to stay it didn’t feel very appealing. I thought I was just turning into a snob and blamed it on motherhood. The beach wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t unbearable. The food was okay, but there was no place to shop and I’d been saving my money for two months. The rooms were depressing and I just felt like I was in the middle of a cow pasture in a make-shift hut. Karen had a similar reaction and asked me what I thought. I tried to be honest, but polite. That was all the confirmation she needed. Karen turned and told Tim we had to go somewhere else.
We were taken to Ocean View Resort and it felt perfect! The air conditioners turned on right away, there was a refrigerator and the owner let us borrow one of her grandchildren’s pallets for Clay to sleep on. We were happy. The beach was great, but had a few rocks to step around or over to get out to good sand bottom. The best part of all was the fresh coconut milk shakes. We had a praise and worship service each time we drank one!
Christmas day we went in to town to buy presents for each other. In Ao Nang the shops face the beach and it’s all very picturesque. In this town the shops were all facing each other on the street so there was no view of the beach. It felt more primitive and I didn’t like it as much as Ao Nang.
We had dinner on the beach and was served (non-alcoholic beverages) by the Australian bar owner whose tiny establishment was one among many little places built against resorts and hotels. We walked along the beach, watched the waves and had our picture taken beside the resort’s “Charlie Brown’s” Christmas tree.
The whole time we were on Lanta, Karen kept asking who wanted to go snorkeling at Rock Island the day after Christmas. Timothy was excited at first, but that died away for some reason and none of us really felt like it. Now she’s glad.
Around 7:30 or 8:00 Saturday evening in Slovenia our pastor’s wife, Barbara, was hit hard by a spirit of intersession. She started crying and fell on her bedroom floor in agony. The only words she could say were, “Father, have mercy! Father, have mercy!” Over and over she cried for hours. She didn’t know why or what she was pleading for. Six hours later the earthquake would take place.
Sunday morning after breakfast Timothy and I decided to go into town to check email. I was curious about my sister Mary’s surgery and was hoping for some good news. I thought about leaving Clay with Tim and Karen and we walked back to the beach to find them. While we were down there Tim found a piece of coral that had washed up that was in very good condition. Being a science teacher he had to stop and examine this and then decided to take it home with him. When we stopped admiring the coral I pointed out that the water had receded several feet in just two minutes. I asked Tim if it was because the moon was full and he thought that was likely. Christina said she was going to get her book and come back and read on the beach and we all parted company for the morning.
For some reason we changed our minds about going to check email and thought we would do it later. We sat down in our (stone) bungalow to finish the Return of the King movie. Our bungalow was maybe 50 feet from the edge of the beach and was across a pretty little courtyard from the hotel where Tim and Karen, Jeremy and Christina were staying on the second floor (or first floor if you’re British).
Another little miracle that probably saved our butts; the door to the bungalow is a tinted patio door and no one can see in, but I insisted that our drapes stay closed the entire time, except for that morning. We were sitting watching the movie when I noticed people running passed, away from the beach toward the street. I mentioned it to Timothy, who was holding Clay, and got up to see what was going on. I don’t remember the next 15 seconds. I really don’t think that I looked to see what was coming because all I do remember is the warning I’d been feeling in my spirit for the past months. I came back to reality when my bare feet hit the gravel driveway. Timothy did look… He saw flood waters racing toward us from the beach. I didn’t look back or stop until I noticed people around me stopping on the other side of the road. I ran a few more steps praying that Timothy and Clay were behind me and okay. I didn’t know if anything was going to be left in our bungalow, but I knew I had my everything standing right there in front of me. All we could do is stand at the edge of the water in shock.
By that time Tim had come down from their room. He was wading through the water, yelling for us, trying to get to our bungalow. I saw Christina coming out of the hotel. THANK YOU GOD! She had gotten distracted with a movie (the movie Alive…how ironic) and hadn’t gone down to the beach! Timothy gave Clay and the socks he was wearing to me and headed back to get our passports and plane tickets. Some Thai girls came by and took Clay from my arms. I was a little shaky so I let him go. I think that’s when I really came to and realized everything that was happening. Then I forgot where Timothy and Clay were. Reality caught up with shock just in time for the warning of the second bigger wave and everyone started running again.
The girls and I kept moving back. People were climbing a hill so I climbed too. The couple in front of me were still in their bathing suits and were covered in dirt and lacerations. The woman started to freak a little and I didn’t want her falling on us so I put my hands under her feet and started encouraging her, telling her she was doing great and could make it up.
I took Clay back when I got up the steep part and the Thai girls (who smiled the entire time) disappeared. ”You’re an angel in disguise…” We started making our way further and further back through a rubber tree plantation and somehow I overheard that Phuket and Phi Phi were hit also. I met a very distressed looking local guy. He was telling me to go further up and common sense was telling me that it wasn’t necessary. I asked him if this has ever happened before and he said not ever. He asked me if I thought another wave would come and I told him that with tidal waves the first couple might be big but they should get less and less. As if I knew. He just looked like he needed some reassurance. He said he had just sent his wife and son to Ao Nang that morning and he asked if I thought they would be okay. I told him what I had heard about other places. Unfortunately, we heard later that a few hundred had died in Ao Nang. I said a prayer that his family wasn’t among them.
The locals were in a bit of a “Chicken Little” state. In fact, the first thing someone said is that “the land is falling”. I think they were more afraid than the tourists.
Timothy found me (and had found his shoes also) and brought our computer bag and video camera. He said the floor of our bungalow was in water, but nothing very serious and I thanked God someone had moved our clothes up on shelves the day before. While he was back at the resort he saw his family and assured me they were all okay and were going with the injured to the other side of the plantation.
An American father and daughter from Georgia walked by and we talked to them a few moments. Later Tim and Karen would meet these two along with the wife and son and find out that they had common acquaintances from when Tim and Karen worked for QSI in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The daughter noticed a lady coming by with a very disturbed look on her face. She was in her swimsuit and walked like she was in a daze. The girl reached out and touched her and asked if she was okay. She said “Italiano, little English”, then pointed at her wedding ring and shrugged her shoulders. I tried to put my arm around her and pray, but I didn’t know how.
While we were standing there the second wave came and we had the video camera going. At that time it still didn’t hit me how close we had come to harm.
I don’t know how long we stood there waiting, but the next people we met were Anika and Ana (mother and daughter) from Sweden. They would become our extended family for the day and a source of peace for our loved ones back home.
Timothy and I decided the worst was probably over and decided to go back down. At the foot of the hill some locals stopped us and said the police were making everyone go higher up. “Bigga wave! Bigga wave!” We would hear this for the next 18 hours. I took Clay and the bags and Timothy went back by himself to get out what he could. He met up with another guest from our resort and they tag-teamed; one emptying their bungalow while the other watched the water.
In the meantime, I met up with Anika and Ana again and we started the climb to a construction site that had been cleared and flattened like someone was going to build there. Throughout the day we made up a story of how this spot of ground was intended to be a resort. We were just trying it out to see if it was tsunami-safe first. On the South side of the site there were tall trees that provided shade and most people were gathering there. Some had gone the rest of the way up the hill and others were even hiding up in the trees there. I noticed the Italian lady sitting a little ways off with a man lying down at her side, obviously injured, and a very content look on her face.
Timothy got our clothes and some food, left the clothes at a Thai family’s house and set out with the food to find us. After that errand I sent him on another to get the rest of his family and bring them back to this spot. I felt like we were in such a good place being shaded by trees, on flat ground and with a good view of the water. Someone brought fried fish and water for lunch. They didn’t need to bring much; no one was able to eat very much.
Anika and Ana kept in touch with their family and friends in Sweden by text messages and I wondered how in the world we would let our loved ones know that we were okay. Many people had their cell phones with them and through their communication with people at home we learned about the earthquake and waves in Phuket and Phi Phi.
Anika and Ana had been at Long Beach, the beach we had first gone to, and felt the earthquake at 8:00 that morning. They had just finished checking in at the resort next to us and their bags were taken to their room. They had wisely left their plane tickets and passports in their backpacks which would always be with them. They said the water receded a long way and the locals were out collecting the free fish. They saw the wave forming, grabbed their backpacks and ran. Their friends were still at Long Beach but would join us later after dark.
Timothy came back with the rest of the Hall’s. Christina left again to show some paramedics where the other group of injured were. Warnings kept coming about waves, but we didn’t see anything significant the rest of the night. We heard lots of stories and witnessed a reunion of one father and his family.
Clay didn’t utter a word of complaint the whole day. Maybe a little when he woke up from a nap. He sat and pushed dirt and rocks around just as happy as could be. He was covered from head to foot in red dirt, but he looked pretty good to us!
Towards evening people brought rice with fried egg and more water. We learned the S.O.S. service out of Denmark didn’t know there were people stranded on Koh Lanta and I started feeling lonely. I think that’s when I realized I was an evacuee or refugee or something like that. Thoughts of being rescued by helicopter soon took the place of the lonely feeling and my daydreams occupied me for a while. I’ve only ever thought of foreigners as refugees. Other people get caught in tsunamis, not my family!
Tim started collecting wood and others pitched in. The kids especially enjoyed the distraction of gathering wood and outlining a large round area for the fire with rocks. There was quite a bit of wood around since the area had just recently been cleared and we were able to get just enough before it got dark. I think there was one piece left in the morning. The only thing we had to worry about after dark was wild dogs, but we had three good fires where we were so I’m sure we weren’t too much of a temptation. Besides, Karen kept watch all night (bless her heart!).
During the day when the sun had come out from over the trees we suddenly had cloud cover. It remained sunny and bright all day, but there was a line of clouds that shaded us. Isn’t God good? That night we had a full moon so we weren’t completely in the dark away from the fire.
It finally dawned on me sometime during the night to give Anika someone’s email and have one of her family members contact them. We decided to use Ava Greene’s email, since she has contact information for all our families. Within a few minutes we got a text back that the email had been sent to Ava.
About 9:00 that night a local girl came running up the hill afraid for her life. She said she had been watching the news and an even larger wave had hit Phuket and that we should expect a bigger one on Lanta. Something in me didn’t believe this story. We knew by that time that the waves had been caused by an earthquake and that the earthquake had been felt on Lanta. For a bigger wave to come there would have to be a bigger earthquake which we definitely would have felt. I put my hands up to the water and did a little talking to it in Jesus’ name anyway, just to be on the safe side.
In the morning we all started the trip back down the hill to find out what the damage was. On the way we passed a lady being helped along by her husband. Her ankle was obviously broken and Timothy asked if she had been to the hospital. She said she had, but couldn’t bear to stay there and wait on the one doctor to see her. We had been told the day before that the living were lying next to the dead; I can imagine that would be too much for just about anyone.
We got back to the resort shortly before the family that owns it did. The television was out so we couldn’t check the news. Since the hotel had been flooded I assumed that the internet was out as well. We would have to wait until we got to the mainland in a day or two to contact family.
We all wandered around taking pictures and video, amazed at the changes that nature caused. The pretty courtyard was a sand pit and the cement wall behind our bungalows that separated our resort from the next was gone.
We found out that the Aussie bar owner had been asleep in a hammock during the excitement the day before and had woke up under water. When we saw him later he acted as if nothing had happened.
Some other guests came back. A couple of guys had been out diving and the boat captain had gotten everyone out of the water. They said the water started swirling and bubbling and they held onto the boat for their lives.
After an hour or two we were packed and had collected our luggage at the door of the hotel when another report of another wave came. The owners fled again. We took all our luggage upstairs and headed across the street. A shop owner came out and said she had just spoken with her cousin in Indonesia. There had been another aftershock (6. something) but it wasn’t strong enough to send waves this far. Another false alarm produced by fear.
A family with a truck drove up and we negotiated a ride to Krabi Town on the mainland. We piled in, hoping the rumors that the ferries weren’t operating were just that.
Driving into town we passed the hospital. It seemed like there were people hanging out the windows it was so full. People were all over the grounds and the place looked a mess. I was very thankful we didn’t have to stop.
I was realizing two things at this point. One, I wasn’t afraid of the water, but anytime I noticed a group of people moving in one direction a knot would form in my belly and I felt the need to go with them. Two, any slight vibration made me stop and wonder if I had just felt an earthquake.
We arrived in Krabi Town at a hotel that foreigners had never stayed at before these events. We asked the manager if he had CNN and BBC. “Yes.” Well, he didn’t have those two, but he did have FOX News. Christina, Timothy and I were happy campers. When Timothy and I were settled we went to find internet. By that time Christina and Jeremy had already informed most people we were okay which was a good thing b/c the email I tried to send everyone didn’t send.
We had a good time of thanksgiving that evening after our Kentucky Fried Chicken supper.
The next morning we went by taxi to Phuket where we dropped Christina at the airport. There, a business or organization was passing out free food and drink. We said our goodbyes and the rest of us went on to the hotel where we had reservations, but stopped first at one of the government buildings to find out some information. Again we were given free food and water. After seeing all the pictures on the television I was feeling very unworthy of the charity. What we went through seemed so small compared to so many others’ situations.
We got settled at our hotel and walked back to the government building to register with the US embassy. We didn’t know if our family had to call us in as missing or if they went by the number of visas handed out, but we thought we should check. It was a very sobering hour or two that we spent there. Again there was free food and water as well as clothes, hats (to protect from the sun) and just about anything else you could think of.
I glanced down at a piece of paper on a table and saw the date: 28 December 2004. Oh yeah, happy birthday to me. I almost wished I hadn’t noticed.
That evening we arranged for a taxi to take us to Kata and Patong Beaches in the morning. We found a mall so Timothy could buy shoes. The ones he had on were pretty beat up after all his trips up and down that construction site. Across the street was a pizza place that was more Western than anything else we’d seen there. It was nice to go in, eat food we were more familiar with and forget about all the bad stuff for a short time.
By the morning of the 29th Kata Beach was pretty much cleaned up. All that had been on the beach were four rows of chairs the entire length. There were piles of the chairs stacked here and there and a tree or two down, but nothing too drastic.
Across the street there were a couple little shops that had been demolished. There was also a very exclusive resort called Club Med. Not just anyone could afford to stay there. I thought it was ironic that the wall that held out the public was completely gone. There’s a spiritual principle there somewhere.
We drove passed the street that led to Peach Hill Resort where we had stayed the week before. The water line ended there and it was a little comforting to know that had we been there we probably would have been okay.
Next we drove to Patong Beach, but couldn’t even get to the beach. The destruction was much greater and there was a stench of death almost everywhere. Our taxi driver pointed out a restaurant that had experienced a fire about a month earlier, had been rebuilt and was gone again. He showed us a pile of rubble that used to be a hotel where bodies hadn’t been recovered yet.
We got back to our hotel just in time for a power outage and Karen got to have another adventure. She was in the elevator when the power went out and got stuck. After that she decided she wanted to go home. Another advantage to going home a day early was missing out on any possible disease outbreaks.
Our good-byes were said in line at the airport, but we hoped to see each other at the gates. No such luck.
We saw more than we cared to at the gate. We would be riding with several injured. One man looked like he lost an eye. Another baby girl had a scratch on her face and an IV port on her little hand. There were many lacerations and several broken bones.
Clay was there to cheer everyone up. He learned the previous day that he didn’t need two hands assisting him when he walked so we set out on lap after lap around the room. We passed a shop that had stuffed elephants in the window. He saw them and turned around to go in the shop. We took a couple steps in and he didn’t see the elephants so we left. When we came out he saw them in the window again so we turned around again. We repeated this dance a couple times so finally I picked him up and took him to the elephants. He was happy. Later he noticed a silver metal strip where two bits of carpeting met. He walked over it, turned around, walked over it turned around, walked over it… I think he could have done that all day.
He slept great on the flight from Bangkok to Vienna and we got some sleep too. I think I was teary-eyed all the way from Vienna to Ljubljana (loo-bli `ana). We were so happy to be home. We still love the Thai people, probably more than ever, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Timothy and I go back one day. It is really one of the closest places to a perfect Heaven here on an imperfect earth.
I asked Timothy after we got home how close the water had come to us when we were running. He said it was within feet. “…oh.”
I just wrote an email to my friend Julie in Brazil. I realized that I am thankful for this experience. Yeah, it was scary for about a minute, but I’m so glad my life isn’t “safe”. Whose life is? No matter where you set up your defenses there’s going to be someplace that’s weak. Things will always happen that are beyond my control. I’ve gone to a whole new trust level with God and “I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
