Whoa! What is this? The concrete patio is moving - sliding back and forth: east - then west - then back east - back and forth for what seems like a long time, but is really less than a minute. 45 seconds is a long time, when you're trying to orient yourself. The surf is definitely up - in the swimming pool! The jacuzzi is sloshing over, trying to empty itself. Some bend down and touch the ground with one hand, seeking some stability. Then it stops. We all look at each other, as if to get assurance that all is back to normal.
Of course, this is not our first earthquake. We live perched at the meeting place of the Pacific tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate. Each is hundreds of thousands of square miles in size, and each is moving - slowly, inexorably moving, a few millimeters a day, with respect to one another. On the geologic time scale, these plates are continuously, violently grinding against one another, making mountains and changing the shape of continents. In the human time scale, where our lifetime is but a blink in the geological eye, this grinding occasionally results in a noticable temblor. Last Sunday's shaker resulted from a minor rift to our east, about 100 miles from us. Last Sunday we got a reminder of the temporary nature of what we want to think of as permanent. The very ground - the foundation of everything we have built on this earth - moved. And kept moving. And didn't stop until we were reminded of how fragile everything we built over the years is.
Our Easter shaker measured 7.2 on the Richter scale. That's twice as powerful as the recent 7.0 Haiti quake. It tore a fault beneath the urban center of Mexicali/Calexico, on the border between California and Baja California. There was some damage to structures, some injuries and a couple of folks died. (One died as the result of running panic-stricken into the street where he was struck by a car.)
Hilarious Givers supports several missions, orphanages and feeding programs in the area hard-hit by last week's earthquake. Families who before had little now have even less. Children who had been living in homes made of packing crates and cardboard now live out-of-doors. But they are self-reliant, and resilient, and are rebuilding. And we have the privilege of coming alongside, as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and giving them assistance. We will continue to provide food and drink, and now mattresses, to these children of God.
And you can join us. Our mission is possible only because of the help of our faithful supporters. Your prayers are earnestly requested, your volunteer time is cherished, as is your continued financial help. 
