Saturday's Storm

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Well, we had a strange storm on Saturday night that destroyed a lot in about 15 minutes. Weather reports advised thunderstorms and rain for all weekend. Brandon and Gaby went to church earlier on Saturday for some afternoon activities and I told them that I would follow about 6 pm...if it doesn't rain. Oscar was with a group in Concepcion, about 5 hours from here, and I was going to go with Edson on a city bus. Well, It rained off and on that day, but the sun came out about 5:30 pm. I turn on the computer and worked for 15 minutes and decided to get ready for church and go. About 5:45 there was a snap of lightning out of no where followed by a loud thunder. My computer zapped.
I was sad.
I called Oscar and tried plugging it in and out and couldn't revive it. So, by then, it started sprinkling a little bit and I debated going to church or just staying home with Edson.
I stayed home. I got some things done and went to our bedroom. I sat Edson in his pack'n play with a bunch of books and I also layed down to read and rest.
All of a sudden there was this strange wind and it seemed as if twigs or hail were hitting the window. I heard other shutters banging in other rooms of the house and went to check it out. Right about that time, the electricity went out and Edson was screaming. There was thunder and lightning almost together and non-stop...then, just as soon as it started, it stopped. I was relieved, but still we had no lights. I had to grope around for candles and mosquito spray. I was glad I didn't go to church.
Our house is on a slight hill and I could see for miles that other neighborhoods were without electricity and Vivi called me from church saying that they finished singing when the storm started and now they were without electricity, too.
By morning we also had no water. I walked outside and saw our unripe mangos all over the ground. Trees laying on top of each other, twisted and broken and one uprooted. The yard was a mess!
News reports say that the wind was about 150kmp/hour. 4000 homes affected, millions of dollars damage to the electric companies, trees, signs, and debris all over the city. The cities with the most damage were Villa Elisa and San Antonio...our city.
Thank God for His AWESOME protection. He moved those trees like toothpicks and kept me (and Edson) safe.
Sunday afternoon we went to a neighbor's house to play soccer and visit and Gaby fell cutting his knee open. Pastor Pedro took him in to get 4 stitches. Oscar got home later that evening. It was raining. I quickly started washing up dishes and cleaning toilets with rain water. We ended up showering under the rainspout in the dark!
Our lights came back on Monday at 4 pm and water at 6 pm. I went to 5 different gas stations on Monday looking for ice...with NO LUCK. Ice and bottled water were scarce!
We're cleaning up the mess...but we're SAFE!