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Judy* is a Mission Society missionary and a nurse who serves in northern India. The hospital in which she works provides medical care in an area of more than 11 million people. Judy shares her experiences during the three major earthquakes that shook Nepal and what she learned.

“Fear is contagious,” said Judy.

“It was amazing how much anxiety and post-traumatic stress syndrome we treated in the hospital after the earthquakes. And this is in an area in which traumatic things happen regularly. Tremors continued over a period of weeks with hundreds of aftershocks. We were constantly feeling the ground move and wondering if there was going to be another big one.”

“I serve in a Christian hospital in a difficult area,” said Judy. “Amazingly, the hospital had no structural damage from the quakes. We truly felt the supernatural protection of God.”

Judy is thankful that the hospital is getting its first mental health doctor and opening a department for mental health counseling. Suicide is a common occurrence in this region and the hospital saw a rise in stress-related illnesses immediately following the quakes.

The principal of the nursing school at the hospital where Judy serves had to be hospitalized with vertigo after the first earthquake. When processing her experience with Judy she said, “Those earthquakes really changed my life! I realized that I could have died, and I don’t have as long on earth as I thought.” According to Judy, Esther* now shares about Jesus “with anyone who will come close to her. Esther is normally a very shy woman, but facing death changes a person.”

“For me, facing death wasn’t as traumatic as it was for a lot of the hospital staff. I’m older than they are and have faced death before,” said Judy. Judy was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer while serving in Central Asia. Although her prognosis was grim, Judy completely recovered—a miracle she attributes to the healing power of Jesus.

“So it was good for me to sit with the staff who were really afraid and say, ‘What is the worst that could happen? You are Christians, so you will be with Jesus if you die.’ I think the fear that had gripped so many was crippling. Once we talked about their fears, they relaxed some. Fear is contagious, but so is hope.”

“God has taught me during my time in India that, just because my circumstances are less than pleasant, that doesn’t mean I am in the wrong place. I stopped looking for a way out and just started to look for where God was working instead. During the intense time of fear and panic, I could be someone who provided hope and peace. They saw that I wasn’t afraid, and that helped others to have peace, too.”