Look up, God is there!

This week has been an extremely hard week for me.  I have been trying to figure out how to put my feelings and thoughts into words.  Everything has been a jumble in my brain.  Since that is how I still feel, I will try and put together a coherent blog post, but if it's jumbled, I apologize in advance!

For those that don't know, this last week there was a typhoon, Category 5, in the Philippines.  This typhoon destroyed so much.  The wind and the water was everywhere.  When I heard about it for the first time was when my Uncle posted about my cousin who is serving in the Philippines.  He said that all the missionaries were moved to secure places and that they were all accounted for.  Well, Saturday came and I went home to visit my family.  My mom pulled me aside and told me that my best friend Jess was in the mission that was hit the hardest in the typhoon and was unaccounted for.  This news sunk into my heart like a lead weight.  Jess has been a part of my life since I was born.  She was my first best friend.  She is like a sister to me.

Saturday night I heard of the numbers of the dead in Jess's mission.  The numbers were sickening.  I felt like I was constantly praying for her safety, but in my heart I wasn't sure that she was alive.  This was not a lack of faith, this was me recognizing that Jess was serving the Lord and was in His hands.  His will might be that she not survive the storm.  Well, Sunday afternoon came and her family got word that Jess was alive.  She had survived the storm and was "being taken care of".  I have never been so relieved!

Monday the posts about Jess started rolling in....  "Jess is alive and being taken good care of.  She is recovering, but has been through a traumatic experience that will take a while to heal from...." etc...   This was not the most comforting things to hear.  On Tuesday I begged my mom to tell me what had happened and for her to send me the email so that I could be a better support for Jess and not be left wondering what had actually happened.  That night I read the email.  I couldn't stop crying.  My heart went out to my best friend that I could do nothing for.  After reading her story, I realized that there is something I can do with this knowledge.  I can share the testimony that it has given me and the things I have learned.

Jess and some of the other sister missionaries receiving help in Manilla

When Jess and the other missionaries found out about the storm, they hunkered down in an apartment to wait it out.  They were on the second floor because they thought it was the safest place to be.  As the winds picked up speed and the strength of the storm was upon them, they realized that this was going to be intense.  The water started to rise, and the sister missionaries and my best friend remembered that there were bars on the windows, if the water kept rising they wouldn't be able to get out.  They tried to get to the front door, but it was underwater.  Jess resigned herself to die.  She felt utterly and completely alone.  She prayed to Heavenly Father that he would watch over and protect her, but realized that it might be her time to go.  Miraculously, one of the missionaries was able to kick out a skylight.  The missionaries all piled through onto the roof.  The water was still rising and they realized that they could be swept off the roof, and some of the missionaries couldn't swim.  Everything was dark and the storm was still raging.  These sisters prayed for the water to stop and another miracle occurred, the water stopped rising.  The sister missionaries experienced many more blessings and miracles on their road back to safety, but I want to stop here and explain the testimony that I gained because of it.  If you want to know more, here is a news article about what my friend Jess and the other sister missionaries went through. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865590735/Surviving-the-typhoon-A-story-of-fear-faith-and-what-it-means-to-be-prepared.html?pg=all

Jess and the other sister missionaries laughing between interviews.  It makes me happy to see her smiling!

Jess's story is one of faith and the working of miracles.  When all seemed lost and there was no escape from the storm or the awful fate of drowning, theses sister prayed to God to show them the way out.  There was no way to go sideways or down, they had to go UP.  So often in life we are all tossed about by storms that we can't escape.  Everything that we do to move out of the storm (going sideways out the window) may be blocked for one reason or another.  We are barred from those escapes for our own protection.  God knows the way out and he will watch over us.  We need to look up and God will be there providing a way to weather our storms.  This was such a testimony builder for me.  I hope that as all of you go through the storms of your life, that you'll remember to look up because God is there providing an escape.