Sisters Who Survived London Bombings Say ‘The Lord Was Sovereign.’

The two sisters from Tennessee injured in the London bombings earlier this month say that the Lord carried them through the ordeal. Emily and Katie Benton, college students from Knoxville, told reporters last week that they have yet to harbour hatred for the terrorists who blew up three London underground carriages and a double-decker bus on July 7, killing 56 people and injured some 700 others, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The sisters were only 10 feet away from a bomb that exploded in a tube train just outside a London station. A woman just one seat to their right was killed. It was their first full day together in London for what was to be a weeklong vacation.

“I honestly thought I was going to die during the explosion,” Emily, 20, said. “Just the sensations that I was feeling , I thought I was on fire. I could feel my skin like peeling off. Just the fact that my eyes opened and I was alive was incredible.”

Emily suffered the most severe injuries: broken bones and lost skin on her left foot and a fractured right hand. Katie suffered shrapnel wounds in her right foot that exposed tendons and bones. Both suffered some hearing damage from the blast.

After several days in London hospitals, they were transferred to Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, where the sisters later underwent reconstructive surgery.

The sisters, who were to leave Duke for Knoxville last Friday, believe the experience has only served to strengthen their Christian faith and their appreciation for what they have. “There’s no better way to fight terrorism than to turn what they meant for evil into good and the Lord is certainly capable of that,” Katie, 21, said.

Emily said she expects questions of “why” will come eventually, but for now she believes a divine plan for their lives is unfolding. “I just feel empowered and that God has been preparing us, both of us, our whole lives for this day,” she said. “And He has given us this opportunity I think to just reach out to others and to encourage others who are sick or hurt.”

“The Lord was sovereign in all of this,” Katie said. The sisters hope to return to England someday to complete their trip, the Associated Press reported.