When the Earth Shook

Faith, service, and hope in the aftermath of Venezuela’s earthquakes

August 17, 2026 | Texas, United States | Nelson Silva

“Please help!”

A woman riding on the back of a motorcycle jumped off as soon as the driver shut off the engine under the fire station carport. It was the fourth day after two devastating earthquakes—measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude—struck northern Venezuela, with the coastal city of La Guaira suffering the greatest damage.

The distressed woman urgently explained, “Last night neighbors near a collapsed building reported hearing sounds coming from beneath the rubble. We need help confirming whether there is any possibility of life.”

A collapsed building in Caraballeda, La Guaira. [Photo: Nelson Silva]

As an interpreter, I relayed her message to the Gideon Rescue Company (GRC) team, who had been working tirelessly since arriving two days after the earthquakes.

The GRC was based at a fire station in Caraballeda, La Guaira. The main road leading to the station was lined with collapsed and abandoned buildings. The team quickly became one of the leading rescue groups in the area because they could detect signs of life beneath the debris in two ways: through specialized listening equipment and trained search-and-rescue dogs.

The parabolic microphone they used looked like something from an old spy movie. Often described as a “bionic ear,” the device can detect sounds from great distances and is sensitive enough to pick up the chirping of birds hundreds of feet away. The second method involved three highly trained Labrador and golden retriever search dogs.

Whenever evidence of life was detected, hope surged among anxious families and renewed determination among excavation crews. Such was the case for the woman standing before us.

She was deeply grateful for even the smallest ray of hope.

This was not the first tragedy she had endured. She had survived the devastating 1999 mudslides known as latragediade Vargas, which destroyed large sections of the same region. She had lost her home then, but through perseverance, she had rebuilt her life and eventually purchased an apartment not far from where her original home had stood.

Pastor Nelson Silva with local law enforcement after sharing GLOW tracts with them. [Photo: Nelson Silva]

Now, 27 years after the mudslides, she was facing yet another catastrophe.

On Wednesday, June 24, she happened to be about five miles away at the local stadium when the earthquakes struck at 6:04 p.m. local time. The two powerful quakes lasted approximately 20 and 34 seconds, separated by only 39 seconds.

I offered to pray with her, and she gladly accepted. Afterward, she embraced me and wept.

Silence

We arrived in La Guaira on Sunday, June 28. It was close to 10:00 p.m. when we dropped our bags at the building that would serve as our shelter during the days ahead.

As we entered, a powerful cry echoed through the streets: “Silencio!”

I would hear that command many times over the next several days.

Rescue teams needed complete silence while listening for signs of survivors trapped beneath the rubble. People immediately stopped talking. Cars shut off their engines. All attention focused on the search operation.

Sometimes a command would signal that the listening exercise had ended unsuccessfully.

Other times cheers erupted: “There is someone alive in there!”

Voices of joy, applause, and celebration would ripple through the crowd.

The GRC team had barely set down their bags before asking, “Where is the rest of the team? Take us there. We are ready to work.”

A member of the Gideon Rescue Company, Greg Simpson, digging on top of a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira. With hope of finding survivors at the site, the team prepared the area for listening equipment. [Photo: Nelson Silva]

The Unsung Heroes

The overwhelming story was, understandably, the lives that had been lost.

But I saw another story—one that rarely makes the headlines: the story of the unsung heroes.

They are not motivated by public applause or political agendas. They simply hear about a disaster, get in a car, on a motorcycle, or aboard an airplane, and head toward the devastation with one purpose: to use their gifts, talents, and abilities to save lives.

Some volunteers worked directly on the dangerous task of excavating rubble. Others supported rescue workers by providing food, equipment, transportation, and encouragement.

As I walked the streets of La Guaira with the rescue team, countless people offered us water, food, and kind words. Many of them had independently loaded supplies into their vehicles and driven to the affected areas. In other locations the people digging through debris and those waiting nearby to relieve exhausted workers had traveled from different parts of Venezuela.

Their stories were remarkably similar: “I heard about the tragedy, so I got in my vehicle and came.”

Or: “I hitchhiked here because I wanted to help.”

Hope Through Prayer

Prayer proved to be the most powerful support we could offer. When human effort reached its limits and explanations seemed insufficient, God remained our refuge and strength.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).

We prayed before every listening exercise. We prayed with survivors, first responders, law enforcement officers, government officials, and complete strangers we met on the streets.

Again and again people were deeply moved by the gesture. Many responded by quoting Scripture themselves. We always concluded our prayers with words of affirmation for the work being done and the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Twelve Years Gone

One afternoon while walking with a local volunteer toward another rescue site, I noticed a young woman standing near a damaged commercial building. She stood on the sidewalk. A small dusty gift bag rested at her feet. Her head was tilted upward as though she were fighting back tears.

I stopped our conversation and quietly approached her.

When she noticed us, she tried to compose herself. It was clear she was seeking a private moment amid public devastation.

As I drew nearer, I noticed tears on her face. I gently touched her shoulder and stood silently beside her. Pointing toward the dusty gift bag, I asked about it.

She replied, “We came back to check on our little business, and this is all I could rescue. We lost everything—12 years of hard work.”

Then she broke down. She sobbed openly, lamenting her loss, before leaning against my shoulder and weeping.

My companion and I surrounded her with prayer. Before leaving, we gave her an AWR Godpod—an audio evangelism device that shares messages of hope and faith.

Soon her friends arrived and gently helped her into a car while she continued grieving.

I cannot shake that image from my mind.

It seemed to me that perhaps she felt guilty about grieving publicly because she had lost only a business while others had lost loved ones. Maybe that was why she had hidden herself away. Whatever the reason, her pain was real.

May she find hope in Christ.

Uno cards found among the rubble of a collapsed apartment building became a powerful reminder that one day God will reverse the pain and suffering of this world. [Photo: Nelson Silva]

The Green Reverse Card

One day we traveled to a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, an area that had received relatively little attention.

People dug through the debris, searching tirelessly. Others sat nearby, waiting and praying. They were family members clinging to hope for a miracle.

As I carefully walked across the rubble of what had once been a six-story apartment building, I noticed reminders of ordinary life scattered everywhere.

A bicycle.

Books about airplanes.

Loose photographs.

Random Uno cards.

I picked up one of the cards and slipped it into my back pocket.

Days later, after returning home, I remembered it.

I pulled the card from my rescue pants and turned it over.

It was the green reverse card.

And I broke down in tears.

I will forever treasure that card—not only as a reminder of the people of La Guaira but also as a symbol of hope.

One day all this pain, loss, and suffering will be reversed.

Hallelujah.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

The green color speaks of growth, renewal, and life. One day the brown debris and brokenness of this world will give way to green pastures, beauty, and restoration as God makes everything new.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16).

Until that day, we continue serving Jesus, loving people, and inviting others to place their hope in Him.