Aftershocks, tsunami, riots stun Michigan friends in ... - Detroit Free Press

"People were walking around, just dumbfounded, just like us," Carissa said.

There was no electricity and no cell phone service, so they had no way to let their parents know they were alive.

Parents wait for news

Back in Michigan, the parents of the three young friends sat in front of their TV sets and scanned the Internet.

News reports were sketchy.

"We went all Saturday without knowing anything," said Karen Rose, Amanda's mother. "I woke up Sunday morning and it felt like there was acid in my lungs."

Jeff Rose, Amanda's father, is an executive at General Motors. He sent several text messages around the world to different executives, and suddenly, there was an informal, makeshift team of people trying to help.

A world of prayers

In Canton, Doug and Gail Elenbaas watched the news and prayed for their daughter, Carissa.

"It was a mixture of emotions," Gail Elenbaas said. "We were relatively sure she was probably OK, but we had to recognize she could be dead."

And in Grand Rapids, Mary Jo and Todd Nanninga sat and prayed for their son Ben. "It was extremely nerve-wracking," Mary Jo Nanninga said.

"It was missionary week at my church," Karen Rose said of Five Points Community Church in Auburn Hills. "And I think (Amanda) was prayed for on six continents."

Surviving another day

The ground continued to rumble from small aftershocks even 24 hours after the initial quake. Carissa, Amanda and Ben were afraid, so they slept at a friend's house, all three sharing a twin bed, out in the open, under the stars.

In the morning, they woke to sirens -- a warning that another earthquake was imminent -- and they hiked to the top of a mountain and found a tent city that was formed by the town's survivors.

Despite the horror, Carissa, Amanda and Ben remained remarkably calm. They are all deeply religious and they said they put their lives in God's hands.

Strangers gave them food and shelter. And they made it through another day.

Tattoos are no joke

Back home in Rochester Hills, Karen Rose sat at a computer and did the unthinkable: She entered Amanda's name into an official government Web site set up to identify bodies from the earthquake.

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