Kindergarten Taiwan Cerebral Palsy - what do they have in common -

ELLIANNA YA-TING CARPENTER is what they have in common!

Ellianna is now in KINDERGARTEN - TODAY - August 28th 2012

 

Why is this significant?  Why is this more significant than any child beginning their schooling today?  Ellianna is a miracle in progress.  Ellianna has cerebral palsy.  Elliana is adopted from Cathwel Services in Taipei, Taiwan.  Ellianna had a diagnosis that was not that hopeful!  I write to encourage anyone considering a child with special needs - DON'T let the diagnosis scare you!  Look and see what love and nutrition and therapy and hard work and did I say LOVE can do....I write this grieving for the children in Taiwan still waiting!  On our Lifeline site www.lifelineadoption.org alone there are 47 precious children waiting for the LOVE that Ellianna feels within her heart!

She was beaming from ear to ear from the time she put on her uniform until the time her big sister came home to see her in her school uniform.  We could not get her to take it off.  She probably would have slept in it. 


Ellianna remembered Sasha wearing the same uniform 5 years ago and to Ellianna wearing that uniform meant she had become somebody!  She felt important...she felt worthy...she felt like she was not a child with special issues but one of the chosen...Hmmm...sounds like what we should believe about our selves when we come to know Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior...we are important...we are worthy...we are chosen...Not because of "what we are or who we are" but because we ARE!  The Bible tells us that the LORD created our inmost being....

Psalm 139:13

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Photo is from August 2007 on Sasha's first day of 5th grade!

The children on our Lifeline website www.lifelineadoption.org - the Taiwanese children - the Bulgarian children - all the children - the LORD created them and they are worthy - the children with the special needs - don't look past them - LOOK at what they can become - GOD CAN AND DOES STILL DO MIRACLES!

BE a VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS...do SOMETHING!  Ellianna YA-TING would agree...she is worthy!  OH MY IS SHE WORTHY!  I AM MOVED TO TEARS just looking at her beautiful face, smile and life!

contact me for more information on the Taiwanese children and Bulgarian children and Special children...

stephanie.carpenter@lifelinechild.org 


Proverbs 31: 8 - 9

An AVI STORY...

It was asked of us..."Why do you want this child when there are so many others that don't have such severe special needs - you could adopt one of those?"

An AVI STORY - Avigayil is the name that we gave our sweet precious adorable much loved and cherished going on 6 years old daughter. Avigayil is the Hebrew for the name Abigail and means "JOY OF THE FATHER" If you would know Avi's WHOLE story this name has even more signficance. We call our Avigayil Avi for short...it fits her perfectly! It fits the petite curly dark haired wonder as perfectly as a name can fit! She is our Avi! She is our treasure from the LORD! The LORD surely blessed our lives when HE gave us Avi!

Avi has spastic quadriplegia and was adopted 16 months ago. Avi will turn 6 years old. Upon picking her up at her orphanage she was at the developmental level of a newborn baby and completely unable to pick up her head, roll over, sit or even focus with her eyes. Avi had spasms in her body that would make her entire body quake and shake. Avi had a urinary catheter for a feeding tube. Avi was unable to be held on your hip like a young child because she had no ability to hold her body,neck or head and had no way of knowing how to be held and carried.

NOW...after 16 months home...
Avi went to the beach for the first time 1 week ago and here is a moment in my life that will forever be etched into my mind and heart! HERE is a small glimpse of heaven through the life of Avi...

We unpack 3 little girls under our beach umbrellas...complete with chairs, food coolers, toys, lots of lotion and LOTS of sand.  The girls are all dressed in their adorable little swimsuits.  Avi's suit this time was the blue one with the little flowers and the ruffle.  She and Lina take turns with who gets which suit...usually decided upon by big sister Ellianna who thinks she knows what each younger sister could possibly want.  Actually earlier in the swim season Ellianna even thought it should be her suit because it was the newest one and she promptly left us all know that she would fit into it...she tried and it stretched and it fit but she soon learned that her suits surely did feel better and it was the last time she decided the pretty blue suit with the flowers would be hers to wear.  Today it was Avi's suit...So...Avi is all suited up and all lotioned up...and ready for the beach and water.  It was to be Avi's first time in the Atlantic Ocean....

I pick up my precious dark haired treasure...complete with a cute little curly pony tail. I scoop her onto my hip and she now sits proudly - OH REALLY SO proudly on my hip...as if to say...I have a MOMMY that adores me and a Daddy that thinks I ROCK this world! She holds up that once limp neck and lifts her little nose in the air. She takes her hand that has cerebral palsy affecting it and curls it around the back of my arm and holds on enjoying the gift of life! She begins to laugh and giggle as she does when riding so proudly on my hip...something she was unable to do less than 1 year ago.  I smile at the delight I feel in giving my daughter such a simple joy...little did I know in that split second that it would get even better!  Little did I know that a Joy so complete could flood my soul and spirit in a tiny fraction of a moment.  Little did I know that I'd glimpse a piece of heaven in the next step.

WE walk towards the water...something she was terrified of less than 1 year ago. She smiles even more broadly and giggles and throws her head back. She seems to sniff the air...she seems to sense the breeze...she seems to notice the waves...she seems to hear the sea gulls...she seems to hear the laughter of other children...she seems to feel the sun warming her body...she seems to breathe the salty air...she seems to hear the waves crashing against the sand castles built just moments ago...she seems to do this all in the blink of an eye.

The smile and joy that began to radiate on her face is worth more than millions of dollars... I caught a glimpse of heaven in that moment...when this child...my daughter...lived life to the fullest in that moment. She was a "normal" child...at the beach...in her mother's arms...proud to be a daughter...worthy to be loved...she knew it and she gave me a piece of heaven that will never leave me...every time I look back to that one radiant joy filled smile I see JESUS...
 
WHO knows MAYBE she saw HIM walking on the water that moment...telling her how proud HE was of her and how special she is! It was a moment of awe! She took more in with that one moment than we sometimes take in with thousands of moments and with tons of technology!

That is why we would want this child! She is a gift straight from heaven and given to us to love, to cherish! She is our daughter!

This is my AVI story!

Pray for AJ!

Pray for every child that longs to be some one's gift from heaven!

Be a voice for the voiceless!

stephanie.carpenter@lifelinechild.org

Do you need this today?

Isaiah 30:15



"...In quietness and confidence shall be your strength..."

 

NKJ

 

 

BE A Voice for the Voiceless with this t-shirt!

T-shirts for sale

Please contact me at:
tingministries@comcast.net

$10.00 plus shipping

Children in need of a family - Children with Cerebral Palsy

 

 

Beautiful beautiful Avi enjoying a summer day at the beach!!!!!!

 

Ok...my heart breaks yet again...I see another child lying in a crib with cerebral palsy!  Who will want this child?  We do ...but we can not adopt any of these precious children at this time...there is a precious little girl in a particular country that we hope and pray to adopt...we have wanted to adopt her since 2010...it is a long story but it is for this precious one that we wait! 

 

The one in this particular country that we want to adopt also has cerebral palsy.  All of our daughters you seen in photos on this blog have different types and levels of cerebral palsy/mixed with other special issues. 

 

Please please read and become educated and cry out for these precious children lying in a crib waiting for a Mommy/Daddy to come to pick them up...to hold them...to love them...to help them to learn to move their muscles...to begin to make sounds...to taste food maybe for the first time...to learn to laugh...to learn to hold up their head...to learn to roll over...to learn to sit...to learn to crawl...to learn to walk...to learn to run...to be free and to be loved!  OH how my heart aches when I look at these children...I cry...they are desperate...they need someone...but who...BE A VOICE FOR THESE VOICELESS CHILDREN...The children listed in this post have cerebral palsy.

 

So if you don't want to learn about Cerebral palsy then just skip all the information about what cerebral palsy is and go to the second half of this post and read about the children from Taiwan and Bulgaria that are right now breaking my heart!

 

Please go to the LIFELINE website and you can see the photos...password is required for Taiwan but email me and I will share the password with you...

 

www.lifelineadoption.org

stephanie.carpenter@lifelinechild.org

 

To view the Bulgaria children photos just fill out the very short form...your name and email address and you may view the children's photos...that all it takes...then go be a VOICE!!!!

 

Cerebral palsy is a broad term that encompasses many different disorders of movement and posture.
All children with cerebral palsy have damage to the area of the brain that controls muscle tone. As a result, they may have increased muscle tone, reduced muscle tone, or a combination of the two (fluctuating tone). Which parts of their bodies are affected by the abnormal muscle tone depends upon where the brain damage occurs.

• Spastic Cerebral Palsy
  (stiff and difficult movement)
  With Spastic Cerebral Palsy, the muscles are very stiff, and permanently contracted. Doctors can tell which type of Spastic CP a person has by which limbs are affected. The term PLEGIA, which means paralyzed, or weak, is tacked on the end of each form of Spastic CP. Examples are HemiPLEGIA (one side of the body is affected) and QuadriPLEGIA (all 4 limbs affected). In some people BOTH legs can be affected. They can turn in and cross at the knees. This is called scissoring, and can interfere with their walking ability. Some with Spastic CP may experience hemiparetic tremors. Hemiparetic tremors is uncontrollable shaking, affecting the limbs on only one side of a persons body. Sometimes the tremors are severe, and can affect movement.
• Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
  (involuntary and uncontrolled movement)
  The second type, Athetoid or Dyskinetic CP affects 10-20% of people who have CP. People with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy will have uncontrolled, slow, writhing movements. These movements will often affect the hands, feet, arms, or legs. Sometimes the muscles in a persons face or tongue will be affected, causing drooling. These movements a person with Athetoid CP has, will often increase during stressful times, and will most likely disappear while sleeping. Also, people with this particular type of CP may have problems coordinating muscle movements that are needed for speech. This is called dysarthria.
• Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
  (disturbed sense of balance and depth perception)
  The third type, Ataxic CP only affects 5-10% of people who have CP. This type of CP is very rare, and affects balance and coordination. A person with Ataxic CP may walk unsteady and have a wide step. They could place their feet far apart, and may have difficulty with quick or exact movements, like buttoning a shirt, or writing. Also, they could have "intention tremors." This type of tremor will start with a voluntary movement, for example, reaching a book. This may cause trembling in the body part that is being used. The tremor will get worse as the person gets near that object…in this case, the book.

Mixed Cerebral PalsyThere may be a combination of these types of cerebral palsy for any one person.  The last type is mixed types. The most common type of mixed types is a mix of Spastic CP and Athetoid CP. But, other combinations are very much possible

Severity LevelCerebral palsy is often classified by severity level as mild, moderate, severe, or no CP. These are broad generalizations that lack a specific set of criteria. Even when doctors agree on the level of severity, the classification provides little specific information, especially when compared to the GMFCS. Still, this method is common and offers a simple method of communicating the scope of impairment, which can be useful when accuracy is not necessary.

• Mild - Mild cerebral palsy means a child can move without assistance; his or her daily activities are not limited.
• Moderate - Moderate cerebral palsy means a child will need braces, medications, and adaptive technology to accomplish daily activities.
• Severe - Severe cerebral palsy means a child will require a wheelchair and will have significant challenges in accomplishing daily activities.
• No CP -No CP means the child has cerebral palsy signs, but the impairment was acquired after completion of brain development and is therefore classified under the incident that caused the cerebral palsy, such as traumatic brain injury or encephalopathy 

• Topographical classification describes body parts affected. The words are a combination of phrases combined for one single meaning. When used with Motor Function classification, it provides a description of how and where a child is affected by cerebral palsy. This is useful in ascertaining treatment protocol.
  Two terms are at the heart of this classification method.
  
  • Paresis means weakened
  • Plegia/Plegic means paralyzed
  The prefixes and root words are combined to yield the topographical classifications commonly used in practice today.
  
  • Monoplegia/monoparesis means only one limb is affected. It is believed this may be a form of hemiplegia/hemiparesis where one limb is significantly impaired.
  • Diplegia/diparesis usually indicates the legs are affected more than the arms; primarily affects the lower body.
  • Hemiplegia/hemiparesis indicates the arm and leg on one side of the body is affected.
  • Paraplegia/paraparesis means the lower half of the body, including both legs, are affected.
  • Triplegia/triparesis indicates three limbs are affected. This could be both arms and a leg, or both legs and an arm. Or, it could refer to one upper and one lower extremity and the face.
  • Double hemiplegia/double hemiparesis indicates all four limbs are involved, but one side of the body is more affected than the other.
  • Tetraplegia/tetraparesis indicates that all four limbs are involved, but three limbs are more affected than the fourth.
  • Quadriplegia/quadriparesis means that all four limbs are involved.
  • Pentaplegia/pentaparesis means all four limbs are involved, with neck and head paralysis often accompanied by eating and breathing complications

Motor Function
The brain injury that causes cerebral palsy affects motor function, the ability to control the body in a desired matter. Two main groupings include spastic and non-spastic. Each has multiple variations and it is possible to have a mixture of both types.

• Spastic cerebral palsy is characterized by increased muscle tone.
• Non-spastic cerebral palsy will exhibit decreased or fluctuating muscle tone.

Motor function classification provides both a description of how a child’s body is affected and the area of the brain injury. Using motor function gives parents, doctors, and therapists a very specific, yet broad, description of a child’s symptoms, which helps doctors choose treatments with the best chance for success.

Muscle Tone

Many motor function terms describe cerebral palsy’s effect on muscle tone and how muscles work together. Proper muscle tone when bending an arm requires the bicep to contract and the triceps to relax. When muscle tone is impaired, muscles do not work together and can even work in opposition to one another.
Two terms used to describe muscle tone are:

• Hypertonia/Hypertonic — increased muscle tone, often resulting in very stiff limbs. Hypertonia is associated with spastic cerebral palsy
• Hypotonia/Hypotonic — decreased muscle tone, often resulting in loose, floppy limbs. Hypotonia is associated with non-spastic cerebral palsy

  GMFCS Classification Levels (Gross Motor Function Classification System)

  • GMFCS Level I- walks without limitations.
  • GMFCS Level II- walks with limitations. Limitations include walking long distances and balancing, but not as able as Level I to run or jump; may require use of mobility devices when first learning to walk, usually prior to age 4; and may rely on wheeled mobility equipment when outside of home for traveling long distances.
  • GMFCS Level III- walks with adaptive equipment assistance. Requires hand-held mobility assistance to walk indoors, while utilizing wheeled mobility outdoors, in the community and at school; can sit on own or with limited external support; and has some independence in standing transfers.
  • GMFCS Level IV- self-mobility with use of powered mobility assistance. Usually supported when sitting; self-mobility is limited; and likely to be transported in manual wheelchair or powered mobility.
  • GMFCS Level V- severe head and trunk control limitations. Requires extensive use of assisted technology and physical assistance; and transported in a manual wheelchair, unless self-mobility can be achieved by learning to operate a powered wheelchair

http://cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/types/

Taiwan:

Carter

Male, Age 4 1/2
Diagnosis of cerebral palsy

Many photos and documents available!

This precious 3 year old named Carter left the orphanage in Taiwan to be placed in a long term care facility!  He has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. He is an adorable little boy that just needs his family to love him and care for him. Please contact me as soon as possible if you would like to see his files, photos and videos. Lifeline will continue to advocate for a family for him even since his transfer to this facility.

 

Daniel

Male, Age 4 1/2
Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Anemia, Developmental delay – MR
Many photos and files available!

Wesley

Male, Age 5 1/2
Wesley has been diagnosed with Bilateral hearing impairment, Epilepsy – takes medication, Cerebral palsy, and Global Developmental delay due to abuse. Despite all this little guy is going through, he smiles or verbalizes to interact with people, shares the food or toy in his hand, pulls other children to present his intention of interacting with them, enjoys exploring his surroundings, is developing the concept of “object permanence”, and is able to uncover hidden objects. It is reported that Wesley is also able to stand with support, walk with support, and uses pincer grasp to transfers object from hand to hand.


BULGARIA:

Brittany

age: 6
Special Need: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy with subsequent multiple organ dysfunction; Infantile cerebral palsy; Microcephalus; Symptomatic epilepsy; Hypotrophy; Severe developmental delay

Chris

age: 2
Special Need: AD-type holoprosencephaly; Severe non-communicating external hydrocephalus; Congenital anomaly of the central nervous system; Prosencephaly; Microcephalus

Eli

Age: 8
Special Need: Infantile Cerebral Palsy

Gia

age: 10
Special Need: congenital malphormations, Microcephaly, arachnoid cyst in the posterior cranial fossa, Retardation in the psychomotor and physical development.

Isaac

age: 1.5
Special Needs: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy; Infantile cerebral palsy; External and internal hydrocephalus; Developmentally delayed

Kent

age: 8
Special Need: Child cerebral paralysis; Inguinal hernia on the right.

Robby

age: 8
Special Need: Microcephalia, Retardation in the normal psychomotor development, feeding tube

Thomas

age: 10
Special Needs: Infantile cerebral palsy; Corrected ectopic testis; Severe malnutrition; Developementally delayed

Timmy

age: 9
Special Need: Domestic violence – severe sull-brain trauma by the father that led to brain swelling, encephalopathy and “awake coma”; Severe lagging behind in the physical and neuro-psychical development; Marasmus

Zeke

age: 11
Special Need:  Infantile cerebral palsy; Anomaly of the brain parenchyma; Scoliosis

 

 

Get the word out...these kids need a family...don't you want to be blessed by a kid like ME!!!!!!!

 

PLEVEN CHILDREN NEED FAMILIES NOW!

PLEVEN...CHILDREN...HELP!!

All the children that I see or hear about that need a family break my heart!  Each child no matter the country nor the orphanage need a family immediately!  I am broken each time I learn of another child about to age out or in need of medical care but the children from locations that I have been to especially break my heart and make my heart cry out to the LORD to hurry bring a family!  I am very passionate about Russian children, Taiwanese children, Filipino children and Bulgarian children - WHY...because I have been there...I have seen...what is in my mind is not via a third party but from my own experience...the sight...the sound...the smell...the need...the poverty...the cries...THE TOUCH OF A CHILD'S HAND UPON YOUR ARM NOT TO LEAVE THEM....

DO SOMETHING...get the word out...don't just do nothing!  PRAY...share...help...advocate...come along side of another family...financially give to a family wanting to commit to adopt...OR ADOPT!  WE can all do something to help!!! 

Many of the children have needs that might be viewed as "NON REVERSIBLE" as I have heard it phrased...kind of a cold way to say...Worthless!  There is no life that is worthless.  We are all created in the image of GOD!  These little lives were created by the LORD ALMIGHTY.  Our little AVI - with spastic quadriplegia (severe cerebral palsy - having needed a feeding tube) is a life that many would say has NON REVERSIBLE conditions! 

OK...you tell me if this is a life that is worthwhile!

AVIGAYIL CHRISTINA CARPENTER IS A VERY WORTHWHILE LIFE!

AVI IS OUR DAUGHTER AND SHE IS PRECIOUS AND LOVED!

SHE HAS MADE HUGE PROGRESS FROM A LIFE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED NON-REVERSIBLE SPECIAL NEEDS!

LOOK AT HER!!!!

DO THESE WORDS SCARE YOU?         INFANTILE CEREBRAL PALSY...SPASTIC QUADRIPLEGIA...QUADRIC PARESIS...FEEDING TUBE...HYDROCEPHALUS...GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY...SWALLOW ISSUES...EPILEPSY...OPTIC NERVE AND SIGHT ISSUES...NON-VERBAL...WALKERS/WHEELCHAIRS...HYPOTROPHY...SEVERE MENTAL LAGGING BEHIND. IN PHYSICAL AND NEURO-PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT...SEVERE MALNUTRITION...JUST TO NAME A FEW...
DO THESE PHOTOS SCARE YOU?

THESE PHOTOS ARE 1 DAY OLD...FROM OUR BEACH VACATION ...THESE PRECIOUS GIRLS ENJOYED THE OCEAN AND THE SAND AND THE BOARDWALK AND LOTS OF TIME WITH FAMILY...WELL AVI LIKED THE WATER BUT LINA WAS NOT SO SURE OF IF SHE WANTED TO STICK HER TINY LITTLE TOES INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN...

WELL IF THE WORDS SCARE YOU BUT THE PHOTOS DRAW YOU THERE IS A PROBLEM...YOU SEE ALL OF THESE GIRLS HAVE PORTIONS OF ALL OF THESE "DIAGNOSIS" OR ALL OF THE ABOVE "DIAGNOSIS"...

SO IF THE PHOTOS DRAW YOU...PLEASE PLEASE STEP OUT AND DO SOMETHING...

There are many children just listed for adoption from PLEVEN and from other regions of Bulgaria with just these diagnosis...don't let the words scare you from doing something...LOOK AT THESE LIVES...There is so much life in these precious children!!!

PLEASE contact me at stephanie.carpenter@lifelinechild.org for more information on the children from Bulgaria...

You can check out all the children that need homes desperately at
www.lifelineadoption.org

for Bulgaria...click on Adoption/International/Bulgaria/Waiting Children/fill out the short form and you may see all the children that are in desperate need!

God's Word tells us to SPEAK UP FOR THOSE WHO CAN NOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES...

PROVERBS 31: 8 - 9

P.S. AJ'S ALLIES VERSE!!!! 

This is the same little girl only 8 weeks later....

 Striking contrast if you note that these photos are only 8 weeks apart in time....INFANT...

TO TODDLER in 8 weeks!  The first photo is Angelina "LINA" in early June and second photo is early August....This is what a family does - a child goes from orphan to thriving in just 8 weeks!

Ready for the next contrast:

Here is our Avigayil "Avi" March 27 2011 - the day I first saw her in her orphanage - she had a feeding tube, severely deformed club feet, no eye movement or focus, and spastic quadriplegia affecting her entire body so severely that she could not hold her own head!

Here is our Avi -  summer of 2012 - 1 year later...

NO CLUB FEET...NO FEEDING TUBE...Eyes that focus...head that can be held up on her own...movement of her body and lots and lots of giggles!

Then there is Ellianna Ya-Ting

I need to scan some old photos of her to note the striking change! 

What a beautiful gift from the LORD!  She starts Kindergarten in 2 short weeks!  She loves her little sisters and has been a blessing to their lives!
                                    


No words to describe our beautiful Natalya "Sasha"...

Her name Natalya means "God's gift of joy and the Bible verse that goes along with her name is

Psalm 9:2
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

She praises the LORD with her love and her gifts!  She is a talented vocalist and a precious teenage daughter...starting her sophomore year of high school!  We could never have imagined the blessing bestowed upon us by the LORD when we first began our adoption journeys with Sasha in Russia! 

Please pray for AJ!

Some day I hope to share good news about another little life that desperately needs a Mommy and a Daddy...a child of God that could experience a life of striking change!

Please pray for AJ...unspoken prayer requests...please lift up your hearts to the LORD and plead for AJ!

God hears and God moves and God tells us in

Proverbs 31: 8 - 9

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
⁹ Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. 

BE A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS

Become

AJ's Ally

info to follow in preceeding posts!

Flooding Hits the Philippines - Can you Help!

Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- Fueled by seasonal monsoon rains and a nearby tropical storm, widespread flooding in the Philippines worsened Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, the national disaster agency reported.

A landslide in the Manila suburb of Quezon City buried two houses, leaving nine people dead and four others injured, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center.

Three of the dead were children, the state-run Philippines News Agency reported.

The capital city of Manila got 504 millimeters (about 20 inches) of rain Tuesday, PNA reported, with more on the way.

Rescuers maneuver down a flooded street as they evacuate residents in the village of Tumana in suburban Manila on Tuesday, August 7, after torrential rains inundated most of the capital. Authorities have issued a red alert for the metropolitan Manila area. Downpours are expected to continue Wednesday.

Aaron Demesa, an iReporter, took this image Tuesday of the North Luzon Expressway in the Manila village of Balintawak.

A man tries to cross floodwaters by following a robe as other residents wait on their roofs in Manila. At least five people were killed and seven were missing as torrential rains brought the Philippine capital to a standstill, with floodwaters covering half the sprawling city, officials said.

Residents wait for their family members to be rescued at the end of a flooded street in the village of Tumana, a suburb of Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, August 7.

A resident pushes his bicycle through floodwaters in Quezon City in suburban Manila.

A man clutches a pole in flood waters after a river overflowed following torrential rain in Manila.

A rescuer guides a father carrying his daughter on his back through a strong current.

Motorists and passengers are trapped on the North Luzon Expressway as heavy rains continue Tuesday in Valenzuela City.

Two men hang onto a basketball hoop in deep floodwaters in Manila.

Rescuers dig through the rubble of a landslide caused by flooding as they try to rescue victims in Quezon City in suburban Manila.

Rescue workers prepare to unload residents in the village of Tumana after their homes were flooded.

Residents seek shelter on the roofs of their homes as floodwaters continue to rise in Manila.

Residents wait on the roofs of buildings as rescuers make their way down a flooded street in Tumana.

Rescuers in rubber boats evacuate residents from their homes in Tumana.

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

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Flood waters rise around Philippine capital

Deadly flooding paralyzes Manila

Philippines braces for more flooding

The country's weather service -- the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration -- warned the Manila region's 12 million residents of continued torrential rains and serious flooding through Wednesday.

"It's like a water world," Benito Ramos, head of the disaster agency, said of the city, according to PNA.

The national railroad called off service, and many roads were under water. Some dams were beginning to overflow, putting more communities at risk, the authorities said.

The flooding has already forced more than 780,000 people across the country from their homes, the disaster agency said. About 242,000 were staying in emergency shelters Tuesday night, according to the agency.

Rescue requests continued to come in early Wednesday, including some people who were using Twitter to contact the authorities for help.

"Pregnant woman needs help! Staying on top of a roof," one Twitter user posted, followed by an address. "Please help BORRES FAMILY w/ 2y/o child!!," posted another.

The weather agency warned residents to expect more landslides and flash flooding, and the authorities urged residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

As well as the deaths in the landslide in Quezon City, two people died from electrocution and drowning outside the Manila region, the disaster agency said early Wednesday.

Those deaths came on top of the 53 people who had already been killed across the Philippines by heavy wind and rain in the past few weeks.

In an effort to save lives and make way for rescue and relief efforts, President Benigno Aquino ordered work suspended at government and private offices around the capital region Tuesday.

Government offices and schools were also to be closed Wednesday, the president's office said.

Deep water in many parts of metropolitan Manila blocked roads, stranded cars and flooded homes. In several areas, the water was waist deep or higher, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said in its Twitter feed.

"Last night it was raining cats and dogs, or even like elephants banging on your roof top," said CNN iReporter Rummel Pinera. "You cannot sleep when it's raining for several hours like this, it was like a deluge."

Another iReporter, Jumar Rejuso, said the downpour was terrifying.

"We had to force ourselves to leave in order to be spared from the wrath of the raging waters," he said. "It was the first time I have witnessed in my entire life a flood as big as that."

Flooding has struck across the Philippines, with high water reported in 46 communities across the country, the disaster agency reported.

The authorities in Marikina City imposed a forced evacuation of areas near the Marikina River, which has risen above critical levels, PNA reported.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams were releasing water, putting several cities at a higher risk of flooding. The agency warned residents living near the dams to be on the lookout for rising waters.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas said Tuesday that the United States would provide $100,000 for disaster relief.

The rain and flooding are the result of the normal summer monsoon enhanced by the effects of Tropical Storm Haikui, the Philippines weather service said. The storm made landfall on the east coast of China on Wednesday morning.

The Philippines had already been lashed by heavy rain and wind in recent weeks resulting from Tropical Storm Saola, which plowed past it before hitting Taiwan and China at the end of last week.

The country is frequently subjected to flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain. In December, Tropical Storm Washi left more than 1,200 people dead after it set off flash floods that swept away entire villages in the southern Philippines.

WE HAVE a deep love for the Philippine Country and the Filipino people!  Our daughter Avi is adopted from the Philippines.  Her orphanage has not been affected but we have many Filipino friends and sisters/brothers in Christ in the Philippines.  One of our dear friends that I have spent time with in the Philippines has worked to grow a Christian school/Day care to help special needs children to be educated alongside children with no special needs.  Upon contacting her she writes:

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks so much for reaching out...

Photo: Lizbeth who is writing about the flooding and asking for help is pictured on the far left with her daughter, Elysse (who has special needs and is the special child the LORD used to draw us together).  Also pictured...Sasha, Stephanie, Avi and Aunt Dell (another dear sister in Christ the LORD is using to bless the orphan). 

the depressed community we are helping in
Cavite where the Day Care is located, people lived in coastal area,
has been very much affected. One of our teachers/church workers have
to evacuate from their home and go to Day Care and church building
which serves as the refuge place of the people. Based on my
conversation with one of the teachers just this morning, there is no
help yet from the government.  I will request them to do further
assessment to kids and families who were badly affected so help can be
extended the soonest.

Yes please as the Lord leads, we need help to help other people
especially kids and those with special needs.  I hope to have the
quick assessment this morning so help can be given to them the
soonest.


Another sister in Christ who gives of her own time to help care for the orphans writes:
The flooding is in the Luzon area wherein Metro Manila is 80% under water. Many of our colleagues were affected by the flood. Until there now there are no classes and offices in many places in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Please continue to pray for our country..Please pray also for those who are greatly affected by this flood that God, through His people, will be able to minister to them in a very special way, that they will feel His love and comfort.

Thanks for praying Steph.

My heart breaks to see such heart ache and pain no matter where but when the hurt and pain is among those that we love and cherish the burden to help "HITS HOME!" 

If you sense the LORD calling you to help please donate to the chip in on the side bar!  Thank you so much for caring and for praying!!!

Proverbs 31: 8 -9 Be a voice for the voiceless!