Saturday, November 9, 2013:

Elder Oakes and I woke up at about 8:00 am.  We planned to visit the chapel in San Roque before lunch, and after lunch we would begin walking to Tolosa.  For breakfast, we decided to scramble pancakes. We were able to put the strawberry preserves that had survived the storm on the bits of scrambled pancake.

With quite a bit of time on our hands, we decided to continue cleaning up around the apartment. I pulled some of the clothes that I was able to find out of the mud and began rinsing them with water from our pump. Elder Oakes cleared out some of the rubble that we had to climb over in order to get to the pump. Using the water from the pump, we were also able to flush out the bathroom, which had filled with debris
and mud.

When we had finished cleaning, we prepared to leave to Tolosa. This was the second time that I would have to choose what of my possessions I would keep and what of my possessions I would have to leave. I filled my backpack and a small duffle-bag with the things that I knew were not replaceable and other things that I knew might be useful. In terms of useful things, I had matches, a bunch of flashlights, duct tape, 1.5L clean water, rope, antibiotics, painkillers, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, bandages, batteries, the last glowstick, a sheet, a broken lighter, vitamins, some food, scissors, and work gloves.

Once we were about ready to leave, we decided that we would first go visit the chapel up the road. At this point, we didn’t even know if the chapel was still standing. The chapel in San Roque is about 25 years old, and made mostly out of wood. The walls were very thin, and were not made of cement like the other buildings that were still standing in the area.

We left the apartment in missionary attire, and made our way up to the chapel to see how it had fared during the storm. This was the second time that we had left our apartment since the storm had hit, and the first time we hadn’t ventured very far from our gate. By this time, most of the water had drained with the exception of a few low-lying areas that were still underwater. As we walked up the pathway towards the highway, we had to go through several spots where the path was still underwater. In one of these, the draining water had created a sinkhole that was invisible beneath the surface. As I walked, expecting the water to be only about eight inches deep, I tripped and fell into the water, but was able to catch myself before going completely in. Elder Oakes, who was walking behind, was able to successfully navigate around the sinkhole.

As we reached the highway, we could see just how extensive the damage was in the area. It was almost completely unrecognizable.

Almost every structure that wasn’t made of cement was now either a pile of rubble, or completely gone. Every single structure that was still standing had taken some damage to their windows and roof. As we walked towards the chapel, we saw people doing the same things that were being done near our apartment. Some small, temporary shelters had been constructed using materials scavenged from the rubble.  The wind had been so strong, that all of the steel-reinforced concrete telephone poles had fallen onto the road. Salvaged clothing had been rinsed and now hung on the fallen power lines.

A large number of people were just sitting around doing nothing. They now had nothing.  When we reached the church building, we were relieved to see that the structure was still very much intact. The roof had taken some damage, but only on the ends that extended past the end of the structure beneath. We were very surprised that the wooden window panels had taken very little damage. The greatest damage that the building had taken was that some of the interior walls had been warped and displaced, but not destroyed, by the wind that was coming in through the windows and front door. We learned that since the chapel was on higher ground than our apartment, the water had been only a few feet deep during the storm-surge. Unfortunately, we heard that many of the people that were taking shelter in the chapel had fled once the water began to rise. We made sure that everyone who was still there was okay, and were glad to see that the leaders, especially Sister Calda who was a returned missionary, were able to keep the situation organized and under control. We asked Sister Suyom, an 84 year old member who had evacuated to the chapel, if she had seen a storm like this one in her lifetime. She said that there had been other very bad storms, but that this one is the worst that she had ever seen. Sister Canonego, another member, said that there has never been a storm that has caused this much destruction.

Seeing that there was no significant way for us to help, we returned back down the highway to our apartment. As we passed some of the people, we stopped to wonder if it really was appropriate to say “maupay na aga,” or “good morning” to the people we were passing, seeing that this was definitely not the best of mornings.

When we arrived back at the apartment, we decided to have lunch before we left. We cooked our only can of Spam, and ate it on bread with the last of our mayo.

Before we left, we put the refrigerator in front of the back-door that couldn’t close completely anymore, jammed the second door, and locked the third. I grabbed my backpack and duffle bag, Elder Oakes took his smallest rolling suitcase, and we said goodbye to our least-favorite apartment and everything inside.