Meo's Journey of Awakenings: Going with the natural rhythm pg3

On Sunday, Mitzi had to head to work for her shift. I was invited to attend a church service by the Americans at the church of the Nazarene. Feeling a strong pull I decided to go with the flow of the whole experience. I was welcomed to a break fast of fried egg, rice, pb&j, coffee…. that egg was the best egg of my entire life…. :-)

The pastor and his family survived the typhoon by holding on to two concrete blocks at the entrance to the church. The entire building collapsed in and the yellow wall on the left is the only wall that remains of the original structure. During the storm he and his family were injured but all survived. They hope to rebuild the church within the next year. These American worked very hard in extreme temperatures…

"The people here are so welcoming and it seems no matter what they are happy! That is pretty phenomenal! I think through all of this my confirmation is to remain myself - be kind! Make Nice! There is to much negative in this world. I have been thinking about how animation puts love and kindness out there and has the ability to portray it without anterior motives. There is tension in niceness. I will not stop, this is who I am… and there is an entire population who are like this! So of course, this is confirmation. To give so freely when you have lost so much, this is the lessen. This is what I will show.. the tension that exists in kindness...

These tarps are seen everywhere I go and are from USAID, UNCHO, NGO - some from Canada, Sweden, Ireland…. Foreign aid is the only thing helping this area...

A house across the street

Boys playing basketball. See the tarp on the ground to the right? That is rice drying.

51st year anniversary - church service

They could sing!!!

Pastor Jack and the American Pastor

Explaining the lesson of Zaccheus

After church I walked all by myself for the first and last time, to Poppa Tony's hardware store. I just stopped to say hello and was going to take a pedi-cab, but he insisted on driving me home. :-)

I then had time to take pictures of all the letters I had written to Mitzi. I read them all and took an image of each one. What I found most interesting about my young self, is how I was obsessed with whether or not Mitzi had a boyfriend. I think in every letter I wrote her, I mentioned something about it. What was my obsession?

Mitz saved every one of my letters and today I will take pictures of them all. Poppa Tony told me how and why he gifted me the little house. He said that he had just left his wife in the Philippines and she was pregnant, about to give birth to Mitzi. He was missing home and his family when he saw me on the ship and he said he hoped his little girl back home was as beautiful as I was. He and Mommie Anita are wonderful hosts - beautiful people and they feed me so much! The heat effects my stomach so I am trying to eat everything they prepare for me but I do not always get to it. Six impossible things for today,

1. I like fish

2. I am surviving this heat!

3. I will see a bird

4. I will cool off

5. My stomach feels better

6. Something magical will happen today

(interestingly enough - I saw a bird almost immediately after writing this.)

From my mother to Mitzi's mother :-)

I card that I made!!!

I always sent awesome stickers and Mitzi said she used to save them all. :-)

My mother drew this and painting it. :-)

A card that I embossed! :-)

I did not even remember that I had high school graduation announcements.

This is the letter, the one that began it all

Sent when I was 14 years old

"Dear Mr. Valdenor, My name is Jill Monroe. When I was 5, I came aboard a ship that my dad was loading. Someone came up to me & gave me this house that he had made. I'm 14 now & I still have that house. I enjoy very much. thank you forgiving it to me. Here is a picture of it. It's not a very good picture. If you get this letter, write me back. I would be happy to hear from you,

Love, Jill Monroe

P.S. I love the house!!"