Triggered by Typhoon Pictures in Laoag, Ilocos Norte PI

Severe tropical storm, Ineng:  People killed, crops gone, many farm animals dead -- yet it's the one picture below that truly stopped me in my tracks. 

At the height of the typhoon on Saturday, Ilocos Norte residents particularly in Laoag, Bacarra, Pasuquin, Burgos and Vintar experienced one of the worst flooding caused by torrential rains of around 50 millimeters volume of water for 16 hours.-- pna.gov

I am prompted to remember: 

Me as a young passenger in a motorized tricycle being driven to my private grade school.  We pass a man & woman on the dusty road (this is how I immediately surmised how poor they were). The lady had to try hard to keep up with her husband who with his ramrod-straight back was focused straight ahead towards their destination. He is carrying their young daughter in his arms similar to the man above. She is also fully wrapped in a white hospital sheet, and her exposed feet bounced as he walked. She is obviously dead. Not from a severe flooding, but very likely from a short illness that our rural hospital could not cure. Her Parents were taking her back home, on foot, for a simple wake; and then a burial in a pauper's grave. I weep inside.

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For the next 3 days, every donation to the @pacquiaofoundation will go to feeding and providing shelter for thousands of people in Laoag City. Click LINK IN BIO to help!

My heart breaks for the people affected by the tropical storm and flooding but together, we can make a huge impact! Imagine if everyone gave just $5. Thank you for helping others!  -- Senator Manny Pacquiao, Instagram

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, 

saith your God.

-Isaiah 40:1

‘Ineng’ leaves Ilocos Norte flooded

"Ineng" Leaves Over P1.1-Billion in Damages in Ilocos Norte

Manny Pacquiao Foundation

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Hurricane Irma: Helpful Hints from a Harvey Survivor

To my Florida friends and family...

Some things I learned about hurricane damage management.

Plastic bags 1/3 filled with water make  good substitutes for sandbags at doorways
Paint cans or 5-gallon buckets can support and elevate your furniture if you are going to get water in your house.
Wear clothes to bed nothing looks worse than seeing people on the news in water logged nightgowns and boxer shorts. Plus it is helpful slogging through the water at night.
If you get water up to your electrical outlets or you evacuate, trip the main breaker. A volunteer was electrocuted and died here walking in knee deep water due to power being on at a house he was going to check on.
Wear hard soled shoes and gloves if you wade in water
Use duct tape to seal your garage door to the floor to prevent water intrusion
Everyone should have an I.D., a whistle and a flashlight on them once the rain comes.
Have a queen or king sized white flat sheet to signal for help from boats and helicopters.
Map out a couple of escape paths, leave before these become flooded.

Link: Hurricane Damage Management

Rainbows: Worldwide Symbol Not just for Gays

Saw this whale t-shirt for sale at the same Mall of America store which tried to sell anti-Potus stuff.  I was prompted to  wonder: how many people realize that Rainbows are a visible symbol of God's promise not to flood the earth once again to destroy it; and are not meant to be a symbol of gay PRIDE ?  I bet not very many know.  Here is my chance to spread the word about God's mercy, and to dispel ignorance.

And it shall come to pass, when I [God] bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you [Noah] and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:14-16)