"I'm sure that many of you didn't know we were going to Phuket, Thailand for Christmas. Actually, there were seven Fulkersons: Todd, Scott, Mikelene, Morgan (7 years), Caitlin (5 years) plus Bob and me. But from the outset let me assure you that we are all OK.
"On Sunday morning (26 December 2004), the men had left the hotel early and went towards the other hotels in the Laguna area and the golf course. Mikelene, the little girls and I were going to rent a car/driver and go into the city and perhaps Patong. .... Mikelene wanted the girls to change their clothes and shoes (a good decision) before we left, so it was about 10:00 or 10:15 before we walked out of our rooms. As we were walking down the corridor, a teenage girl came rushing by and said something about a big wave coming all the way up to the hotel pool. I've heard of rogue waves, but more than anything we were curious as to what happened, so we changed our direction and went out towards the pool and the beach. We could immediately see that the pool was full of dirty water and the plants and lounge chairs were all displaced or actually in the pool. Guests were trying to retrieve items and there was so much commotion that we stopped about half-way to the beach. An Australian family of three told us what had happened.
"They were walking on the beach when the tide began to recede. They way the local Thais (who owned kiosks along the beach) run out to retrieve fish which were stranded on the dry ground. Then suddenly the 'big wave' came rushing in and everyone ran towards the hotel. Luckily, no one was overcome by the big wave. As we were talking to them, several hotel employees began blowing whistles and telling everyone to run to the hotel. So, Mikelene and I each took one of the little girls' hands and ran to the hotel. We went up to the second floor lobby area and stayed there. We could see waves coming in, but none seemed to reach the pool. We never felt we were in any danger. About that same time, the general manager of the hotel began asking everyone to stay in the lobby area until he could find out what was happening and make sure it was safe to return to the pool and to the beach. As we sat in the lobby waiting, we began to see some guests who had been slightly injured ... cuts, bleeding, etc. One lady complained that her room had been washed away with the hotel safe in it (her passport and money were in the safe). But again, there was nothing that seemed disastrous or catastrophic. We were obedient and stayed in the lobby until the next announcement.
"The second announcement made by the general manager was more alarming. He said the hotel was expecting more big waves to come in and felt it wasn't safe for anyone to remain at the hotel. He evacuated us to the Laguna shopping area which was about 1/4 mile inland from the hotel. The four of us walked down there. Eventually w found some chairs that were near the playground. There was a restroom next to the playground and a bakery with food and drinks (the only establishment open). But just before one of the clothing shops closed the owner told me there had been a big earthquake in Indonesia that was causing the big waves. He said the military had said a really big wave was coming, but he felt that we would be safe at the shopping area. So we stayed. About an hour later the three Fulkerson men showed up (after going to the hotel looking for us -- and actually going out towards the beach before being stopped by the general manager and told to leave immediately). So we were all together in the shopping center.
"Several hours later we were all summoned back to the hotel. The general manager told us that all guests on the first floor would be evacuated to other hotels because of water damage to the rooms. Those in rooms on the second (our) and third floors could stay, with the caveat that we may have to be evacuated later. Since we had flight reservations to leave the next day, we decided to stay at the hotel and if we had to be evacuated we would go then.
That night, the hotel prepared a nice international buffet in the hotel lobby and told us that breakfast would be served there also. We went back to our rooms and found we still had electricity and air conditioning (a good thing). There was no TV, but we relaxed and talked about our little adventure of having our plans unexpectedly changed. Eventually, we walked out to see the damage at the hotel. There was quite a bit. All the rooms on the first floor had been damaged. The kids club building which housed the gym was completely destroyed. There was debris all around the building with weight equipment pushed up against the walls. Two restaurants were completely destroyed with dishes, glasses and furniture strewn all around the grounds. There was a jet ski in the middle of the lawn which normally would have been anchored out in the sea. The first floor entrance to the hotel on the north side was destroyed.
"Later that night, the hotel was able to restore the cable and we got our first reports from CNN about the damage to Phuket. We were all shocked and amazed that we had escaped the terrible damage done in Patong. And now, after several days of watching report after report of the tsunami, re realize the great blessing of being in the right place and the right time. We have to credit the hotel employees for warning us of the dangers -- many others didn't have that luxury. We credit the general manager with evacuating us before the really big waves hit the hotel. But most of all we credit our Heavenly Father for preserving our lives. We are extremely humble to know that we were spared when so many others lost their lives.
"We hope as you listen to the devastation to Asia, Sri Lanka, India and other countries that you will take time to fast and pray for the survivors . We would encourage you to make a donation either to the (LDS) Church Humanitarian Aid Fund or another organization providing aid to these countries ..."