Disaster Kasem Solomon Islands

Long Monday, April 2, 2007, wanfala earthquake wea strong bilong hem 8.1 long Richter scale hem kasem Solomon Islands. Bihaen tu-thri minute, olketa bigfala wave wea hae bilong olketa kasem samting olsem 10 meter hem kasem olketa island long Western Province and killim dae 52 pipol and 6,000 pipol no garem haos.

Wanfala ples wea earthquake barava spoelem nao hem Gizo taon wea stap klosap long sea. Samting olsem 7,000 pipol stap long datfala taon long Ghizo Island wea hem 45 kilometer from ples wea earthquake hem start. Wanfala smol kongregeson bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Gizo redi for celebratem Memorial long dae bilong Jesus long evening long datfala day. (1 Corinthians 11:⁠23–​26) Long datfala day hem sun and sea hem fine. Then long 7:39 a.m., hem earthquake nao.

Earthquake!

Ron Parkinson, wanfala elder long kongregeson, and waef bilong hem, Dorothy, tufala redi for kaikai taem hem earthquake. Ron hem talem olsem: “Haos bilong mifala hem olsem kokonat tree wea swing go and kam bat hem no foldaon. Noise ia narawe nao. Olketa cupboard, furniture, olketa kap and pleit long kitchen, wanfala piano, and olketa nara samting foldaon long floor. Mitufala stragol for ranawe go aotsaed. From Dorothy no werem shoe, glass wea brek katem leg bilong hem.”

Tony and Christine Shaw wea missionary, wea no stap farawe, tufala ran go aotsaed tu. Christine hem talem olsem: “From graon hem seksek tumas, hem mekem mi foldaon and mi no savve standap nao. Mi lukim olketa haos float long solwata. Wanfala big wave nao aotem olketa haos hia. Samfala pipol padolem kanu evriwea for lukaotem eniwan wea laef yet. Seknomoa nara big earthquake kam moa, then narawan moa. Olketa earthquake gohed for nara faevfala day. Mi fraet fogud!”

Hem Tsunami Nao

Taem hem earthquake Patson Baea hem stap long Sepo Hite, wanfala island wea stap 6 kilometer from Gizo. Wanem nao Patson and famili bilong hem duim long datfala taem?

Patson story olsem: “Mi ran long saedsea for go lukim waef bilong mi, Naomi, and fofala pikinini bilong mifala. Olketa foldaon long graon bat olketa no garekil. Olketa pikinini fraet fogud and samfala krae tu. Mi and Naomi story gud long olketa pikinini mekem olketa no fraet.

“Mi lukim sea hem luk difren lelebet. Wanfala tsunami hem kakam nao. Luk olsem sea bae kavarem nao smol island wea mifala stap long hem. Mi tingim tu mami bilong mi, Evalyn, wea stap long nara island wea klosap. Mi kwiktaem talem famili bilong mi for mifala go long kanu mekem mifala go tekem mami bilong mi.

“Bihaen mifala go lelebet taem nomoa, wanfala big wave hem kam. Sea hem raf nao. Taem mifala kasem mami bilong mi, hem seksek and fraet fogud for go long solwata. Naomi and Jeremy, boy bilong mitufala wea hem 15 year, tufala swim go long raf sea for helpem mami for swim kam long kanu bilong mifala. Then mifala full speedim engine bilong mifala.

“Long datfala taem, sea hem go bak from olketa island gogo olketa reef showaot nao. Seknomoa bigfala wave hem kam and kavarem tufala island hia. Hem bangam guest haos bilong mifala wea stap klosap long saedsea and barava spoelem nao. Sea hem spoelem staka samting long haos bilong mifala. Taem sea gogo daon mifala go long haos and tekem olketa Bible and songbuk and mifala go long Gizo.”

Staka samting nao nogud long saedsea and pipol dae tu. Long west saed long Ghizo Island nao staka samting barava nogud. Big wave wea samfala sei hem kasem 5 meter, hem spoelem samting olsem 13-fala vilij!

Long evening long datfala day, 22 pipol hipap long Kingdom Hall bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Gizo for celebratem Memorial long dae bilong Jesus. No eniwan wea kam garekil tumas. Ron gohed for talem olsem: “Brata Shaw iusim torch laet for givim tok bikos no eni paoa and olketa kerosene lamp bilong mifala hem brek. Nomata hem dark, mifala singsing big for praisem Jehovah.”

Kasem Help

Taem branch office bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Honiara herem nius abaotem datfala disaster, olketa kwiktaem redyim samfala samting for helpem olketa hia. Olketa ring go for savve sapos olketa Witness stap gud or nomoa. Samfala go long Choiseul Island for lukaotem wanfala Witness wea stap long there. Taem olketa kasem long there, olketa faendem datfala Witness stap gud nomoa. Branch givim selen tu long olketa long Gizo for baem eni samting wea olketa barava needim.

Tufala from branch office go long firstfala plane wea go long Thursday for Gizo. Craig Tucker wea hem wanfala long Branch Komiti talem olsem: “Mifala tekem samfala box long olketa samting wea olketa needim. Samfala pipol no savve tekem evri samting bilong olketa long plane, bat mifala hapi bikos mifala tekem evri box bilong mifala. Mifala nao olketa first wan for tekem go olketa samting for helpem pipol long datfala ples bilong disaster. Tufala day bihaen samfala nara samting kam long ship.”

Tony Shaw, Patson Baea, and samfala nara Witness from Gizo go for tufala hour long kanu for helpem olketa Witness wea stap long Ranongga Island. Datfala island hem 32 kilometer long and 8 kilometer waed, bat strong bilong datfala earthquake hem liftimap datfala island 2 meter from sea! Luk olsem datwan nao mekem datfala tsunami wea kasem olketa narafala island wea stap klosap.

Tony talem hao “olketa long kongregeson hapi tumas for lukim mifala. Olketa stap gud nomoa bat fraet for go bak long haos bikos long olketa smol earthquake wea gohed. Mifala nao first wan for tekem go olketa samting wea pipol needim. Mifala prea tugeta long Jehovah bifor mifala go.”

Patson hem sei: “Tu-thri day bihaen, mifala tekem go samfala samting moa wea olketa long Ranongga needim and for lukaotem wanfala Witness famili wea stap long wanfala ples wea farawe long datfala island. Gogo mifala faendem Matthew Itu and famili bilong hem long bush. Taem olketa lukim mifala, olketa krae nao! Datfala earthquake spoelem haos bilong olketa and klosap evri haos long vilij wea olketa stap. Main samting olketa laekem hem for garem niu Bible bikos evri Bible bilong olketa lus long datfala disaster.”

Wanem Pipol Talem

Pipol lukim wei wea olketa Witness showimaot Christian love. Craig Tucker talem hao “wanfala reporter wea tok spoelem waka for helpem pipol hem sapraes taem tu-thri day bihaen long earthquake, hem lukim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness tekem kam kaikai, kanvas, and olketa nara samting.” Patson tu talem olsem: “Pipol long Ranongga talem gudfala samting abaotem wanem mifala duim for kwiktaem helpem pipol and olketa no hapi bikos church bilong olketa no helpem olketa.” Wanfala woman sei olsem: “Pipol long lotu bilong iufala kwiktaem for helpem iufala!”

Olketa Witness helpem tu nara pipol. Christine Shaw sei olsem: “Taem mifala go long temporary hospital long Gizo, mifala lukim wanfala hasband and waef wea mifala story witim long preaching waka no longtaem go nomoa. Tufala garekil and fraet fogud. Datfala woman holem grani bilong hem taem datfala tsunami tekem grani bilong hem and hem draon. Mifala kwiktaem go bak long haos for tekem kam kaikai and kaleko wea olketa needim. Olketa hapi tumas.”

Long taem bilong disaster, pipol no needim nomoa kaikai, kaleko, and ples for stap. Olketa needim help wea kam from Bible. Ron hem sei: “Samfala bigman long religion talem hao God hem panisim pipol for sin bilong olketa. Bat mifala showim long pipol from Bible hao God no savve duim diskaen samting. Staka pipol hapi bikos mifala iusim Bible for helpem olketa feel gud.”​—2 Corinthians 1:​3, 4; James 1:​13.a

[Footnote]

[Map long page 15]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Choiseul

Ghizo

Gizo

Ranongga

HONIARA

AUSTRALIA

[Piksa long page 17]

Famili bilong Baea long kanu bilong olketa

[Piksa long page 17]

Olketa samting wea tsunami spoelem long Gizo

[Piksa long page 17]

Long Lale vilij long Ranongga Island, disfala Kingdom Hall nomoa no foldaon