Aftermath

Ondoy left a mess that is now being cleaned up. The past couple days we've been able to go to parts of the city badly affected by the flooding. Yesterday we were able to help clean inside houses that are covered in the mud now that the water has gone down. Today we visited some pastors and their families whose homes were completely destroyed in twenty minutes from flooding and they escaped with their lives and the clothes on their back. The water came in and covered the first floor completely and up to their knees on the second floor. They managed to swim out by holding onto rope to get to higher ground, to safety. They're now trying to move into new homes and starting all over as they've lost everything they've owned. The vast majority of people here do not have insurance, so within a few hours everything they owned is destroyed and now they're starting over with nothing but the clothes on their backs. We've only seen a few homes, but the loss of life and possessions is staggering.

These pictures are taken from inside the van we were riding in, so they're a little blurry. We spent hours on the road because of traffic. Many people are trying to get in and out of the affected places, and some of the roads aren't the best.

These pictures are from the compound of the two pastors' homes. There's no water or electricity there right now, so clean up is not going to be able happen anytime soon. Cleaning up all the mud with water would be challenging, but without water, not possible. The first picture is from inside one of the pastors' homes.

Ondoy

If you haven't heard yet, a tropical storm, Ondoy, moved over the Philippines yesterday. It really affected Metro Manila badly. We were safe, warm and dry in our lovely apartment, but many many others were not. We especially thought of our classmates and the people we've been visiting in the informal settlement (squatter) areas who are not so unaffected. More than 50 people have died as a result of the storm and flooding. Thousands of families are living in the communities pictured below, and life is precarious for these people on the best of days, but yesterday... I can't even imagine. Please pray for them.

Retreat

We joined nine other couples from our church for an overnight marriage encounter. We got to stay at a very nice hotel which was fun, and enjoyed getting to know other couples from our church.


Below are pictures taken from the vow renewal ceremony at our church, including a foot washing. This is the church we were married in six years ago, so it was fun to do this ceremony there.

Our favorite snack currently

That is what a kilo of rambutans look like. They're crazy looking fruit. They're currently in season, so we've been eating them quite frequently.

The picture's a little blurry, but you can see the "hair" that shoots out the sides. The seed is about the size of an almond, so the fruit inside is just a small amount.

Uche is the official breaker open of the rambutans in our family; I can't seem to get them to open. He twists, squeezes and tears it open, and I just take out the tasty fruit inside. The texture of the white part that has the seed in the center is like the inside of a grape, but the taste is not really comparable to something we eat in the States. So, I'll just say that they're very tasty, and you'll have to come visit us to taste one!

That is what a kilo of rambutans look like when the Ajeros are done with them!