Typhoon Milenyo

On Tuesday, September 26th, Typhoon Milenyo swept through the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction. We started the day as normal, with no real warning of the impending danger. By mid-morning, we realized that a typhoon was moving in, not uncommon for us in Legazpi. Shortly after lunch, we lost our power, after several short brownouts that morning. By 2:00 pm we were getting hit pretty hard and by 6:00 pm, it was obvious this wasn't our normal typhoon. We realized later it was Signal 4 when it passed over us.

At 7:15 pm, as we were sitting around the table eating peanut butter and jelly by candlelight, the eye of the storm reached us and all of a sudden it was complete silence. It was really eerie. For the last several hours, we'd been hearing roofing and all other sorts of debris flying around outside. So sudden silence felt really strange. The eye lasted for exactly an hour and at 8:15, like clockwork, the back side of the storm hit. Only it was stronger than the front side!

It was at that point that our bedroom started to flood - not from the ceiling, but through the closed windows and doors! We tried to "fight" the water for about 2 hours, but when the downstairs started flooding too, we gave up! One of the driest rooms was Caleb's and so around 11:00 pm, we all crashed in Caleb's bed. Sometime around 2:00 am things calmed down.

We awoke early the next morning with calm and quiet and sunny skies! However, when we looked out, we were able to see the damage. Thankfully, our house and yard sustained very little damage, compared to most. I didn't take any pictures around town, but here are a few from our house and yard. It took days and weeks before most things were back up and running. We were without water for several days, without telephone for about a week, and without power for almost 3 weeks. It was only yesterday (Nov. 11) that our cable TV was restored, much to Carly and Caleb's delight!

Through all of this, we were vividly reminded of God's power and protection!

Our mango trees sustained the most damage.

Notice the leaves "splattered" all over the walls of the house.

This picture was taken from our bedroom, looking down our street.

This was also taken from our bedroom. It shows our roof along with our neighbors roof.

Caleb was anxious to hang our Texas flag. You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the boy!!

Carly was happy when she discovered the hula hoop survived the storm!

Carly's Creations

Around the Allen house, you can always count on Carly having an on-going art project. She likes to call them "Art Attacks", based off a Disney show here from Australia called "Art Attack." (There's a cool website to go with the show if you're interested. http://www.hitentertainment.com/artattack/ )

A few days ago, Carly came and asked if she could get the Play-Doh out. Next thing I knew she was bringing me one animal after another that she'd made. They were really cool so I decided to take pictures of them! I thought I'd share a few of them with you. Keep in mind, most of these were only 3 or 4 inches tall!

(Notice the green alligator in the background - crafted by Caleb)

We're not sure where Carly gets her artistic ability. Definitely not from Mom! She surpassed my ability by age 3. LOL. I'm saving all her drawing books and tell her that someday when she's famous I'm gonna sell them on e-bay and get rich! Ha ha.

An Incredible Scene

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1

One afternoon this week we took the kids to a local beach resort for a couple of hours of swimming. This particular place is our favorite because you can swim out in the ocean very far and it is still shallow. Also, the view of Mt. Mayon is incredible when you are out in the water. This particular afternoon/evening was one of the prettiest we've had here in Legazpi. As the sunset behind Mayon, we were vividly reminded once again of our magnificent Creator. After all of the turmoil involved with Mayon during the last few months, isn't it just like God to remind us of His peace!

Volcano Relief - Part Two

After several afternoons of measuring rice and packing up relief bags, the day finally arrived to deliver the relief goods to the evacuation center.

Here Kristine poses with the finished product.

Loading the truck

Carly was able to sneak a kiss from Kirby!

The fully-loaded truck

When we arrived at the evacuation site, it began to rain!

The safest place for Caleb was on the truck!

The assembly line

A representative from each family would wait in line until their name was called to receive their rice and goods.

Carly and her friends

Some scenes from the evacuation center

Majestic Mayon

We were so thankful to have the opportunity to be a blessing to those around us in need. Please join with us in praying for so many families that have been displaced from their homes. Please pray that God will use this difficulty to open doors for many families to know the Truth of His Word.

Volcano Relief - Part One

During the months of Mt. Mayon's eruption, there were thousands of people in our area that were evacuated from their homes. Many of those people were not able to work during this time, making a bad situation even worse. Through our BMA Missions Office, funds were provided for us to be able to minister to many of these families in need. With the help of some members of our house churches in Legazpi City, we prepared relief bags for over 500 families!

First we measured the rice so that each family received the same amount.

Carly and Kristine working with the rice...

...while Caleb "surfed" on the bags of rice in the back of the car!

Carly stops long enough to smile for the camera.

Wade opens the bags of rice...

...then Caleb plays in the empty bags!

The first batch of finished rice bags

Other than rice, we gave soap, toothpaste, laundry soap, noodles, sardines, soy sauce & vinegar.