For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” Psalm 62:1+2

Dear friends and prayer warriors,

On 5.2. I read this Psalm. And the next morning the earthquake woke us up. The house was shaking, but the Lord was and is my salvation, practically for body and soul. Since we had done an "earthquake" crisis simulation at our annual conference shortly before, I knew exactly what to do. I put on lots of clothes because it was snowing outside, grabbed my emergency backpack that I had already packed beforehand and went outside straight away.

In the early afternoon, I went back to the flat to get a few things. Shortly afterwards, the second earthquake hit. A house collapsed very close to me, which scared me a lot. But then I remembered this psalm and became calm again.

However, there was no thought of going back into a house. My apartment block seems only slightly damaged, so one will be able to live there again at some point. But there are still many aftershocks where previously badly damaged houses collapse. I spent the first night after the big earthquake with friends in an improvised tent, two more nights with friends in a car and then again in a tent. At night it got quite cold down to -9°C, but thanks to a stove it was bearable. Please pray for this befriended family. Their house actually looks quite good, but they are still too scared to sleep there again.

Three days after the severe quakes, Michal and Lukas came to Malatya with relief supplies. We distributed them and then drove back to Ankara together. However, just one day later we were on our way back to Malatya. This time, too, the car was full of relief goods, our first tent inside a tent which we distributed to those in need. Some of us drove to very remote villages after we had found out - mainly through social networks - what the people needed. Water, food, hygiene articles, underwear, baby food, nappies and much more could be given to those in need.

Lukas made the long trip to Ankara (about 8 hours’ drive) once more, mainly to get heaters and generators. He also wanted to bring tents, but these are in short supply at the moment. In the meantime, container cities are being erected in many vacant places.

The food supply is still critical. Even if people have cash, they cannot buy anything, because there are only very few open grocery shops, and even there is little to buy. Please pray that we give the relief supplies to the really needy, because even here there are people who hoard more than they need.

It is said that about 80% of Malatya's inhabitants have left for other cities, especially in the west of Turkey. When you drive through the city in the evening, it is pitch dark - there are no lights on the streets or in the homes. And it's also dangerous because a house can collapse at any time. You see a lot of police on the streets, because unfortunately there is a lot of looting. Please pray for protection.

Our church building is still standing, I don't know how much it was damaged. Many relief goods were stored in the rooms and distributed from there. Brothers and sisters cook soup for about 1000 people every day and distribute it in front of the government hospital. Please pray for strength for all the helpers and that their testimony will give people hope.

At the moment I am in Ankara, but we want to go to the region again next week. For that, I want to rent a car to be able to transport more relief supplies. There are so many small villages where nobody goes. We want to try to reach them.

Miriam has been in Diyarbakir with a friend since Wednesday (15.2.). She will come to Malatya at the end of February. She is on semester break at the moment. I hope that we can move back into our flat by then. The place is in a bad state, we have to clean and tidy up first. Please pray that Miriam will be a blessing to her friends here.

Michal's school starts again on Monday (20.2.). It is uncertain what will happen with the university. First it was said that this semester would be cancelled completely, then that lectures would be held online. However, there was a lot of criticism of these plans, so the universities will probably reopen after all, though with a delay. Please pray that Michal will have wisdom to deal well with children from the earthquake zone in her classes. And pray for her studies.

Lukas has to go back to work, there are deadlines to meet. The earthquake has turned everything upside down, but life goes on. Please pray that he will not worry so much about his mother in all this.

I don't know exactly what will happen to me at the moment. What is certain is that I will be coming to Germany for medical appointments at the end of April.

Thank you very much for all your prayers. And also for the gifts that have come in so abundantly. Thank you for being so involved in our lives!

Your Susanne with Michal, Lukas and Miriam