joanna in the philippines

Hey everyone! Well, it has been awhile since I last wrote... lots has happened. Lets see... Don and John got stuck in Tabugon for about 5 days and 4 nights because of the rain... so it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that they got back. But it was SO good they were able to cross the river when they did because a typhoon hit us Sunday night, and Char and I were so thankful to have Don back to make sure the house stayed together! Well, last week was long and rainy, hardly stopping for more than a few minutes. One baby died last week, and we were inside much of the time. Then the typhoon... well, it hit right south of us, and at first it was a tropical storm, then it was a category one typhoon, and then the night it hit we read online that it was a category 2 or 3... cant remember. Well, apparently it was a Super Typhoon... we found that out the next morning, but it wasn't so bad. Growing up in Florida, I have been through a few hurricanes (which is what a typhoon is), but I have never gone through one right on the coast! Ha... well, it was kinda fun... all Sunday we were inside because the weather wasn't so great. I did take the kids to the beach for a few minutes to look for shells, but the waves were HUGE and they scared me half to death as they came up close to the path to the house, so we didn't stay long :)... but we had a fun time being inside... played some games and also sardines in the house when it was dark (hide and seek pretty much)... then Don and Char and I watched a movie on the remaining laptop power and the winds came. It was pretty loud in the house... the rain can be SO loud and the wind rattled the house a lot, but I am so thankful I slept through a lot of it. Don was up all night cleaning up water here and there and making sure we weren't going to fly away... guess it was about 120+ mph winds... crazy! But we survived and the Epps survived their first typhoon in the tribal house, and we were all fine! I kept thinking about the Agta though all night, living in their huts made from trees and branches, but the next day they were checked on and all were doing pretty good. But, another baby died on Monday morning. This baby was only a few weeks old, I was here when he was born, and it is so sad to have lost another baby. Found out today that an old man died in Tabugan... he was the one who was so hospitable to Don and John when they were stuck out there... giving them food and letting them stay in their house. Well... he was an older man, but he died. So sad... really. I was thinking the other day that for a Christian, one who has placed their faith in Christ, death has NO STING! It is awesome to know that death for us is just the beginning of an eternity with Christ, but for an unbeliever, like the Agta here in the Philippines, death is horrible. There is absolutely no hope. No rejoicing over death. I still cannot wait for them to hear God's message to them.

Well, today there is no rain! Praise the Lord! Char and Don were back to language (even though they both aren't feeling well) and I think the ladies want to play some more volleyball this afternoon! So, hopefully it will continue to be a nice day. Thanks for praying everyone... and also be praying that the language work here will quicken so the message can be brought sooner, and that the lives of the Agta will be preserved until they can hear! Also, that the weather will be clear for our flight out NEXT FRIDAY! I cannot believe it is so close to leaving, but it will be fun to see Sarah and Markus and Levi and Emma again. If the weather gets bad, well, we could be stuck here for a long long time, it has happened many times to missionaries here, and then hopefully Char's pregnancy will have no problems. Well, thanks for praying! Over and out...