TYPHOON PEDRING

Senior Missionaries, younger Missionaries (Elder Tyler Haws) and Volunteers Filling Bags of Rice for Typhoon "Pedring" Victims

(l-r) 1. Wall of Water Coming from Manila Bay to Roxas Blvd. 2. U.S. Embassy Flooded 3. Overview of Manila Bay Water 4. Flooded Streets of Bulacan Province 5.Roxas Blvd. Manila

On our way home from Angeles on Tuesday, September 27, we noticed that the rains had begun to increase in intensity. By the time we reached one of the two good highways in the Philippines (Northern Luzon Expressway or NLEX) we had lots of rain and wind. There was very little traffic....a few large semi trucks were hold up under over passes to wait out the storm. We learned that Typhoon Pedring, a category 3 typhoon, was now moving inland over the area. We felt our car move across the road a few times from the wind, and the trees on the side of the road were bent over by the force. Water poured across the road and often, tree limbs came rolling across the road as well. We were blessed to drive all the way back to our apartment in Mandaluyong without any incident. We later learned that the area we had visited was severely flooded. NLEX was on higher ground and didn't suffer like those in the pictures above. Over 50 people died in this storm and thousands were flooded from their homes. Even many of our missionaries in the Angeles mission were affected by the storm, but all were kept safe and lived on their 72 hours kits that the Mission President had stressed each have. Sister Martino (Mission Presidents wife) told us that her husband had felt very impressed last August that each missionary have a 72 hour kit and their own cell phone......at the time, only the zone leaders had cell phones. They promptly responded to that impression and their missionaries were so blessed. Later that week, we had the opportunity of putting on the yellow "Helping Hands" vests...recognized all over the world as the church's humanitarian efforts.....and taking a Saturday to bag rice and clothes for the victims of this flood. It was quite a privilege to take part in this service. We truly feel blessed to be in this land.