Another Typhoon

This past week, our region of the Philippines suffered the 4th Super Typhoon in as many months. Wednesday we began preparing for the impending typhoon, predicted to pass directly over us. Fortunately for us the path shifted and the brunt of the weather passed just south of us. Unfortunately, the damage to the Bicol region, 200 miles to the southeast on our island of Luzon, has been horrific. There has been massive flooding and mudslides. Here are some pictures taken by reporters on Saturday and Sunday. They tell the story better than words could. Please remember these people in prayer as the death count has risen to over 1000 so far.

Schools and businesses in the Manila area were closed Thursday and Friday, but the kids were already out of school for some local and national holidays. We were supposed to be leaving for a short trip to the beach Thursday morning, but Will has been sick off and on for the last 2 weeks, so we decided at the last minute not to go. The Lord really protected us because we would have been in the direct path of the Typhoon. The last place I want to be trapped is at the beach, on another island, during a major typhoon.

The damage to Manila is minimal. We lost power for about 18 hours due to a transformer blowing. We were without water for 2 days, but since we had only had water for about 8 hours since Monday, it was nothing new. Water was restored on Saturday about lunchtime.

With the loss of water, power, and typhoon prep, my parents are getting a good taste of what our life here is like. So far, the only thing they seem to really dislike is the traffic, but who doesn't. My dad wrote in a recent email: "The traffic here makes Atlanta rush hour traffic a piece of cake. The roads are full of buses, jeepneys, motor bikes, motor bikes with a side passenger car, and of course the normal cars and trucks. The traffic is either stopped or moving at a slow pace. The distance we traveled one way last Saturday was about 30 miles or less (everything here is in metric). It took us over 1 1/2 hours." I think they will enjoy getting home to the open roads of Alabama and Georgia!

Thursday, as we were waiting for the bad weather to arrive, we took Emily and Will and the Brewer kids out to lunch and bowling. Allan was the high scorer of the day, followed closely by Pop. We had a great time and for once we had a camera at the bowling alley, not only one camera but 2. Below is a picture of the bowlers. (minus me the picture taker) Mimi decided not to bowl. She wandered the mall a bit and had a great time window shopping and buying a few things.