Back to civilization

An hour drive south from our little village of Madridejos, an unexpected sight greeted us. Standing in stark contrast to the devastation and poverty was a beautiful beach resort, complete with cabanas, swimming pool, bar and other amenities. 

We couldn't resist a quick dip in the first truly clean water we'd seen in several days. Parts of the resort still showed damage from the storm, but it was up and running...a testament to the resilience of these people. Other resorts in the seaside town of Santa Fe are in various stages of repair.

After a ferry ride back to Cebu Island, we were able to attend church at a small LDS branch in San Remagio. They were in the process of repairing their building from storm damage. 

Our first meal back in civilization was at a nice resort in San Remagio which was open but still rebuilding. The food was very good. As fate would have it however, a few of us experienced stomach ailments after this dinner. We had all remained healthy until this point, despite what seemed to be very questionable sanitary conditions. 

The crowded streets of Cebu City seemed a lifetime away from our little village. The people are still friendly, but here no one looks twice when we drive by and waive. 

A local man who Ryan knew was kind enough to take us sightseeing around Cebu City and out to dinner before we had to catch our 1 a.m. flight home. Our transportation was in the back of his truck. 

Sweet sorrow

It is with a great deal of mixed emotions that we departed the village of Madridejos. We were so warmly received by those wonderful people during our short time there. Those who worked side by side with us became friends. 

It was difficult to say goodbye to the friends we made, and especially hard to depart knowing so many are still in such great need. 

May I express once again my gratitude to those who contributed to this effort and to our families who sacrificed to send us here to the Philippines. We were able to provide a measure of hope and love for people who have experienced great tragedy. I don't know that we can quantify the number of lives we touched, but I know six men who are forever changed. 

Playing Santa

Saturday morning we finished wrapping presents, then loaded them in the bus to deliver to kids around the village. In all, we had nearly 600 toys. 

After a couple of previous near-death experiences handing things out, we decided on a "quick-hit" distribution strategy. You see, the communities are so close knit that when we show up, everyone immediately knows and comes running. Those brave enough to try to give things out could easily be crushed in the rush. 

Our strategy was to drive through rural areas and stop when we saw a few kids. We quickly handed out gifts and jumped back in the bus before too many could come running. It worked pretty well for the most part. 

Our only regret was that we couldn't give a Christmas gift to every child in the village. 

Random thoughts

We have a few minutes of downtime while we travel, so let me share a few random thoughts:

Thanks to contributions from our group, our leader, Ryan, was able to secure materials and hire contractors to make repairs on the roof of the school where we are staying. Work began earlier in the week. We were able to help by pulling out nails from the old framing boards. They reuse both the boards and the nails. 

From the North Star to the Southern Cross, no electricity on the island makes the night sky phenomenal. Most of us chose to put our mats outside where the breeze makes sleeping slightly cooler.  

Our cooks have been wonderful. Every meal is served with white rice, including breakfast. Breakfast is usually eggs and fried Spam-type meat. Lunch and dinner we've had a variety, including fried chicken, pork and fish. They've also prepared some nice green bean dishes and something similar to sweet and sour. The sanitation leaves much to be desired (no refrigeration, lots of flies and limited access to water) but none of us have gotten sick...yet. 

I know I've already written a lot about the people, but we really are all very impressed with the Filipino openness, gratitude and sense of community. We're greeted by big smiles and waves everywhere we go. It doesn't matter if we have stuff to give them, if they are adults or children. They are perfectly happy with a high five, a chat in English or just a "hello."

We have agreed it will be very difficult to leave this little village. 

Luckily the lizard wasn't poisonous

It's late and we are all exhausted. I'll leave it to the pictures to tell today's stories. 

Wrapping presents to distribute on Saturday:

Breakfast;

More school visits:

Lots of chainsaw work for very grateful people:

Our Filipino cooks surprised our leader, Ryan, with traditional spaghetti and a cake for his birthday (of course rice was also served). The long noodles represent wishes for a long life:

Tomorrow is our last day in this village. Goodnight friends and family! Thank you for your prayers. 

PS.: One of our team members thought it would be a good idea to pick up a really big lizard. To make a long story short, we had to pry the lizard's mouth off his finger. I won't say who it was, but I'm sure his parents can guess. Yes he's fine...and so is our team member. (We did get pictures, but not on my phone.)