Only in the Tropics

We are in the midst of typhoon season. While the northern part of the country usually gets the brunt of the storms, we usually get the tail. But as any dog owner knows, the tail can be pretty active.

Flooding: Last year in June, Iloilo experienced its worst flood ever. About 80% of the city was anywhere from 1 inch to 12 feet under water. While nothing like that has happened here this year (it all went north) typhoons still cause spotted flooding. In some places, I will put my truck into first gear, ease up on the clutch, and rev up the engine so the water doesn’t go up the tailpipe. I try not to go too fast so as not to create waves that might swamp bystanders who are knee-deep in the murky menace.

Brownouts: Infrastructure is not as dependable here in third world countries. About every other day we will experience a few hours of no electricity. Can’t open the refrigerator; never know how long these outages might last. Night time brownouts bring out the candles as we cuddle up in our chairs, straining to read our favorite novels. Occasionally dominoes will rattle as we wish for light and a cold glass of tea.

Spiders: Well, what do you expect; it’s the tropics. Flooding brings out this one species that’s almost as big as an open hand. Our walls are white so they are easy to spot. But no need to fear. One direct pellet hit from Jonathan’s air-soft rifle is enough to end their threat. That explains the little pot-marks on the wall. If Jonathan misses, the back side of my shoe usually doesn’t.

Heavy rains fill the septic tank so our toilets can’t flush. Mosquitoes get romantic in the wetness and multiply profusely. More mosquitoes mean the frogs have more to eat so they get romantic, too, and croak with joy. High winds push water under our tin roof and shows us all the leaks in our ceiling. I guess there are lots more we could find to complain about, but you know, we didn’t come here for the comfort. All the inconveniences are worth the joy of seeing folks born into God’s kingdom and growing in their relationship with Him.

Well, on the family side, Sara is moving in to her new apartment this weekend. It’s very close to her job and the rent is low (a benefit of a depressed economy). When David moved into his apartment over 2 years ago, he shopped at the local dumpster for his furnishings (it’s amazing what people throw away). But Sara is much too sophisticated for that. She’s getting all her things from the Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

We’re planning to be in the States for Christmas. Martha leaves for Fort Worth on Nov. 12 and will spend a few weeks with friends before Jonathan and I come on Dec. 14. We’ll spend Christmas week in Virginia and then back in Fort Worth for New Years before returning to the Philippines on Jan. 11. Now if we could just figure out how to turn these flood waters into snow…