Deehan's Pensieve

I feel the pain but I am feeling deeply loved the more.

It has been several days after the storm and I lost track of the date. Sundays and Thursdays are the days that I keep on waiting and the days which remind me of the days that passed. I don't mind the date. I perform my duties in the church every Sunday and Thursday. I feel blessed being a member of the Church of Christ's choir. When I sing to my God, all the pain goes away.I rarely cry in front of other people. I cry my heart out during my devotional prayers and every time I sing during worship services. The best antidote for this pain is only God.I have seen,heard and felt so much sadness recently but God made stronger now. It was terrible when my best friend cried because she didn't know where were her parents after the storm totally shattered their house into ugly debris. She couldn't contact them. My best friend has been staying downtown while her parents remained staying in their old house. It was near a river and with so many trees. It was a very good refuge during summer days. Yes,it was. There was nothing in those cool shades of trees that warned us that one day,it could be the source of great remorse. Those trees fell in their house and the strong wind has blown away their roofs. Havoc filled the air .The water in the river became unfriendly. It felt like I won a million bucks when the next day,my best friend told me her parents were alive . I never felt that kind of happiness recently. It was a frenzy!

If you ask anyone in our house now, no one can exactly say what is the date today right away. We have been very busy after the typhoon. I have been busy making my heart strong.

I fully trust in the will of my God. I thank Him that my family and dogs are all safe. Our family business is gone,temporarily.I know we will recover.I have been experiencing His great love everyday of my life. God has been proving me what I needed the most. I will forever guard my heart so that I will not fall prey to evil's  ideologies now masquerading as "practicality" and worst, "common sense". Even if it's bitter,they'll say it's sweet.I have been warned that this day will really come.

I will continue working on my thesis and I will realize my dreams. After graduation, I will visit Iglesia Ni Cristo temple at Quezon City together with my family. It will be a dream come true. I have always wanted to be able to afford sending my whole family to a vacation and attend worship service together at INC temple. It has been my plan to become a university professor and I am very close to that now. I can feel it.It makes me feel happy knowing that the plans I've written and declared that I will work hard to get  are the plans that will make me closer to God.I will never forsake my duties in the church. I won't exchange this divine duty to a plate of rice. I have been praying for wisdom everyday. I pray for wisdom so that I won't be lured by a wolf wearing a sheep's benign face.

I will pass this life trial. Typhoon Pablo was able to blow away our family's business and our roofs but not my determined heart and lofty dreams. I shall emerge victorious!

That metal frame used to be part of our garage.

Our beds were so wet. We spent the whole day washing our clothes and cleaning our house.

The garage of my neighbor.

Some houses near our place.

Near Crossing Gabi,Poblacion,Compostela,Compostela Valley.

Some fallen utility poles.

Along national highway near crossing Gabi.

No more restaurant near Legacy College of Compostela.

Some destroyed houses in Poblacion ,Compostela.

A common scene in Poblacion,Compostela,Compostela Valley.Taken near Petron Gasoline Station at Crossing Gabi.

Legacy College of Compostela. Classes will resume this January.

Fallen Mango tree.

Most trees within the realm of the Municipal Hall looked like this.

National Food Authority Building.

Some old trees remained standing.

Wrong place for a roof.

The mud.

One of Mom's plants.

Some kids started drying their notebooks.

The Sari-Sari Store who surpassed the storm..

Our market area. The flood was up to the waist,neck or even higher. Many businessmen lost so much inventories.

An old house.

Phoenix Gasoline Station in Compostela,Compostela Valley.

Our neighbor's. It reached near our door.

The wet beds.

Standing still.

An acquaintance who lost his house.100% gone!

The sunset. Time to rest the tired hands .

The view from our attic. The nearby banana plants started to fall.Taken around 6:30 am.

My neighbor's house as seen from our attic.

The wind was so strong! After the storm,all bananas in our town fell.100% down!

My neighbor. he went to their roof to fix it.Few seconds after he went down,the wind was at it's strongest. He was lucky to go down seconds before that blow.I took this from our attic. I was really worried about him.

The roofs shouldn't be there!

Our backyard.No more poultry house.No more vegetable garden.Our Durian tree fell as well as our mango tree.

Outside our house. Our washing machine looked like that. Some of our roofs were on the ground too.

I couldn't find a good angle to show the roofless part.There was flood so this was the best angle I could have.

Our storm-torn garden. The 210 kph typhoon Pablo was this strong.

The saved belongings of our neighbors.

The four-day-old baby on top of our dining table.

The view from my window.

That red roof is our roof.

No more bananas.

Some of the kids who stayed with us.

Can you see that metal frame? That used to be part of our garage.

On the next day, I heard a cracked voice of our Rooster shrieking "Tok To Ka Okk ". The Rooster sounded off. I bet he was having some lung problem. I was impressed. The Roosted did his duty of signaling everyone of a brand new day even with his poor voice. I imagined we did the same. We helped each other,we did our duties to our family and neighbors even if we got so much damage. That night(dec.04), I slept using curtains as a blanket because I gave my dry blankets to the other people who stayed in our house.Our beds were all wet so I slept on a piece of wood.I slept next to my parents. There were 7-10 families inside our house.There was even a 4-day-old baby. We were  almost 30. Our roofs were blown away but my father tried to place temporary roofs so that we can sleep well at night. He was so brave. He made it to our roof even if he is old and fat. I tried stopping him but he was in his elements. He was calm,thoughtful and clever.He's amazing.

The houses of neighbors were wiped out and I saw it. It was heartbreaking.

I thank God that even we lost our family business,He spared our lives. We could have been dead!

[Pictures taken December 04,2012 ,when typhoon Pablo visited Compostela,Compostela Valley,Philippines.]