We had an amazing two days. Thirteen and a half inches of rain fell in one six hour period of time (equivalent of all the rain fall for an entire month of September), though it also rained hard for the entire Saturday and much of Sunday. At the same time we had high tide, and to make things worse, you know the condition of the drainage system - being clogged with garbage. Added to that, when the water level rose to the point of endangering the dams northeast of the city, the government opened the dam to relieve the pressure.
Consequently, though flooding was already horrific all over the city, what had been knee high rose to neck high in a matter of seconds.
Areas that were neck high rose to 15 feet. We had many members who spent the night on the roof of their houses without food or drinkable water. They had been there since noon. People spend Saturday morning carrying hard earned appliances up to the second floor of their homes, only to have the second floors also flood by afternoon. Areas which had never flooded before were inundated. Pastor Sumrall’s admin assistant’s home ceiling fell in because the water sat for so long (up to the second floor).
Pastor Sumrall and I sat for four hours on SLEX Saturday morning trying to get to the church, though we quickly realized it would not be possible. We finally reached Sucat (first place we could turn around), only to sit on the service road for two hours until the flood in that area subsided to the point that we could float/drive the van through. We watched people who were already soaking wet struggle to get their kids safely to higher ground, and we laughed as we watched boys body surfing down the high way - you know how Filipinos can find the joy of life in any situation. Most of the construction fence along the highway was down, all that expensive night lighting equipment floating around freely. It wasn't easy sitting in the car for four hours waiting to get nowhere, but at least we were dry and relatively safe.
At the church the young musicians were supposed to have a fellowship so 26 young teens had gathered for that and were stuck at the church. The dancers were also there for a Saturday morning rehearsal, and the staff children were there for school. All of them, together with the staff who had come in by 8 Saturday morning were stuck at the church until Sunday night. They slept, or tried to sleep at the church that night, making friends with the mosquitoes that swarmed in. Our building administrator cooked supper for everyone, and on Saturday afternoon they were laughing all the way - feeling like they were at camp. The volunteers for the feeding program had cooked a hundred meals for the street kids that morning, but because no one could get out to do any feeding, they fed breakfast to the 120 people who had to stay in the church, instead.
Meanwhile our pastors and pastoras were stranded all over the metropolis, spending the night in their cars in various parking lots or anywhere they could find higher ground. The president had ordered all malls to open their parking to motorists for free - because they were desperately trying to de-clog the streets so rescue vehicles could get through. Ptr Joey spent 11 hours at a 7-11. It’s a good thing he was stranded in a place that had food! All streets still until Monday had cars parked all over them where motorists had to abandon their cars and seek refuge.
Well, come Sunday morning we fully expected the water to have receded, but to our shock, it hadn't. Noel (our church sound man) walked to church to check on things, through chest deep water on UN Avenue, and though he felt objects knock against his body he just kept walking. By 9 am some of the water had receded in some areas of town. We met at the church with about 300 - 400 people who managed to come and pray at 10 and again at 3, and all day long we cooked meals and prepared for rescue efforts.
Sister Mayo's son, Mitch was all over Magallanes Village rescuing people (including a new born baby) on his jet ski - yes jet skis in Magallanes Village!
Meanwhile at the prison close by our church where we minister regularly (Manila City Jail, one of many prisons we have access to for ministry), the flood had invaded their cells. The prisoners normally sleep on the floor, so as the waters rose, they were forced to stand in a group all night. If they sat down or lay down they would die. The Marikina Jail prisoners were not so fortunate. Not being allowed to go out to seek higher ground, they drowned in their cells.
On Sunday we fed 1,206 people at the church who had nothing to eat all day, and we prepared food (over a thousand more hot meals), fresh water, candles, and dry clothing to bring to the still under water areas. All day Sunday after gathering for prayer, our people trooped out to these wet areas. Our volunteers also helped people sludge the mud out of their homes and carry things to second floors or drier places.
In Bulacan we fed our families who were still sitting in knee deep water. In Sta Mesa our workers arrived with their relief goods, only to find that the water was still deep. Undaunted, they walked through thigh deep water, carry high above their heads the hot meals and purified drinking water for 30 of our families.
As they walked through the floods they sang "I Will Love You" with all their hearts. "With my every breath, I'll make Your mercies known, with every soul on earth, or all alone I will Love YOU, I will Love YOU."
In Camanava (where the water was still waist deep), we found a family of ten sitting down to a "dinner" of one plate of rice and one small fish. When our workers arrived with ten individual hot meals, they cried and laughed and thanked God. In Cainta, Brother Boy Tiples (a member who has a fishing business) loaned us a rubber boat so our workers could get through with hot meals and fresh water for those still in neck deep water. These people were taking refuge on second floors of their homes.
Our huge truck drove till its wheels were covered with water. Then we launched the boat and took piping hot meals the rest of the way in to our members. In this area, our members were clinging to their faith in God because the government rescue workers had already suspended their operations. They had lost 6 rescuers (who died) and a 7th who was missing. But here we came – though it took till the wee hours of the morning, our volunteers persevered until the mission was accomplished!
We were also prepared to bring these people back to the church to sleep for the night, though almost all of them preferred to stay with their things. In Novaliches we brought relief to our families, and even in Makati and Pasay we brought food. Most areas of Metro Manila still today are without electricity. Two of our pastors and two of our staff are among those that lost everything they own because their homes were completely inundated.
The floods rose so suddenly. Entire families grabbed their children by the hands and ran for their lives, only to have their little ones swept away by the raging torrents. They were too weak to hang on, and too little to survive. Many children are among the dead.
Monday morning as our members made their way down from roofs and second floor places of refuge, they were greeted by houses full of mud and debris. As they settled in to work and shoveled out the sludge, to their horror they found in the mud garbage, dead animals (mostly cats and dogs), and even dead people in some cases.
Now, where the streets had been littered with abandoned cars, they look more like dumping grounds. People have thrown cabinets, clothing, school supplies, mattresses, refrigerators, food, electric fans and other appliances, and all manner of other now-useless belongings out into the streets to eventually be picked up by government clean up crews. Unfortunately, these dump heaps include precious wedding pictures, albums of new born babies, and other treasured memories, never to be replaced.
These are a lot of facts - but it can't begin to convey the emotions. The old people and children who suffered. The anguish as one of our pastors watched a young child die in a mud slide and was helpless to do anything about it. The people like old Mommy Dulce - who was trapped in her car for 7 hours with no bathroom or drinking water etc until the water was too deep in her car and she had to trudge through the water, walking a mile or so to get to the church - where she then worked tirelessly for 24 hours helping our members who had lost everything.
We have heard of a couple hundred people who have died, many being swept away by the waters, some who couldn't hold on any longer, and some who couldn't escape their houses as the water rose quickly to 15 feet. Thankfully none of our members are among the confirmed dead (though we are still trying to account for some and we are hoping it is just a matter of their phone batteries being gone). However, five of the dead are our recent feeding converts. It happened while the electricity was not yet turned off by Meralco. There was a short, causing a fire in their shanty, but the water in their area was two stories high. We are horrified, but thankful that at least we can say they are with the Lord.
As you pray - pray for health, because you know what bacteria fills those flood waters. Our members have walked through a lot of yucky stuff. Also - pray that as in Job's case, God will restore twofold everything that has been destroyed. People's clothing, mattresses, appliances, school supplies, childhood memories, etc. Also we still need to pray that the water will completely subside, especially in the eastern areas like Marikina and Cainta Rizal. And of course we need to pray for the relief efforts, which the government is kicking in today. And pray that we can account for each and every one of our church members.
As of Tuesday, we are beginning to receive text messages from our grateful members, saying thank you, and they are so happy to belong to the body of Christ. Our people are teary eyed, blessed beyond belief that their brothers and sisters in Christ would go that far for them.
Others have testimonies of faith that triumphed in difficult times. Kathleen told us, “Thank you so much for all your prayers. God is indeed a miracle worker. No rescue team arrived, but God's help came on time. It stopped raining and the flood started to subside. If it hadn't, a little bit more rain and we would have been washed away. We were on the roof of our house along with some neighbors because our roof was slightly higher than theirs. Me and my son were crying, but I wanted to hold on to my faith. I repeated over and over again that God would never forsake us, that I will be still and know that He is God, that all His words and promises are true, that nobody can snatch us from the palm of His hand and He comes just in time. He is never late. We lost everything due to the flood. Our house is unlivable, with water dripping from the ceiling. For a while I thought I lost everything but then I gathered myself - these are all material. I wanted to tell God that even though everything was destroyed by the flood, my faith has stood firm. I did not love Him for what He could give me anyway. I love Him for who He is. Praise God. Although I still can't stop crying, it was traumatic as I didn't know how to swim, no floating device and I am responsible for my son. I thank God. Thank you all for your prayers.”
We have two more storms headed our way – due to arrive in a couple of days. Our city can’t handle any more water right now. But we have a great God who loves us, is there for us, and has assured us that when we pass through the water, He will be with us.
