Massive Flooding

It is amazing how we can get caught up in our own little world. This past week I have seen pictures on the news of the flooding in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. It has been a little surreal to see the local amusement park under water and to know the pain, frustration, and suffering that is going on there. Unfortunately, Allan and I have been so caught up in the process of moving ahead with our life and making some important decisions this week that I didn't really give it a whole lot of thought beyond a mere passing notice. I didn't realize that in another town I call home, on the other side of the world, even worse flooding was happening. Last night we received an email message from the American Embassy in Manila about their office being closed on Monday due to the flooding from the recent typhoon. We often get messages from them because we had to register with the Embassy when we moved overseas and I am unsure how to "unregister". Since there are often typhoons and flooding in the Philippines, I really didn't give it much thought until Allan began showing me horrific pictures of streets and places that were not just some place somewhere in a country we once lived in, but of places we knew and streets we had been on.

The news media is calling this "the worst flooding in the nations capital in 4 decades... as more than a months worth of rain was dumped on the city in 12 hours". The last count Allan and I saw of reported dead was 106. Beyond that, the devastation has to be unimaginable as people who have so little to begin with are now left with nothing. As power begins to be restored in some areas, friends are beginning to post pictures on facebook. I have spent the last hour looking at them. In some ways it is amazing how quickly life goes on. Pictures from around Faith Academy on Monday show the women and men working to get rid of the mud and muck left behind, while the Filipino kids are enjoying the day off school playing basketball on what's left of the courts.

Here are a few pictures I saw on the internet of an area called Cainta which is near our home and where the kids school, Faith Academy is located. These are places we know and places we've been. It's a little hard for me to see such destruction.

A picture of Cainta in the Rizal province

This is a major road into Manila called Ortigas
We traveled over this bridge every Sunday on the way to church

Another picture of the same scene.

More people traveling on Ortigas

We have had no news from the area around the clinic, but it is on somewhat high ground. Please pray for the Filipinos impacted by this calamity as well as the missionaries who have also lost much and for those who will begin to help rebuild what has been lost.

This picture is in an area of Manila called Pasig

It is a little further down Ortigas closer to town.