The Adventures of a Typhoon

A couple weeks ago the thrill of living in the slums and eating with the poor was made even more complete by enduring a typhoon in Damayang Lagi. We sought to find shelter on the top floor of our “condo” by blocking window openings with tarps and dining tables, covering every crevice of the plywood windowpanes with whatever we could find to prevent the storm from ravaging our small space. This storm, about the size of a class 1 hurricane, came through Manila on a Monday morning, stopping any chance of doing anything other than sitting through it. I have experienced a few storms like that in Florida and have weathered them all well there in the shelter of homes, but in the slums it takes on a different feel.

Here we did not have windows to shut and keep the rain and wind out. Electricity was off almost immediately, and our area was one of the last to be turned back on. There was no transportation anywhere, so to find another place to rest, like a coffee shop down the road or pizza place to eat, was to walk through the storm. And our experience was not the worst. For the men and women who live closer to the river, any large storm immediately overflows the river and pours into the their homes. The wind rips through the back of Damayang Lagi and tears at structures built out of tin, rope and plank wood. We saw how the poor really do have the worst in all types of circumstances. One of the friends we made here, Kuya Rudy, has his place on the river. It was one of the first to flood and he lost a majority of his tin roof. His house, which was only a 24’ x 12’ space, was reduced to a small shelter of about 10’ x 12’. Many families had to stay elsewhere and come home to clean up the wreckage left behind. But in all this we were able to connect even more with the community and share with them this experience. Even now we have the opportunity to pour more love out and we are planning on spending a day or two helping Kuya Rudy rebuild the part of his house that was lost. In this I am learning about our call to look out for the poor, especially in times of disaster. It is there where we will see Christ. It is there where we see the good news spread and love beget more love.