First of all. I am alive and well! Second of
all I am going to refer to the storm you all are worrying about as
a"bagyo." Because that is what they call it here and I'm not sure what
the exact right name for it is in English. But this Bagyo was HUGE! Now,
before you get too worried it was not huge in the Naga Mission. We are
very safe. We got rain and a bit of heavy winds but we had very little
damage at all!
Anyway this week was HECTIC! Monday we had our preparation day
and then after work that night we got a call from President saying we
needed to go to the mission home, 99% of the time that is not a good
thing. The other 1% means there is dessert. Anyway there was no dessert,
we had a problem and we needed to go to Goa that night. So President
asked if we would go with him, and by go with him he meant DRIVE HIM
haha. He doesn't like driving when it is night and we had a lot to do.
Anyway we fixed everything up there and got back into town just a bit
after midnight. It was fun though, we just talked about BYU and sports
and spiritual things all the way home. But don't worry about the
"problem" no one was being disobedient. Anyway that was Monday and
Tuesday morning we had MLC. Wednesday we had trainer and new missionary
workshops in Naga, and Thursday we had Trainer and New Missionary
Workshop in Pamplona. After that workshop we drove to Daet... trying to
get everyone to their apartment before the storm, which we did. Then we
stayed the night in Daet on Thursday.
So Friday we got the orders that we were on Lock-down and
were not to leave our apartments. So ALL OF FRIDAY we stayed in Daet in
the Zone Leaders apartment. That was a long day... I read so much haha.
But the storm wasn't bad at all. Just strong winds and rain but I've
seen worse. On Saturday morning we went to Pambuhan- one of the farthest
areas in the mission because we hadn't heard if they we okay, they
don't have great cell phone service there. Anyway we went there and they
were fine. The only thing I saw was a few banana trees get knocked over
but banana trees aren't strong at all, they are soft. Anyway everyone
here in the NAGA MISSION is safe and sound. There wasn't even any real
floods. The Bagyo missed us.
Saturday I found out I got bed bugs... yeah. I don't know how
many times I was told, "not to let the bed bugs bite." But bite they
did. I got it from the Daet Zone Leaders apartment, the mattress I slept
on was old, gross, and about 2 inches thick- oh and it has bed bugs.
Anyway now I can officially say I have been bed bugged! Saturday we
searched for apartments all over Daet zone and got home late that night.
Needless to say- we were busy this week.
To make it sound worse though, we did loose power and water
in the Daet Zone Leaders Apartment. But truly we were safe as safe can
be... other than the unseen enemy- the bed bugs. Today we are in Daet
again- they won the "Zone Activity" and so we are here- still looking
for apartments. I wish you guys could see how pretty it is here. The
drive to Daet is beautiful and the beach is beautiful too. The road up
here could be on like car commercials for how many turns are on it.
There are a few that are like 360 degrees.
So now lets talk about bagyos- or typhoons or hurricanes or
tropical storm or whatever the correct term is. Bagyos happen all the
time in the Philippines. In almost every home I go into they tell he
about how it has been flooded 6 to 8 feet in their home. I know MANY
people who have lost their homes in bagyos. It is part of life here. I
have a companion that about two months ago his grandmothers house got
washed away by a bagyo- it happens all the time. This past bagyo, they
call it Yolanda here, was big apparently. You guys probably know more
about it that we do, we can't watch TV or listen to the radio. Anyway
the Tacloban Mission really got hit hard with this one. From what we
have heard there are still 80 missionaries in Tacloban that are
unaccounted for due to the lack of communication and transportation. I
pray everyone is safe. I don't know why God designed The Philippines to
be prone to bagyos but that is how it is. As odd as it sounds I see
God's love in it. Things get destroyed in Bagyos, but God also made
coconuts that grow so that when there are disasters and water is bad you
can drink coconut juice that is a miracle as far as health goes and as
far as hydration goes. I admire this maybe more than anything about
Filipinos, they are happy no matter what! A bagyo might take their home,
but they are ready to build again, and they'll do it with a smile.
I don't know how to tell you how I feel about the area
that just got hit badly with this Bagyo. If it had been here I don't
know what I would have done. I love these people. I love them, I love
teaching them, I love who they are. Even though I have never been to
Tacloban I love the Filipinos there. I pray for them now. We will be
having a fast for them on Tuesday as a mission. I hope and pray they are
okay. I have learned volumes in my mission, much more than a language
or two, but of all the things I have learned I have learned that we are
in a great need to be thankful. Oh I hope we are thankful. I truly can't
think of a person on this entire world, not kings, presidents, apostles
or anyone who needs to be more thankful for a loving Father in Heaven
than I do. And for our savior Jesus Christ. It amazes me how merciful
they are too us. And our sufferings are no sign or their lack of love,
in fact it might as well be an expression of their love for us. No one
suffered more than Christ but I do believe God loved Him.
One of the best scriptures we share to people here is found in Helaman 5:12:"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon thearock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation ;
that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts
in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall
beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the
gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are
built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build
they cannot fall." In Tagalog it reads "BAGYO" rather than "storm." I
don't know how many Family Home Evenings I have given using this
scripture. We get rocks from very small to very big- too VERY BIG. And
we ask the members of the family to try to blow the rocks off the table.
Of course they can when they are small but they can't when they are
large. Then we talk about the foundation we need to build on, that
foundation being Christ. If you like that FHE idea it comes from my
mother- that was just one of the many lessons I learned in Family Home
Evening as just a small boy that I have used on my mission.
I don't know how terrible of a situation some of these people are
in that were affected by this storm but I do know that the church is
true and that we are built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. That now
matter what "Bagyo" comes into our lives, be they real bagyos or just
trials, we CANNOT fall if we are built on Christ. Even death is not a
fall, but a rising. I thank God for His merciful plan for all of us and
the love he shows us everyday. WE ARE SO SHORT ON TIME. I wish I could
write more. I have a lot I could say. I wish I had more pictures as well
but pictures weren't on the top of the list this week. I love you all
so much, a bushel worth in fact.
Be good. Stay anchored to the Gospel. Doubt your doubts before you
doubt your faith. Thank you for your prayers. We are safe as safe can
be here in Naga. Pray for those who were actually affected by the storm.
I think this storm, no matter how big it was, was TERRIFIED of coming
to the Naga Mission because of my mother'r prayers. No storm is stronger
than that!
Have a great week.
Elder Davis
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| No time for pictures this week although MOM likes this one! |
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