October 2, 2009

I am sitting here looking out the window at the new typhoon is coming in. Today’s typhoon is one with lighter rain but a lot stronger wind. I am not sure which one is the worst as I see the trees swaying back and forth. We went out for a while and believe me the streets were open hardly a car, tricee, or even a jeepney are on the road. All the cantina’s are closed and schools also the Hotel Venezia were bringing quests in from the island resort. I talked to a woman at the hotel and she said that she couldn’t get a flight until Monday. It has been raining since this time yesterday and the streets are like ponds because the trash clogs the gutters and even in front of the church the ditches are over flowing and could be a cause for the flooding of the church.

I hope the typhoon doesn’t hit Manilla because they still don’t have the water out of the streets and houses yet. Our boss in Manila said that all the churches are full of flood victims and the church is trying to take care of them all. We have had 30 members of the church reported dead and many still with out a place to live. The center of this storm should pass us by 4 tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Dad’s birthday and my plans have been changed since the weather is so bad and I don’t want to go out a lone in this. It is weird but here if the weather is bad everyone is very cautious and stay home. Part of it I think is that they stay home to try and save everything they can. A woman at the meeting yesterday said that she had boxed all her belongings up so she could have her sons but them in the second story of her brother’s place. People who don’t have doors even have a blanket covering their entrance and windows. They just announced that Pepeng, Parma is the name you know it by, has just been up graded to a 5 which means it has winds in excess of 250 Km an hour. I found out that the Pilipino name the Typhoons a woman’s name, after a fruit or flower so they have a separate name from the rest of the world. Then there is the universal name which they don’t use as much.

I hope the next typhoon, yes there is still one out in the ocean coming our way, will go up north and by pass the Philippines all together.

Some more interesting news is that we have some of the liberation army living in an old abandoned hotel just above the church.

I just saw our little gecko run across the window, on the inside of course. We can’t find where they are coming in from, but there are a few that have had there life cut short. We have been pretty lucky with the bugs so far. Just one 2 inch cockroach and a few small bugs all the rest have been those pesky gecko’s who leave their droppings everywhere, floor, ceiling, counter top, drapes, any where they want.

We have Women’s conference tomorrow at 1pm hope we don’t have to cancel this event. Lee and I have training with the Stake Employment committee after so it will take up the whole afternoon. So glad we will just be a block from home.

We love the people and we appreciate their love and support. They text us to make sure we have water and food stored in case we need it during the storm. Dad had us going to an island in November and Jomel told him, No elder you shouldn’t go until summer, he is always worrying about where we are and what we are doing.

Must run for now we will keep you posted on our TYPHOON survival.

Sister Cooley