Nobody was expecting a months worth of rain to be dropped in 24 hours but it happened. When the rains started that Friday night we didn’t think anything of it. We are in rainy season so we are used to rain coming down all day long for several days in a row. The difference this time, was how hard it came down. I didn’t even know we were in a typhoon. There was no wind, just tons of rain. On Saturday, the street in front of our house looked like white water rapids. The water was easily 6 inches deep as it rushed past our gate and down the hill. We lost power around 3:00 PM, it was daylight still so we just kept doing things without power. The main streets of Antipolo were flooded with neck high waters. For the next 24 hours, we remained trapped in our house with no power. Thankfully, our house and the clinic suffered no water damage because of there location on the mountain side.
While all of this was going on, our neighbors (the Ortiz family – Mom, Dad and three kids under 10) were in Manila visiting with a friend who was in town for Compassion International. They tried to come back to Antipolo but found the roads flooded and impassable. They ended up staying the night in their friend’s hotel room. The kids liked it since they had cable TV but mom and dad were stressed out about how to get home! They had to stay another night in Manila at a missionary’s house before they could get through on Monday. When they finally got back they showed us pictures of the devastation. On Ortigas, the road we most often take into Manila, the flood waters reached the second floor of many houses (18-25 ft high). The military was helping with rescue operations so there were tanks and other military vehicles lining the streets. Some of the Ortiz extended family lived in that area and they lost everything. The other road, Marcos Highway, that takes you to Antipolo was flooded also. People were being ferried back and forth on boats. One missionary had to get on a boat to get to the hospital where their daughter was suffering from appendicitis. The entire missionary community was a buzz with talk of all the flooding and how they can help. Many missionaries had to, first, take care of there own flooded homes before they could help others.
By Monday night, we had our power back and we were working to figure out how we could help. Hundreds of thousands of people had been displaced from their homes and Val knew that many more would soon be getting sick from all the contaminated water. We had heard of a couple of places in the province that were hit pretty hard with land slides so the clinic planned a trip to the province to provide medical relief. Manila was getting a lot of press and assistance, so we felt we could help most in the areas not so visible to the media. On Wednesday, the clinic staff met and discussed where to go on Thursday to help. We sorted medical and food supplies that we would load first thing in the morning.
Thursday morning we drove about 45 minutes outside Antipolo to an area called Baras. As we drove out we passed bulldozers working to remove mud and debris from the roads. Our destination was a small daycare building where several families were living that lost everything in the flood. One family there lost a total of 8 family members (this is the family that we wrote about in our newsletter). The family took us to the site where their houses use to stand. They said it was a small creek before the flood, but now it was a raging river. You would have never known that houses had stood there - the area was bare. Everything had been washed away! The team treated several families that were still in that area, using a covered porch of one shack as the medical area. After treating these people, we returned to the daycare building to treat the other families there. Word had gotten out that a medical team was in the area and soon there were crowds of people seeking medical care. One group gave out tetanus shoots to the men dredging the river for bodies while the other group gave medical care to the women and children. In a few hours we had exhausted our medical supplies and told many patients to come by the clinic the next day and they would be seen there. Before we left, we passed out some food and cooking oil and then we prayed with the families who lost everything. It was a very emotional day. We all debriefed over a late lunch and then headed back to the clinic to unpack.
Since then, many of the patients have returned for follow-up visits and they are doing better. There are still many people with needs in the area and we are seeking Gods guidance as to how we can be His hands and feet in this crisis. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers during this disaster.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
An Accident Waiting to Happen
We had our first car accident. Given how crazy traffic is here, I knew this day would come. We were driving down Marcos Highway, in the center lane, and a Jeepney side swiped us as it was pulling back onto the highway after picking up some passengers. The entire passenger side of our van had scrape marks and the front fender was really dented and the bumper was partially pulled off. We both stopped and got out of our vehicles to inspect the damage. Of course, the Jeepney had no visible damaged because of its thick cast iron bumper, so he said it was my fault and began to drive away. I told him to stop because it was his fault and I needed a police report (at this time that was all I thought I would need). About a block away was a Marakina police checkpoint. I ran over to it and asked the officer if he could assist us. This entire time, our van was in the middle of the highway with Val and Faith waiting patiently inside. The officer came over and talked with both of us. He told us that we were out of Marikina jurisdiction and were in Antipolo jurisdiction so he took us back to his checkpoint and wrote out his report in the checkpoint journal. He then told us to follow him to the Antipolo police checkpoint and he gave me the Jeepney driver’s license since he could see that I was worried about him leaving the scene.
We arrived at the Antipolo police checkpoint to find it empty. We waited there for about an hour for the Antipolo officer to come -- but none did. About two and a half hours had passed by now and Faith had to go to the bathroom. Valerie took Faith out of the car and walked her about two blocks up the street, in heavy traffic, to a McDonalds. Right when they were out of sight, the Marikina officer told us to go to the Antipolo police station in town. The Jeepney driver was about to leave when I rushed over and told them that my wife and daughter were in the CR (bathroom) and asked him to please wait, since I had to follow him to the station. Moments later, Val and Faith returned and we piled in our car and followed the Jeepney driver to the Antipolo police station. At the Antipolo police station we learned that the section of highway where the accident occurred was actually Cainta jurisdiction and not Antipolo (AARGH!!) The Antipolo officer also tried to convince us to let the Jeepney driver go and just let the insurance company deal with it (it was obvious that the officer knew the driver since they were very friendly when they greeted each other). I explained to the officer that I needed the police report in order to let the insurance deal with it and he directed us to the Cainta police building.
We arrived at the Cainta police station about three and a half hours after initial impact (Have I ever mentioned that things don’t go fast here?) We explained to the officer what happened. By this time the Jeepney driver’s wife had caught up with us and was trying to explain to the officer what happened. This upset Valerie since she wasn’t even at the scene of the accident and Valerie let the officer and the woman know that it was not her place to even talk about the accident since she was not there during it. The officer went and looked at the vehicles and Valerie explained to the officer how the damage done to our car (the bumper being pulled off) could not have happened if we hit him. If we hit him -- our bumper would have been pushed in, not pulled off. The officer agreed with us and we went back in and he made out the report. The officer tried his best to speak in English and did a pretty good job. He later joked that he was going to get a nose bleed from all the English he was speaking. During all of this, Valerie had called our insurance company and we knew that we needed a copy of the police report, a copy of the Jeepney driver’s license and registration, a copy of his insurance and the name and contact number for the owner of the Jeepney. We got all of this information together while the officer finished writing his report in the daily journal (no computers or copiers in the police station). The officer returned all the original paperwork to each of us and told me that I could come back at midnight to pick up the police report (WHAT!). He explained that he would need time to type the report and that he should be able to get it done by then. I asked if I could come early in the morning instead and he said I could come at 6:00 AM. We took our copied material and finally headed home (Five hours later!). By the way….Faith was great throughout this entire ordeal.
The next morning I picked up the report and that following Monday I met with our insurance. Three months later we finally have the van fixed, fortunately it was still drivable after the accident. Needless to say, I’m a little skittish when a Jeepney pulls up next to me now.
We arrived at the Antipolo police checkpoint to find it empty. We waited there for about an hour for the Antipolo officer to come -- but none did. About two and a half hours had passed by now and Faith had to go to the bathroom. Valerie took Faith out of the car and walked her about two blocks up the street, in heavy traffic, to a McDonalds. Right when they were out of sight, the Marikina officer told us to go to the Antipolo police station in town. The Jeepney driver was about to leave when I rushed over and told them that my wife and daughter were in the CR (bathroom) and asked him to please wait, since I had to follow him to the station. Moments later, Val and Faith returned and we piled in our car and followed the Jeepney driver to the Antipolo police station. At the Antipolo police station we learned that the section of highway where the accident occurred was actually Cainta jurisdiction and not Antipolo (AARGH!!) The Antipolo officer also tried to convince us to let the Jeepney driver go and just let the insurance company deal with it (it was obvious that the officer knew the driver since they were very friendly when they greeted each other). I explained to the officer that I needed the police report in order to let the insurance deal with it and he directed us to the Cainta police building.
We arrived at the Cainta police station about three and a half hours after initial impact (Have I ever mentioned that things don’t go fast here?) We explained to the officer what happened. By this time the Jeepney driver’s wife had caught up with us and was trying to explain to the officer what happened. This upset Valerie since she wasn’t even at the scene of the accident and Valerie let the officer and the woman know that it was not her place to even talk about the accident since she was not there during it. The officer went and looked at the vehicles and Valerie explained to the officer how the damage done to our car (the bumper being pulled off) could not have happened if we hit him. If we hit him -- our bumper would have been pushed in, not pulled off. The officer agreed with us and we went back in and he made out the report. The officer tried his best to speak in English and did a pretty good job. He later joked that he was going to get a nose bleed from all the English he was speaking. During all of this, Valerie had called our insurance company and we knew that we needed a copy of the police report, a copy of the Jeepney driver’s license and registration, a copy of his insurance and the name and contact number for the owner of the Jeepney. We got all of this information together while the officer finished writing his report in the daily journal (no computers or copiers in the police station). The officer returned all the original paperwork to each of us and told me that I could come back at midnight to pick up the police report (WHAT!). He explained that he would need time to type the report and that he should be able to get it done by then. I asked if I could come early in the morning instead and he said I could come at 6:00 AM. We took our copied material and finally headed home (Five hours later!). By the way….Faith was great throughout this entire ordeal.
The next morning I picked up the report and that following Monday I met with our insurance. Three months later we finally have the van fixed, fortunately it was still drivable after the accident. Needless to say, I’m a little skittish when a Jeepney pulls up next to me now.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Trusting
As many of you know, we made a short trip back to the States for a surgery that Val's mom needed to have. Everything went well and there was no sign of cancer (Praise God!). Upon our return to the Philippines, I was reminded of the verse that I consider one of my life verses.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
There have been so many hurdles that could have delayed our initial departure or caused us to return from the mission field in the first year. It has been awesome to see God clear the way and make our paths straight.
Things have just begun here and I know there is much more "Trusting" that we need to do. But I can look back and see God's hand guiding us along the way and be encouraged. I hope you can do the same.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
There have been so many hurdles that could have delayed our initial departure or caused us to return from the mission field in the first year. It has been awesome to see God clear the way and make our paths straight.
Things have just begun here and I know there is much more "Trusting" that we need to do. But I can look back and see God's hand guiding us along the way and be encouraged. I hope you can do the same.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Judas Among Us
I am reading through the book of John in my morning quite time and came across the verse where Mary (Lazarus’ sister) poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped it with her hair. I have always been amazed how often I can read a passage and get something new from it. During this reading I noticed the following lines of text (from the NASB version)…
“But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?’ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”(John 12:4-6)
I always knew that Judas was going to betray Jesus, but for some reason I thought he was an OK guy who became possessed by the Devil at the last supper and then became evil. It never dawned on me that the whole time he was with Jesus he was evil, but this verse states very clearly that he was. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of my days as “Judas”. When I was in high school, I lived a double life. At church I was active in the youth group, sang in the youth choir, and was a member of our church’s Bible Bowl team. To people who knew me at church, I was a “good kid”. But then there was the life I lead at school. I cursed worse than most kids, wrote stories and poetry of death and mayhem and made cartoons about sex and drugs. I was just like Judas. Judas was one of the “Inner 12”. He ate, drank, and slept with Jesus Christ. Everyone admired him for is devotion to Christ, but there was an evil in him that would alter the course of his life forever. I give praise and glory to God for bringing me through those days into a new life with him that is “Judas” free.
So I felt prompted to ask….Are you “Judas”? I have seen a whole lot of people walk through the doors of the church and claim to be a follower of Christ, but come Monday morning they cling to the things of this world and turn their backs on things above. I’ve seen pastors raise a church up and then resign after having an affair with a member. Are you tithing? Are you “pilfering the money box”? God gives us everything and in return he only asks for a tenth out of gratitude. These are general questions for you who are reading. I don’t know where you are with your relationship with Christ. If you choose a similar path as Judas, the same fate could be in store for you. Maybe you won’t hang yourself on a tree, but you might be eternally separated from God and His love for you. I don’t wish that on anyone. May each of your days with Christ be “Judas” free.
“But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?’ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”(John 12:4-6)
I always knew that Judas was going to betray Jesus, but for some reason I thought he was an OK guy who became possessed by the Devil at the last supper and then became evil. It never dawned on me that the whole time he was with Jesus he was evil, but this verse states very clearly that he was. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of my days as “Judas”. When I was in high school, I lived a double life. At church I was active in the youth group, sang in the youth choir, and was a member of our church’s Bible Bowl team. To people who knew me at church, I was a “good kid”. But then there was the life I lead at school. I cursed worse than most kids, wrote stories and poetry of death and mayhem and made cartoons about sex and drugs. I was just like Judas. Judas was one of the “Inner 12”. He ate, drank, and slept with Jesus Christ. Everyone admired him for is devotion to Christ, but there was an evil in him that would alter the course of his life forever. I give praise and glory to God for bringing me through those days into a new life with him that is “Judas” free.
So I felt prompted to ask….Are you “Judas”? I have seen a whole lot of people walk through the doors of the church and claim to be a follower of Christ, but come Monday morning they cling to the things of this world and turn their backs on things above. I’ve seen pastors raise a church up and then resign after having an affair with a member. Are you tithing? Are you “pilfering the money box”? God gives us everything and in return he only asks for a tenth out of gratitude. These are general questions for you who are reading. I don’t know where you are with your relationship with Christ. If you choose a similar path as Judas, the same fate could be in store for you. Maybe you won’t hang yourself on a tree, but you might be eternally separated from God and His love for you. I don’t wish that on anyone. May each of your days with Christ be “Judas” free.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
I smell a rat!
We had our first rat in the house. It wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when” this would occur. When you live in a densely populated area with limited waste management you would expect to experience some of the issues related to such an environment. We were told when we first moved here that if you keep your place clean you won’t have any problems so we have worked hard to keep a spotless house. Dishes are always cleaned before bed and all food is kept sealed and out of sight. He (I’m calling the rat “he” but I didn’t actually check the gender) showed himself while I was cleaning the dishes one night. He walked out on the stovetop while I was in the kitchen doing dishes. I thought this was a bold move since there was activity and the lights were on. We were told that he was a young one so he may not have had the street sense to stay out of sight until the lights were out. I caught his movement out of the corner of my eye and as I turned to get a closer look he turned around and climbed into one of the vent holes on the top of the stove. We had two mice living in the stove when we first arrived so I had purchased some rodent trapping supplies in preparation for this day. I ran to the closet and gathered my glue traps and placed them all around the stove. The traps I had purchased were made for mice so I was afraid they wouldn’t stop him since he was four times the size of his rodent cousin. My hope was that he would get stuck on multiple traps and be immobilized.
After setting the traps I notified Val that we had a rat. She was not happy about that (Who would be?). I told her I had the traps set and I was certain we would have him caught be morning. I went back to washing dishes. Moments later I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. I turned to see the rat slowly creeping around the stovetop again. When I turned, he started back for the vent hole but got his rear foot caught on a glue trap. While struggling to get that foot loose he stumbled into a second trap which immobilized his front feet. He began to roll around trying to get free which got him more stuck in the two traps. I quickly grabbed the nearest blunt object that I thought would “do the job” without denting the metal stovetop. I grabbed the cutting board that was waiting to be washed (OK that may have not been the best weapon of choice but I was desperate) and I headed over to the stove. The cutting board had rubber ends on it and it was long enough that I could hit him without any fear of being close enough for him to bite me. I took the corner of the board and I gave him a good whack on the head. He started screeching and I whacked him two more times. He screeched no more…. Val heard the commotion and came running. Our neighbors, the Nelsens, also heard and came over to investigate. The rat was dead.
I left the traps out over night in case there were more in the stove and set multiple traps through the house in areas that might have rodent traffic. As of now, there have been no more sightings. My guess is that he was a baby exploring new areas. Unfortunately he chose the wrong place to explore….My Kitchen!
Oh Yeah, In case you are wondering…Val made me bleach and boil the cutting board.
After setting the traps I notified Val that we had a rat. She was not happy about that (Who would be?). I told her I had the traps set and I was certain we would have him caught be morning. I went back to washing dishes. Moments later I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. I turned to see the rat slowly creeping around the stovetop again. When I turned, he started back for the vent hole but got his rear foot caught on a glue trap. While struggling to get that foot loose he stumbled into a second trap which immobilized his front feet. He began to roll around trying to get free which got him more stuck in the two traps. I quickly grabbed the nearest blunt object that I thought would “do the job” without denting the metal stovetop. I grabbed the cutting board that was waiting to be washed (OK that may have not been the best weapon of choice but I was desperate) and I headed over to the stove. The cutting board had rubber ends on it and it was long enough that I could hit him without any fear of being close enough for him to bite me. I took the corner of the board and I gave him a good whack on the head. He started screeching and I whacked him two more times. He screeched no more…. Val heard the commotion and came running. Our neighbors, the Nelsens, also heard and came over to investigate. The rat was dead.
I left the traps out over night in case there were more in the stove and set multiple traps through the house in areas that might have rodent traffic. As of now, there have been no more sightings. My guess is that he was a baby exploring new areas. Unfortunately he chose the wrong place to explore….My Kitchen!
Oh Yeah, In case you are wondering…Val made me bleach and boil the cutting board.
The Waiting Game
Two weeks ago we finally got our visas. It was a six month process and would have taken longer if we had not had the assistance of New Tribes Mission in getting the job done. I have realized that everything takes time here in the Philippines. It doesn't matter how small the errand – you need to plan an entire day to accomplish any task. The most likely reason – the TRAFFIC. At 4:00 AM, I can get to the airport in 40 minutes. If I try it during daylight it would take 3 hours. When we first arrived here, the traffic was my biggest complaint, but now it's just a fact of life. You have to expect there to be congestion when you are living in a city with over 12 million people. The congestion goes beyond the streets – It's EVERYWHERE (market, grocery store, mall, etc.). After getting our visas, we went to get our Philippine driver's license. Fortunately, our language tutor's husband had a close friend who worked at the transportation office and he helped speed us through the process. We arrived at the transportation office a half hour before it opened and there were crowds of people everywhere. It took us 3 hours to get through the process and it would have taken twice that long if we hadn't had help from Raul's friend. The staff worked feverishly to get things done but when you have hundreds of people needing things processed there is only so fast you can go. For those people who don't want to wait (and have the finances) they can use a “Fixer” to get things done. I'm not sure of the legality of these services but for most any government process there is someone willing to do it for you. The question is, are you willing to pay for it? I guess, in a way, Raul was our “Fixer” that day but we were present for the process and no extra money changed hands – so it wasn't really a “Fix”. Coming from Springfield, IL with a population of maybe 150,000 to Manila is a major population shock and I'm still trying to adjust. God is teaching me to be patient and flexible. That's the only way to survive. I'll let you know if it gets any better.
Sorry for the Delay
So sorry for the delay in new postings. I realize the importance in staying in touch with friends and want to keep you up to date on what's going on. December and January were very busy and it takes me a while to write the blogs. I know in our last newsletter I said I would be blogging about the progress of my computer training ministry, however, we have decided to include that in our next newsletter. Thanks so much for your patience. I will post more soon.
Thanks!
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