We were trying to keep the floodwaters out of the little children's home on Saturday morning when Helen came running up the hill, "There are children trapped, and sparks in the water."

We ran down the hill with hammers and crowbars, hoping to break something open and get people out, but the little creek you can't even see in this picture was swollen and surging up above where I'm standing here. There was no way across, so Jorge (our driver) and I took the vehicle and tried to get around to the other side.

It's a long story, but it was many hours before Jorge and I were able to make it around. In the meantime we had heard that our staff person, Benita, had been able to escape and was holed up with a bunch of others in a chapel on the other side of the hill. They were safe, but soaked and hungry. Look at the video below for a sense of how they escaped through the roof of their house and up over a rock wall.



Just up the river from Benita's house there is a long, improvised stairway up to another group of houses. Malou Mantos was watching the flooding below from her doorway, and probably thanking God that she and her family were safe, when a culvert behind their house broke loose without warning.

She had time to yell, "Run" before a landslide of mud and water burst over their ravine and crashed through the back wall of their house. She and their other children were far enough into the house to avoid the collapse, but their youngest, Ruvie Mar, was sleeping in her crib right next to the back wall. They got her to the hospital as quickly as possible, but she passed away on Sunday.



Rescue efforts morphed into housing and feeding people who had no homes to return to. I'll have to tell this part of the story again somewhere, but so many of our staff (and others) worked so hard help people in need. This is Helen, our home supervisor at Shiphrah Birthing Home, pulling broken glass out of Rose's hands and feet while her son sleeps, exhausted. If ever a case could be made for sainting a person before they pass away, I could make that case for Helen in about 2 minutes.

On Monday, Union Church of Manila brought out a dump truck full of relief goods. Here's our beloved Pastor Scott helping to unload the truck. A proper list of the volunteers who have contributed and helped would be a mile long and counter-productive. All of us feel privileged to be the Lord's hands and feet.



Yesterday we shifted our focus again from feeding and housing people to helping them put together a home, even temporarily, where they can eat and sleep. Many are still sleeping at our birthing home or in the chapel nearby. We're trying to get beds, but were able to supply some materials (a sheet of plywood and hollow blocks for bedposts) for make-shift beds just so people can move back into their homes. I carried the materials to Dexter's house, so he is helping someone else.

Our heroic Helen has worn many hats these last few days, but below you can see her handing out cooking utensils to people who have lost everything. All of us feel very fortunate to be safe and to be able to help others.