Typhoon Fengshen

Howling winds, sheets of torrential rain, and total darkness. That is how we awoke at 5am yesterday morning. We had prepared somewhat the night before for the impending typhoon, but after 3 years we have grown somewhat lax in our preparations. The threat of a typhoon used to send me out to the store to stack up on supplies, flashlights were out and ready, prepared for days of confinement. I've learned that when a country has an average of 20 typhoons during any given year that life in the metropolis may slow for a moment, but it never really stops. We usually just make sure the buckets we keep filled in the shower have fresh water and that we fill some pitchers with tap water to be filtered as needed. Oh and we shut all the windows downstairs before heading to bed. (No one likes to get up and shut them during the night)

Yesterday morning, after being awakened by the storm, we all snuggled together for a while and enjoyed the cool 72 degrees before heading down to eat pancakes by candle light. The great thing about a gas stove is that we can still cook. We debated whether we would go to church or not. See we knew that church would go on despite the category 3 typhoon currently passing through. Allan decided he didn't want to get stuck in heavy flooding that is a constant reality of torrential rains in this city. We have gotten quite adept at driving through flooded roadways. Something I was very apprehensive to do 3 years ago.

After breakfast, the kids went to build a fort with some pillows and blankets. They needed socks to keep their feet warm. We spent the day reading, talking, playing and weather watching from our screen porch. For us, the day was passed in quiet enjoyment of cool breezes and each other. We were thankful to have power restored around 6:30 pm and water restored a couple hours later. We realize this was not the case for many of those around us.

Today clean up began and life in Manila continues on like any other Monday. It always surprises me that natural disasters seem to be such a part of life here. So much so that the city never really shuts down. Yesterday, most of the malls, stores, and restaurants were open even during the height of the storm. The airport never closed and planes landed all day. Unfortunately many of our adopted countrymen will begin today differently than they had planned last week. They will have lost much, including loved ones. We grieve and pray for those who lost loved ones on the Ferry that capsized during the storm and for those who lost houses and family here in our city and around the Philippines.

Public transportation continues even
during a typhoon and heavy flooding

Since we had no power, we didn't want to open
the refrigerator so we ordered Pizza Hut delivery.
Even food delivery happens during a typhoon.

Obviously it was a popular dinner choice,
it took Allan a few tries to get through on the phone.