June 3, 2018
Oh sure, we’d had a few earthquakes. They rattled our closet doors and shook our bed. And volcanoes? We loved going upstairs to our rooftop patio to see Fuego spurt smoke in the daytime and occasionally shoot huge shafts of fire at night. Earthquakes and volcanoes were just part of Guatemala.
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| 4th of July fireworks, 2017 |
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| A view from our rooftop on December 12, 2017 |
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| From our apartment's patio later that evening we could see a pillar of fire 1000 feet high. |
When our life-long friends, Diana and Brian Crane came to
visit, we told them that the volcanoes were harmless. Or so we thought. On our way to church on
Sunday, we made the usual drive that took us within about eight miles of Volcan
Fuego. A very normal-looking cloud shrouded the mountain that morning, but we
were certain the clouds would lift by afternoon. We planned to stop on our way
home to show Fuego to the Cranes
On our way home, however, we drove into a strange storm. Although
only a few sprinkles of rain fell, the sky grew dark. Cars turned on their
headlights. Diana asked me, “What time is it?”
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| After church the sky was overcast, but not foreboding. |
I looked at the car’s clock. “1:37,” I remember answering.
“Oh,” she said, “I thought it was later than that. It looks
like it is getting to be night.”
We looked in the direction of where Fuego should have been.
We saw only think black clouds. What a strange storm!
That evening the four of us went to a potluck supper with
other senior missionaries, followed by a brief meeting with our mission zone.
While in the area office, someone came into the room and told us that Fuego had erupted. Big time! Guatemala City airport (about a mile from our
apartment) had canceled all flights because of poor visibility and because of large
amounts of slippery ash on the runways. Suddenly, the odd dark skies made sense.
As soon as we got back home, we ran up to our rooftop to see
what Fuego was doing. Mists of ash in the air obscured our view and gritty
volcanic sand coated our patio. When we entered our apartment, we noticed that
our answering machine was filled with frantic phone calls from Holly, Julie and
Emily. News of a devastating volcano eruption had reached the United States. Our
daughters knew how close we were to Fuego and were afraid that we might have
decided to drive even closer to it on our way home from church. Fortunately, we
and all the other missionaries were safe from Fuego’s thundering explosions. Sadly,
approximately 300 people in villages located at the base of Fuego were killed
by lava and pyroclastic clouds that buried whole towns. The following pictures
were taken from local newspapers:
Throughout the heartbreak that followed the volcano's devastation, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ministered to Fuego's victims. Church buildings turned into make-shift hospitals and shelters. Supplies were sent from Salt Lake City almost instantly. Volunteers from our church worked alongside members of other churches offering aid before government officials even arrived. From our friends who worked with the victims, we heard stories of tragedies as well as stories of miracles. And we saw firsthand that volcanoes, under the right circumstances, can be anything but harmless.
