Ferry and Typhoon

When I lived in Butuan we took the ferry about every other month overnite from Butuan to Cebu. Just a normal part of our travel. Bus, jeepney, motorcycle, tricycle, horse (not really) and ferry. They are all just a normal part of life. The photos above were taken last fall. When the ferry is ready to leave the port over the loudspeaker comes the voice of one of the crewmembers, repeating the Hail Mary...("Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death......."). And in the morning it is repeated again. I've often sat and listened, praying for us also, but speaking directly to the Father......It's relationship with Him that allows me to communicate with Him....approaching the throne of grace with confidence....

I've often wondered about the number of people on the ferry versus the number of lifeboats/lifejackets. As you can see in this photo, I had one in my bed area, easily accessible. ( I wanted to share these photos even though they are a bit goofy, just so you can see what the inside looks like....I mean no disrespect to the people who lost their lives in the storm. If I had more serious photos I would post them instead.)

One week ago there was a typhoon that many of you may have heard about. There was a ferry that left from Manila to go to Cebu, which is a two day trip. The ferry got caught in the typhoon (I think there was a problem with the boat) and it capsized with more than 800 people on board. There were about 50 people who were rescued...28 of them in a life boat that had drifted many miles from where the boat was overturned. Many hundreds were trapped in the passenger compartments.

I can only imagine the chaos and terror as the boat sat there listing in the water, being thrown from side to side by 100mph winds and thrashed by the waves. I can only imagine what it was like for the mothers with small children, not knowing what the best way to protect their kids was....to jump....or to stay inside and wait. I can only imagine the heartache of the relatives waiting for word from their family members on the boat.

The typhoon that knocked the boat over also devastated so many villages from the south to the north of the Philippines. Many homes are just gone, taken by the winds and leaving behind devastation. The rivers overran their banks and carried away homes and people. In Manila where there more than 10 million squatters living, there was widespread flooding of communities..... In Olongapo where Leslie, my boss from Hope House in Oakhurst, lives with her husband it storm reached signal 3 (out of 5) and caused many trees to fall and flooded their house. (She called me and told be she had a waterfall in her living room cause the roof was leaking so bad...)

The storm was headed for Baguio, but it only rained hard and was VERY windy before it head back out to the ocean and headed for Taiwan.

Typhoons are a normal part of the weather in the Philippines, but they aren't always strong. We had one hit Baguio several weeks ago and we lost power for a few days, but other than damaged trees (and windows in the base we forgot to close) we were fine. But of course there are these devastating storms that come, and there is nothing to do but wait and pray and ask God for His mercy.

Teresa and I talked after we heard about the ferry and really had no words. Just this overwhelming feeling of.........sadness, grief, amazement. Ferry travel is normal. It's part of life. And in this case, it was the end of life for so many.

Did they know that they were loved and cared about and treasured by the God who created them? (I read an article that one of the survivors just kept calling out to his ancestors and the saints for help......)

Was someone there on that boat who lost their life too, but was able to speak words of Life to the passengers and help them to meet Jesus?

I don't know.

But my heart breaks for them.