Dare You to Move

We got creamed!
It's been almost a week since typhoon Xangsane (Philippine code name: "Milenyo") hit Metro Manila, but the effects are still there.
A lot of us still don't have electricity! And no water! Can you believe that?
And it took us almost a week just to update this post... :(

Okay, so here's how things more or less happened: On September 27, tropical storm Xangsane was upgraded to a full-strength typhoon, packing winds of 130kph and gusts of up to 160kph. Pretty impressive, said the weather experts, and they decided to cancel all schools and government offices the next day (Thursday, Sept. 28) and raise storm signal no. 3.

The morning of Sept. 28, we got the usual dose of rain and high winds, but more or less, there wasn't really much to worry about.

At high noon, the wind and rain suddenly stopped and at one point, the sky seemed to brighten a bit.

Many of us thought the worst was over. However, for our seasoned "stormbreakers," they knew it was just the "eye" of the typhoon, a region of relative calm and seen from space by satellites as a clear spot.

Then, at around 1pm, the "other side" of the typhoon hit--really hard.

Wind and rain lashed the metropolis. Roofs flew, trees fell. This went on for--how long was that? It seemed like eternity--almost two hours.

Some of us prayed in their houses with their families. And soon enough, God relented and withdrew the storm, sending it towards Vietnam.

At around 3pm, as soon as the wind died down to a bearable level, we all went out and repaired our homes.



The scenes of destruction were beyond belief. Like waking up to a nightmare, somebody said. Billboards were flattened, houses torn apart, poles and trees felled.


Some of us even got injured by the flying debris and had to be taken to the hospital.











Even our temporary "Full House" (the Social Hall) wasn't spared, springing numerous leaks and missing a part of the roof. The High School Room suffered two broken windows and had rain-soaked furniture as well as countless music pieces belonging to the choir.

It was a really sad sight.

The last time a typhoon hit Metro Manila was in 1995, but at that time, many were affected by floods. This time, high winds wrecked the City, plunging the whole of Luzon into darkness.

Even up to now, many of us Youth live in the dark without electricity and scarce water. It's like war, someone said. There are long lines at the ATM, and many people are at the malls seeking relief from the heat or charging cellphones. There are even longer lines at water refilling stations and the roving water trucks.

It seemed that even our new home, Full House, wasn't spared, because some leaders are having second thoughts at getting it because of maintenance costs and the unexpected repairs to the Church building.

Please pray for us! Pray that electricity and water will be restored to our homes and that our lives can go on normally again...pray also that the Full House ministry will push through.

God bless us all :)