Hi family!!!
Oh my goodness gracious. I AM ALIVE!!!!
Haha, okay, I just like being dramatic. So were any of you worried about me and the crazy typhoon? Looks like Rachel and Nate knew about it but Dad had no idea when he wrote to me about the weather of his mission and the weather of Zach's mission! Way to not check the weather for the Philippines, haha.
So we found out a big storm (baguio) was heading to the Visayas on Sunday night because we ran into a member and she was literally freaking out. Hardly ever do typhoons hit this part of the Philippines...usually they turn up and hit the northern part by Manila and so when they found out this storm was predicted to be bigger than one last year which caused a lot a lot of damage every one was really worried. We were able to go and buy 72 hour kit stuff at the store after District Meeting on Monday and buy everything we would need--- living in a 3rd world country in time of a natural disaster is a crazy thing! We were told the storm was a 3 out of 4 level storm and that it was aiming for Negros. We were advised to not leave our apartments after 12 pm on Tuesday.
So.....Tuesday morning we went to work early and taught some lessons and as we were returning home it got CRAZY!!!! Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard because the rain was just pouring and the wind was just blowing us around. A hobby of the Filippino men here is that when there is a storm, many coconuts fall from the trees (free coconuts!! yay!) and they all run to claim the free coconuts...yes, it was entertaining for me to watch but heavens! If one of those falls on you, you will die. So we made it home safe and sound. As we were eating lunch, the power went out. (meaning...no electric fan....meaning....death by heat in the Philippines) Let's just say for the next 6 hours or so we sat in complete darkness and watched the storm rip apart trees. It was the craziest thing ever! Thankfully the rain wasn't to heavy. But that wind! The storm lasted a long time but the winds only 2 hours or so. My companion has seen many storms and so she was calm about it all while I was just amazed! We didn't really have anything to do (down time as a missionary is the WORST) so we sang all the Christmas songs from the hymn book. Also my flashlight wasn't working so we used candles.
Tuesday night was a very hot night (like I said, no electric fan here=death) and when we woke up, NO WATER. We had filled up buckets of water but my patience was tried when I entered our bathroom to find that my companion had used our stored water to wash her clothes. Now talk about a trial of patience! We had drinking water but no water to wash dishes or take a shower with! Ahh! It was PDay so we headed to the mall (which all of Dumaguete decided to do as well---there's air conditioning and electricity there!!) and our Zone Leaders brought us water from their house. So kind. As they were doing so, we were so kindly informed by our neighbors that there was a bomba (water well) not too far away. So this is my favorite thing. In true Filippina style we went and pumped up our own water and hand washed our clothes. It was so great!
There isn't too much damage here....the most damage is by the ocean where the storm pushed a waiting area/boat station into the cement wall and up onto the road. Don't mess with tsunamis! A lot of trees are down and are now naked. But mostly the buildings are fine. We were really worried about the poor people here because their houses and roofs are just made out of leaves and things....some of them flew away but for the most part, the houses here survived.
So for more than 24 hours the whole city was out of electricity. It was pretty creepy walking home. When we got home on Wednesday night (I forced myself to sing "Count your Blessings" every time I wanted to complain) we were getting ready for bed and BOOM!! The electricity came on!! I cried happy, happy tears of joy as I came to the realization that my dearest friend, the electric fan, would be with me the whole night. As far as we know, our little apartment building was one of the first places to receive electricity. The Senior couple here told our neighbors to be thankful they had sister missionaries as their neighbors! Our water came back and I celebrated by taking a nice cold bucket shower.
We haven't been able to email until now due to no electricity in the city and also no internet connection. But I am glad to say that I SURVIVED A TSUNAMI!! I'm thankful for the lessons I learned from living through this...boy, was my patience was tried! It was a crazy experience and it was actually kind of fun to "go camping" here, haha.... As far as we know, Negros was hit the hardest and the storm wasn't super strong in Cebu or Bohol. I hope there wasn't too much damage. We heard today that another baguio is heading its way here, let's hope not. A missionary can handle only so much down time!
Our area is doing great and I really like it here. The branch here is actually the most functioning one I've been assigned to. The Branch President is great and the members are too. It is really close to becoming a ward and stake here! I love being out here with all the lizards and frogs and cows and goats! I forgot how great it is while I was in the city! The people are super nice and super welcoming to us here- we are welcome in their home any time and any day (a difference from the city) and the people of Negros are very receptive to other religions (they're not all just Catholic) We walk super far which is leading to some pain but I'll be careful.
My companion is so good to me and cooks me lots of yummy food and she will eat brown rice (I'm trying to avoid that starchy white rice as much as possible) and she is so kind. If you forgot, her name is Sister Abundo. I can just feel she will be transferred. A good thing can only last so long :)
I am so grateful I decided to serve a mission. As I look back, I am such a different person. I have learned so much! I have come to LOVE reading my scriptures here on my mission. I wish I could have personal study for 3 or more hours each day! I have such a strong testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have also been reading the New Testament which is so wonderful. But there is something so different and special about the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 9:6 it says, "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen" Nephi didn't know why he was to make the records but he did it anyway because he had faith in God. I know whatever we are asked to do as members of his Church there will be a way prepared for us. We may not understand the "why" to everything but I know that God has all wisdom. I know we are all children of our loving Heavenly Father. We are so blessed in our family. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family. I love you all!!
Love
Sister Trayner
PS----if you'd like a really cool scripture case Filipino style let me know what size your scriptures are....if they are regular size or if you have a mini...
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