Dan Woolley: Unshaken

CBN.com- An earthquake rocked Haiti January 12, 2010, killing more than 200,000 people.   In the middle of the tragedy, there were amazing stories of survival.  The story Dan Woolley's rescue from the ruins of the collapsed Hotel Montana made headlines around the world.  But there is a part of Woolley's story that hasn't been told until now.

Woolley’s Goodbye Letter
The blood stained pages of Dan Woolley's journal reflect his most desperate moments.  He arrived in Haiti one day before the deadly earthquake – and the journal entries were written after he was literally buried alive beneath the Hotel Montana.

Wooley wrote: “If found, please give to my wife Christina.  I love you.  I have never stopped loving you or even slowed down … I love Josh and Nathan, the joy and pride of my life … I was in a big accident.  Don't be upset at God.  He always provides for his children.  I am still praying that God will get me out”

 The Journey to Haiti

Woolley's work with Compassion International brought him to Port au Prince to capture the pictures and stories of the organization's work with poor mothers, struggling to hold their families together.  The Haiti trip offered him an escape, exciting work and relaxing accommodations.

Reflecting on the trip, Woolley told CBN News, “I never could have predicted that this would be such a dividing line in my life.  Really now I look at this as life before this and life after this.”

Strained Relationships

The father of two was leaving a personal struggle behind.  His marriage was strained.

“It's not that we didn't care for each other anymore,” said Woolley.  “It is just that we had allowed the business of life and the challenges of life to get in the way of the true deep intimacy that we use to have.”

Though he grew up a Christian, the business of life cooled another key relationship.

“There had been a cooling off between me and God,” said Woolley, “And the priority that I feel my faith needs to have in my life just wasn't there.”

The Earthquake

The earthquake hit at exactly 4:53.  Dan and his colleague, David Haynes, had just returned to the hotel lobby, where the floor rumbled beneath them.

“I had debris hitting me from all sides.  From the back, something struck my head and I had a big gash on my head.  And then things hit both sides of my legs and then something passed right by my face.  Instantly, within three seconds, the hotel had collapsed, and went from vibrant color to complete darkness.  I actually wonder at first if I am dead.  I think maybe this is it, and I have passed on.”

In the darkness, he could feel his camera around his neck.  He began taking pictures, using the flash to see his surroundings. 

He remembered, “At one point I take a picture of the elevator car and I realize now that looks like a safer place that I could get to.”

In time, he freed himself from the rubble and climbed into the tiny elevator car.  He hoped someone would find him, but wondered what would happen, if no one did.

Reconnecting With God

“I was very concerned about that,” said Woolley, “What is it going to be like when I face my creator?  And know how my heart had cooled and how my life had turned away from God in many ways.  I just right there, just came to God with everything.  With nothing hidden and nothing held back.  While I was doing that, I heard a voice in my head say, ‘You are mine’."

That voice gave him peace as hours of waiting turned into days.  He then began writing that letter to his family.

 Will to Survive

“Even though I had settled things with God, and settled my heart with God, I still didn't feel like it was my time to go,” said Woolley, and I still had real concerns for my family”

Woolley wanted to survive, and found himself worshiping god in the tiny elevator car.  But after nearly three days in the underground darkness, he became desperate.

 The Rescue

“I decided to give up and so I crawled out of the elevator and was just laying on the rubble and it was at that moment in the shaft above my elevator that I saw the head lamp of my rescuer as he came down and he said I am coming for you.  We are going to get you out of there.”

Unshaken

 The story of Woolley’s "rise from the ruins" played around the world.  His partner, David Haynes, did not survive, but Woolley pays tribute to him in his new book Unshaken.  It is the story of how he survived underground and his new life on solid ground.  
 
“I think the earthquake saved the life that God meant for me.  He had pursued me to the bottom of this collapsed hotel because he wanted all of me.”