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ORU Family Safely Departs London during Bombings

By Elissa K. Harvill

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Click Photo to Enlarge Donna Bratschun snapped this shot after evacuating from Baker Street Station. Crowds scatter, looking for other means of transport.

Click Photo to Enlarge The Bratschun family poses in front of the luxurious Burj Hotel in Dubai: Rebecca, Donna, Sarah, Neal and Michael (left to right)

Click Photo to Enlarge Detail of the London tube map: the Bratschuns purchased their tickets at Paddington (at 8:40 AM) and traveled through Edgeware Road just 10 minutes before a bomb exploded there at 8:50 AM.

With her husband, Neal Bratschun (81), working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, Donna Bratschun, administrative assistant for ORU Career Services, has learned to daily confess for herself and her family that they are "in the right place at the right time" and their "footsteps are ordered by God."

After their recent family vacation in Dubai (Arab Emirates), where they met up with Neal, Donna and her three grown children, Rebecca (05), Michael (a sophomore at ORU) and Sarah (a freshman), decided to end their trip by stopping off in London before going home.

Without planning it, the Bratschuns found themselves in London on two very exciting days: Wednesday, July 6 was the day the Olympics announced that London would be its host for the upcoming summer games, and the following day, July 7-the day the Bratschuns were to depart, the "tube" was bombed by terrorists.

That Thursday morning, the Bratschuns, packed and ready to go, were eating their breakfasts and planning to leave for the airport at 10 AM to make their 2:30 PM flight from Gatwick. But Donna kept feeling that they should go ahead and leave right then, so they purchased their tube tickets and began their journey to where their train would depart from Victoria Station.

Chillingly, the time printed on their tickets reads 8:40 AM, just 10 minutes before the 8:50 AM blast on the train approaching the Edgeware Road Station. Even more chilling, is that the Bratschuns were on a train that actually passed through that station before being evacuated at Baker Street "for security purposes."

"If we had gotten on one stop later, we would have been on it [the train with the bomb]." Rebecca, the older daughter, said.

While they waited for the next train to approach, the Bratschuns were informed that the tube was no longer in service, so they began looking for a bus that would take them to Victoria Station. "All the busses and taxis were jam packed and people were everywhere talking on their cell phones-it was pure mass chaos!" Donna said.

After finding the right bus, the Bratschuns (and their luggage!) arrived at Victoria Station (sardine style), only to learn that the bus lines were also being shut down. Again, they had been just "one step ahead" of terror's path.

It was not until they were safely on the train to the airport that the Bratschuns discovered the extent of what was happening around them. Two ladies with cell phones kept them constantly updated, and despite the mass chaos and virtual cessation of London transport, the Bratschuns, (after a few extra security checks), made their flight and arrived in Tulsa early Friday morning.

"I still don't think we realize what we just experienced." Donna shared. "It was like we were in a protection bubble. God just had His grace around us the whole time."