Edgardo Garcia and his wife Jahaira Claudio
Edgardo and Jahaira know what hard work is. They founded a nursing home with medical care, and their business is thriving in the truest sense of the word. The entrepreneurial family is pouring all their energy into this project. It provides for their livelihood, but it is also an expression of their lived Christian faith. “Of course, we had to work day and night, but everything ran like clockwork for us. We made steady progress!” Edgardo recalls, and his wife nods in agreement.
September 19, 2017, arrives. That morning, the entrepreneur suddenly hears a distinct voice saying, “Evacuate everyone!” “What was that?” Edgardo wonders. Of course—a hurricane is approaching the island. But hurricanes come and go. It’s been that way for as long as anyone can remember. The nursing home is solidly built and should be able to withstand external forces just fine. The devout Christian kneels down and asks God to show him the right path.
His inner conviction tells him it is time to act. So the more than 100 residents of the home are taken to safe shelters provided by the government to protect against dangers of any kind. Now it is a matter of waiting.
Hurricane Maria intensified to a Category 5 storm along its erratic path and made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Wind speeds exceeding 250 km/h and hours of torrential rain caused massive destruction.
The apocalyptic force sweeps away the roof of the nursing home as if it were paper. The water level rises by the minute. The flooding submerges the lower floor of the building. The result is the total destruction of a large nursing home. In just a few hours, Edgardo and Jahaira lose what they have painstakingly built up over the years. The family’s losses run into the millions. For the Garcias, it’s a catastrophic disaster and a turning point in their lives.
When the storm finally moved on, the island had suffered over 3,000 deaths. Thus, the day went down in history as one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of the United States, of which Puerto Rico has been an overseas territory since 1898.
Edgardo and Jahaira are coming to terms with this devastating news. Although they are now starting from scratch, they have not lost their faith. “This tragedy has turned me into a completely different person. Now I can empathize with others much better!” Edgardo describes his transformation without bitterness or disappointment. His wife laughs and agrees with him. “Of course, we had to endure long nights full of worry and fear, but we clung to God!” The Puerto Rican woman speaks matter-of-factly and without any affected drama.
How would I have reacted to such a loss of my livelihood? I don’t know. But in one respect, the Garcias stand as firm as a rock in a hurricane. Even in the greatest distress, faith in God provides comfort and stability. An atheist might call this hope in God a fragile straw to cling to. But when we experience the faithfulness and reality of the Most High over the years, perhaps we, too, can say with Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!” This perspective makes sense to me because God also holds our future in heaven in His hands. And in light of eternity, personal suffering becomes easier to bear.
So I can’t help but congratulate Edgardo and Jahaira on their inner strength. To me, they are role models through and through. I realize that I can learn a lot from them. /KDJ
