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I just googled my name ... and found a ton of entries that had nothing whatsoever to do with this Katelyn at all. lol "Follow Katelyn M. on Twitter!" "Katelyn M. is on facebook and myspace!" "Fire, water vanilla and Katelyn M."(in reference to a school rodeo lol) ... at the bottom I actually found something that pertained to the actual Katelyn M. of this blog. haha Oh well ... at least none of them have the same Chinese name as me. :)

Tonight, I reached into my nail bag and pulled out a nail file that I've had for probably several years but haven't ever really used because of my former biting problem. I smiled when I realized it was covered in butterflies ... ^-^

Glory to God we have survived a pretty strong typhoon! Typhoon Fanapi has finally left the island of Taiwan and is now storming on the mainland of China. We did not personally suffer any losses, but several people I know have. Froggy, Evita and Hanyen all had flooding in their homes and have had to get rid of many things that were ruined by the flood waters. Please keep these young ladies in your prayers as the throwing away, cleaning up and re-buying process continues.

Last night just after 11:00pm I think, people came around and told us we needed to evacuate the cars or there was a possibility that the flooding would prevent us from leaving safely. Alisha and I grabbed some belongings, Lexus and turned out the lights. We drove to the front gate but couldn't get out so we turned around and headed out the back. Once out of the complex, we still weren't out of the clear as the gate opens up to back roads that were also filling up as the rain was coming down like crazy and the winds were strong. There was a place that we could turn left, right or go straight and neither of us knew which way to go. At one point, a gentleman running back and forth between vehicles talking to people told us that he was going to turn left and we could follow him ... it turns out that that road was also blocked.. so the only option out was to turn around. Because the van is rather good-sized, we couldn't just "turn around." We had two choices: 1. Wait for all the cars ahead of us to turn around and make their way back, opening an area for us to turn out in, 2. Back out the whole way down a fairly good stretch of road. We chose option number 2. Alisha started backing the car and then I got nervous because it was really dark and she couldn't see the direction she was backing ... so we opened the side door of the van and I stood up, holding onto to inside and leaning out of the car so I could be her "eyes" in the back. lol That was when the real adventure started. :)

After successfully backing down that road and turning around, we now had the option to turn right or go straight. After just having the experience of backing up, I thought it prudent to check first on foot, rather than go blindly. With my top half already kinda wet, I climbed out of the car and traipsed off toward the tunnel to the right. There was a car coming from that direction. Due to the circumstances, I was feeling brave enough to use my Chinese to ask if we could go out that way. He told me that it was also flooded ... so back to the car I went and told Alisha we had to try going straight because that was now our only option.

When we had first arrived at that crossroads, we thought the straight road was also blocked because we could see cars with their brake lights all on. As we found out once we started down the road, it was because of debris. Because of the high winds, many branches had fallen across the road, keeping us from being able to drive through.

Through this situation there was a driving force: there was no going back. I have to admit, I was slightly terrified. Basically, the only other typhoon experience I have was during Morakot, which was very severe. Knowing the damage that was done and the immense flooding that took place in this area last year, there was an unexplainable amount of urgency in me.

Lexus was in the car with us and quite uneasy himself. He seemed to sense the state we were in and was anxious. In between jumping in and out of the car, I was trying to calm him down and make him lay down, but to no avail. He didn't calm down for the entire night basically, but that's another story.

So, Alisha and I were now headed forward and we encountered the first bit of foliage on the road. There was really no other option, so I jumped out of the car, told Alisha to keep the door open and began clearing the way. At first, it was pretty awesome. I felt like I had just stepped into an adventure story .. There I was, getting soaked by pelting rains, moving branches off the road, jumping into a waiting vehicle; repeat. ^-^ But in all seriousness, I was fully aware of the danger that could befall us if we didn't get out of there. There was so much adrenaline pumping through my body ...

While I was out there pulling branches into ditches on the side of the road and on the side of the river, I thought about the missionaries in Africa and what they do to get back and forth in jungle areas ...

There were more and more branches to move as we went along and they got bigger, too. Some of them were actually small trees with several large, leaf-laden branches that fell altogether because of the shallow root system, I'm guessing. Anyways, a man on a scooter was also making his exit that way and came to help me. By this time I was getting a little tired from the crazy rush of energy that the adrenaline had provided me and from all the activity in the in climate weather. Thank God that I was wearing a jersy skirt and top so they were light weight and easy to maneuver in!

I remember standing on the left side of the road, needing to move a very large chunk of tree to the right side over by the river, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. Samson came to my mind and I prayed for supernatural strength at that moment to get me through .. in Jesus' name I began moving that branch across and began to speak in tongues. As that man and I finished clearing that patch of the road, I continued praying aloud, drawing strength from God and praising Him for His goodness. That is a moment, an experience, that I will never forget. 因為神與我同在，什麽都不會怕。

We finally got through the road and decided that we would go to Alisha's old apartment because that way we would have to check into a hotel in our state :) and it was better that way because we had Lexus and couldn't take him inside a hotel.

We stopped at the church to pick up a towel and some water and then stopped at a 7 to pick up something to snack on. I bought some of the same candy that the Bracken's and I had with us last year when we were stranded at the gas station. It seemed fitting at that moment and brought a smile to my face, despite the circumstances. I'm sure I was quite a sight in that 7! Hard to miss a tall, white girl who was soaking wet! haha I kept wondering the whole time how much my clothes were sticking to me and tried to keep pulling at them to avoid walking around wearing a second layer of skin. ;)

After Alisha and I were back at her old apartment, I looked at her and said, "I'm so stupid!" I realized that the whole time we were trying to get to higher ground, there was a rain jacket rolled up in my backpack ... lol ... oh well ... maybe the rain jacket would only have inhibited my progress.

After showering off and laying down, I still couldn't close my eyes. There was so much going on in my head and around me. The scenario from that night kept playing over in my head. I kept thinking of all the things I had wanted to do before we left, just in case. I thought of the things that would need to be done, should there be severe flooding. I prayed that the flood wouldn't go into the house. I could hear the storm outside and it would randomly rattle the window. Lexus was making noise.

Even after Alisha and I headed to bed, poor Lexus was so wound up that he wouldn't sleep! No matter what, he would not lay down or be quiet! He had been to the bathroom and we had given him some water, but nothing seemed to help. I went in there to see if he would lay down and then rest but he still seemed to have some secret source of energy! I thought he would be tired ... but nope. He had the energizer bunny inside!

I made another phone call to my mom to check on the status of the storm, since we didn't have internet connection. Nothing had really changed weather wise but 3 people were considered missing/dead and over 70 had been injured due to the storm.

That was quite an apt reminder that no matter how tired I was, I was blessed beyond measure!

I tried going to bed again and listening to some calming music on my ipod ... finally I started to drift off a little bit ... and then Lexus barked! That time, Alisha and I just turned the lights on a sat up with him for a bit. I decided that if anything else were to happen and we had to leave Tainan immediately, I wanted to be ready. So, I changed my clothes, tightly braided my hair and made sure all my stuff was ready to grab and go. Alisha was already sleeping before I got my stuff together. I don't know how she could sleep with all the sounds but she did! haha

Finally, probably around 4:30ish, I went to bed again. This time, I was able to get a few hours rest. We then got up, took Lexus to the dog hospital to watch him for the time being, picked up Joyce, and drove back to the house to check on the damage. Thankfully, the front gate and the side had flooded, but the inside and the homes had not been reached at all! Praise God! That was such a relief! Once inside, we checked for electricity and water, which were both still on! :) Between the three of us, we made the necessary phone calls and then got online to check/send emails.

Then, I took a nap and woke up around 5:30. I had checked the computer, had some salad and read the old new papers while I waited for Alisha to get home from tutoring. She brought some fried rice back, checked her computer, showered and went straight to bed.

And now, I must do the same for I am still quite wiped out ... while the storm is over, there are many people for whom the effects are far from over. Please remember to uplift them in prayer!!

If all goes well tomorrow, we are going to meet up for a bbq in honor of Moon Festival! :)

Until then,
K