This Rain is No Joke --- Please Pray

It has been raining non-stop in Manila for almost 24 hours now... It is not a typhoon and the storm signal has still not come to a level that would normally close businesses and schools... but they are all closed now anyway. Just the sheer amount of rain has devastated the city. If people left this morning for school or work, most of them are now stuck and cannot get home.

I went to the grocery store down the street this morning, staying in the store for about 45 minutes. When I left the parking garage, I realized that the tail-pipe of my car would be under water and I turned around and re-parked. The only vehicles going down that street by this time were trucks and large SUV’s. After waiting for an hour, I took the essential groceries and walked. The water came up to well over my knee’s as I made sure to walk in the more shallow areas... down the middle of the street unless a vehicle was coming. The waves from the vehicles would about knock us over as the water was violently swirling anyway.

Plastic bags and debris wrapped around my legs and I would shake free. I was watching out for potholes which might cause a sprained ankle or worse yet, for open sewerage holes or drains in which if you dropped into you would likely be killed by drowning. A father and his 4 year old were on the opposite side of the street of me making their way through the water. The kid slipped and the father lost his grip and the kid got caught in the current and went down the river in the street faster then his father could catch up to. Two men were able to catch him and return him to his father before he was lost him the drainage system of the city forever.

I made it home with only a scratch on my leg from floating debris but of course I smelled like “you know what...” I showered for 30 minutes carefully disinfecting every inch of my legs including my toe nails. You don’t want that kind of an infection.

Word is coming in now. Our Church building has turned into a mini refugee center. Many families have been rescued by raft. Some of our Church members have had to move from 2nd floor to roof top. Their belongings are destroyed and they are just happy to make it out with their lives by this point.

We don’t know what he death toll is in Manila yet but the news said at least 10 kids have been killed so far that we know about. There is great concern for the elderly as well who may not be able to make it to high ground.

In the province, people are calling in to the government who in turn are alerting the media that they are the lone survivors from their families. The story usually goes that they return home from work and find their house and family gone or maybe a body.

Imagine the “latch-key kids” whose Mom’s went to work this morning and can’t get home... The little 7 year old girl taking care of her 3 year old brother and they are scared and don’t know what to do. And since they don’t want the neighbors to know what they are doing that, the neighbors may not know to rescue them.

I’m asking for prayer! Our family is safe and we only lost our electricity 20 minutes ago. We have been fortunate. Our housing division is on high ground and we are in no danger now that we are all home. I’m using a cell phone and battery power to get on line right now. I don’t know how long before power will come back on. I am asking for prayer for those we don’t know about, can’t get a hold of and even for those we will never meet. Please pray that God will save, protect and make Himself known through this rain storm.