The Flood

I have been terrible about giving updates especially about the flood. Most of you know that 1 month from today, on September 26, Manila experienced a great flood. It was actually the worst flood that Manila has had in 43 years. Roughly, there was 16 inches of rain in 9 hours. There was over flow from many rivers and dams. Many people were trapped in their homes and forced to be evacuated while being stranded on their roofs. Many streets turned into rivers having 5-6 feet of water. Cars were stranded in the streets so the drivers could be safe. The last report I heard is that there were about 400 deaths and about 1 million people displaced from their homes. The needs here are almost unbearable. One week after the Manila flood there was a storm up north in Baguio that did more damage. They experience flooding and also land slides in the mountains. They experienced the same tradegy of deaths and homeless people.

As in most disasters we saw God move as only He can. Thankfully our home did not have any damage since we live on top of a hill. So, we were able to help many of the people who were affected by the flood. School was cancelled for a full week. We spent the week cleaning up houses consisting of sweeping water, scrubbing walls, cleaning personal items, and packaging and giving food. There were many missionaries who lost everything. It was amazing to see God's people come together and help the hurting. Some of our boys were very active in helping out and some needed a little extra push. But over all we were very proud of our boys.

Now almost a month later things are almost back to normal. School is back into session and people are back into their busy daily schedules. But you can still see the affects of the flood. We have heard that some areas still have 3 feet of water. Some areas next to the high ways have been a dump for garbage. It will take a long time to completely clean up and rebuild from this disaster.

So we thank you for all of your prayers. Continue to pray for the Philippines. There have been some diseases that are sprading because of the conditions. And most people have a lot of rebuilding to do.

Thank you! We love you all!