WBHS graduate endures earthquake
VINTON-When David Childress felt the earth rumble beneath him, he did not realize what it was.
“We just thought we were dizzy from being dehydrated,” Childress said about himself and the others on the Blacksburg United Methodist Church mission trip to Haiti. “It didn’t feel nearly as big where we were.”
2005 WBHS graduate David Childress was in Haiti on a mission trip with Blacksburg United Methodist Church when the earthquake struck on January 12th.
It was only later he found out that a devastating earthquake had hit Haiti, especially the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
The 2005 William Byrd High School graduate attends Virginia Tech. He graduated in 2009 with a degree in history, but decided to go back to school to complete the requirements to become a teacher. He attends Blacksburg United Methodist Church, and when his friends talked to him about the Church’s trip to Haiti, he decided to go.
“I decided it was something I wanted to do,” Childress said.
The group, consisting mainly of students, left for Haiti on January 7th. Before the earthquake hit on the 12th, the group helped repair homes, built roofs, and added a room onto a house. Their main goal, however, was to spend time with the people, especially the children.
They spent most of their trip in Port-au-Prince, but left the day of the earthquake, just hours before it occurred. At the time the earthquake struck, Childress was in a town named Cange, located in the mountains of Haiti.
The students on the trip did not have phones, but all managed to e-mail their families back home within hours of the quake, letting them know they were okay. Emotionally, however, the students were shaken.
“Our whole group was kind of devastated,” Childress said. “We were just kind of in shock.”
Childress points out that the group had been in Port-au-Prince for five days, and had made many friends. Suddenly, however, they did not know if their new friends were alive or dead.
The group was supposed to fly out of Port-au-Prince on the 14th, but they were held up because of the quake. Back home, parents and church members dealt with their travel arrangements. They could not get back into Port-au-Prince, so some of their Haitian friends drove them to the border with the Dominican Republic.
Childress’s main sentiment is how incredible the Haitian people are. Before the earthquake, the Haitians were filled with life. Once the quake hit, the Haitians became a pillar of strength of the Blacksburg United Methodist Church group.
After the powerful earthquake, Childress and his colleagues were upset; they did not know who had lived or died, but the Haitian people took care of them. The Haitians were actually telling the Americans that everything was going to be okay.
“To me, that’s the main thing—the graciousness of the Haitian people,” Childress said, “before and after the earthquake.”
With Haitian assistance, Childress and part of the group finally returned home on the 16th. The second half returned the next day because there were not enough seats to squeeze everyone onto the same flight.
The group recently had good news. They have heard that basically all of the friends they made in Haiti are still alive. Childress is also pretty sure that the houses they worked on are still standing.
The one thing Childress knows for certain, however, is that the Haitians are extraordinary people.
“That’s the main thing that I got,” Childress said. “The amazing-ness of the Haitian people.”
That is why he wants to go back someday.
