Typhoon Ofel

We are back to normal now after being pounded hard by Typhoon Ofel. We have lived for seven years total in the Philippines now, over two different tours, and this was by far the worst storm we have ever seen in our lives. Having been brought up and lived in Texas most of our lives, we didn't really know about typhoons or hurricanes firsthand, but now we sure do. Typhoons are really about the same as hurricanes, but just called by a different name here in Asia, and they are terrible. We endured rain like we have never seen it before for almost 24 hours, coming down in sheets with the wind blowing it almost horizontal. It really pounded our house. There were also gale force winds which literally tore trees up out of the ground, and not just banana trees but old, thick, heavy trees. It took them two days just to get the two-lane highway here cleared off. We also lost power for parts of three days. This was by far the most scary time for us EVER in terms of the weather situation. But thankfully, it is over now. Thankfully none of our kids or staff were hurt at LCC. We did sustain some light roof damage but nothing too terrible. There were, however, about 15 people in the Visayas region where we live who are dead or missing, but none in Tacloban. The worst thing here in the aftermath was just the terrible flooding, but hopefully by now it is all subsided. Thanks to all those who prayed for us, emailed or texted words of encouragement. We are all fine now, thanks to our loving God.