The Storm that Wasn’t

Guam has again been missed by another storm. This time according to the Pacific Daily News…

The National Weather Services downgraded Tropical Storm 09W to a tropical depression and expects to cancel the tropical storm warning at 8 a.m. today. The strongest winds will be north of Guam and the closest point of approach is still 9 or 10 a.m. There was 2 inches of rain overnight. The wind speed at 9 or 10 a.m. is expected to be around 20 mph. The depression is expected to move north through the Rota channel, move toward Taiwan and intensity as it moves across the Philippine Sea.

Last night as we were waiting for the storm to approach Joyce and I both noticed how calm things were. This time of year there is almost always a good evening breeze but the air last night was dead calm all evening. I went out about 11pm and there was nothing stirring. Even this morning there is very little breeze. Note the chickens in our front yard (left) are entirely unconcerned. We have also had very light to no rain.

The preparation was a lot more rigorous than the storm itself. I stood in line for two hours to get water at the Yigo Payless yesterday. We didn’t get any water because their water pressure ran low. Hopefully, I will get my filled water bottles today. It was fun though. I got into a couple good conversations with people in the line. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and understanding that we need to work together to prepare for a storm.

We do know that it is just a matter of time until a big typhoon hits Guam again. I am thankful to God that we did not get hit yesterday. But, we live in a fallen world and typhoons, earthquakes and war effect the “good” people along with the “bad”. I struggle with the people who say that “God saved Guam again.” Last time a typhoon missed us it devastated the Philippines. We know that God does not love Guam more than the PI right? Let’s not make the mistake of thinking we know much about what God is doing in the events around us – except for what he has revealed in His Son Jesus Christ.