It was a dark and stormy night, but since it was "family night" we decided to brave the wind and rain and take our kids to the mall for the evening. After all, it is just rainy season and we have to live a little, you know. So we grabbed our umbrellas (all 6 of them) and the hands of our children and took off to find a jeepney going to the mall.
We climbed onto the crowded jeep that stopped for us and pulled the girls onto our laps. The plastic rain flaps had not been pulled down on the jeep but that was ok, I thought, because I was only getting a little bit of rain coming in on my back.
When we finally arrived at the nearby mall (as in, less than 3 miles away) 30-40 minutes later I realized that while the rain hadn't been too bad on my side of the jeep, my poor sister-in-law's back was entirely soaked.
The end of the jeepney route is not exactly at the mall. We have to walk along the outside of a different mall, go up a long flight of stairs, cross a walkway suspended above six lanes of atrocious traffic, down a long flight of stairs and another block or so to the mall entrance.
It was still raining as we stopped at the end of the sidewalk before the long flight of stairs. We gathered ourselves as we prepared to step out into the rain. The girls were pretty excited that they had been allowed to bring along their own umbrellas.
Winnie was the first to open her umbrella. We turned our attention to the other girls as Winnie stood waiting.
Suddenly, as if in slow motion, I saw Winnie take a step forward... right off the edge of the sidewalk. The step down was over a foot in that spot. She crumpled to the ground under her umbrella. In fact, all we could see was the colorful umbrella- no Winnie!
We heard the gasps of the people walking by. We knew what they were thinking, "Crazy foreigners!"
We quickly picked up the umbrella and noticed that part of Winnie was missing... down a dark hole in the cement. We quickly pulled her out, ascertained that she had all her appendages and accessories and started wiping her down with wet wipes from my purse.
I think I've talked a little about the pollution and grime of the city in the past. Well, let's just say you really don't want to fall down a hole in the ground here. Her legs and dress were covered in greasy black slime. The sewer runs underneath the city and there are often openings right down into it right in the middle of the sidewalks or roads. The smell is horrific and you always have to look down as you walk. One of the hazards when it floods is the danger of accidentally stepping into an open hole as the water rushes over it. Many people have been lost that way.
It wasn't until lunch the next day that I realized what a close call we had had. We could have lost our Winnie! She had fallen in up to her waist, but in the dark we didn't know if it was a shallow hole or one that went all the way down into the sewer.
Dennis checked it out in the daylight later that week. The hole was as big around as Winnie's waist and it went down all the way into the sewer.
Thank you, Lord.
We climbed onto the crowded jeep that stopped for us and pulled the girls onto our laps. The plastic rain flaps had not been pulled down on the jeep but that was ok, I thought, because I was only getting a little bit of rain coming in on my back.
When we finally arrived at the nearby mall (as in, less than 3 miles away) 30-40 minutes later I realized that while the rain hadn't been too bad on my side of the jeep, my poor sister-in-law's back was entirely soaked.
The end of the jeepney route is not exactly at the mall. We have to walk along the outside of a different mall, go up a long flight of stairs, cross a walkway suspended above six lanes of atrocious traffic, down a long flight of stairs and another block or so to the mall entrance.
It was still raining as we stopped at the end of the sidewalk before the long flight of stairs. We gathered ourselves as we prepared to step out into the rain. The girls were pretty excited that they had been allowed to bring along their own umbrellas.
Winnie was the first to open her umbrella. We turned our attention to the other girls as Winnie stood waiting.
Suddenly, as if in slow motion, I saw Winnie take a step forward... right off the edge of the sidewalk. The step down was over a foot in that spot. She crumpled to the ground under her umbrella. In fact, all we could see was the colorful umbrella- no Winnie!
We heard the gasps of the people walking by. We knew what they were thinking, "Crazy foreigners!"
We quickly picked up the umbrella and noticed that part of Winnie was missing... down a dark hole in the cement. We quickly pulled her out, ascertained that she had all her appendages and accessories and started wiping her down with wet wipes from my purse.
I think I've talked a little about the pollution and grime of the city in the past. Well, let's just say you really don't want to fall down a hole in the ground here. Her legs and dress were covered in greasy black slime. The sewer runs underneath the city and there are often openings right down into it right in the middle of the sidewalks or roads. The smell is horrific and you always have to look down as you walk. One of the hazards when it floods is the danger of accidentally stepping into an open hole as the water rushes over it. Many people have been lost that way.
It wasn't until lunch the next day that I realized what a close call we had had. We could have lost our Winnie! She had fallen in up to her waist, but in the dark we didn't know if it was a shallow hole or one that went all the way down into the sewer.
Dennis checked it out in the daylight later that week. The hole was as big around as Winnie's waist and it went down all the way into the sewer.
Thank you, Lord.
7 comments:
Oh, Valerie! I'm crying at the thought. Thank you, Lord, for preserving sweet Winnie. May the Lord continue to hold you in His hands and keep you all safe.
What an awful scare! Actually I laughed at your word picture of the plight covered by the umbrella. When you further described the situation, I am like you--shuddering to think if you'd lost her. Yes, thank You LORD!
Wow - very awesome to hear how God protected Winnie! Thanks for sharing!
Praise the Lord for His angles that protect the little ones. Was she scared afterwards?
Yes, thank you Lord!!
That is a very scary thing to read. I'm so glad she is safe.
Love you all
Patti
All I can say is Praise The Lord for His Protection!
Valerie
Your mom shared this before I had a chance to read about it.
We praise the Lord with you that He watches over us and all our little ones!
In Christ,
Joan for 9Browns
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