Rivers recede, mud is drying

Another day of humanitarian aide, mostly today to church members who need help. Elder Cropper drove last night with the branch President into Dumaguete to buy 275 K of rice, 150 cans of fish, 200 packages of noodles, bars of detergent soap. We all (branch pres., his counselor, E Q pres., a few members) met at the church today and sorted it in to family-sized portions, then off we went to deliver again--to 19 families. We stopped on the way for a couple dozen 5 gallon jugs of water.Now remember, these families live in houses with no street address, and for the most part with no street, and, since the flood, they mostly don't even have a path. To one house I carried 20-30 K of rice and a bag of canned goods--that's like 50-60 pounds--into their house maybe 500 yards, with my boots sticking in the ooze. Am I too old for this?
The mud is mostly hardened, but I was very glad again for my boots in several spots where the dying things were now very visible, and the water was still trickling through thick ooze. You probably think you can imagine the smell, but I doubt you really can.
Many people now have fever or coughs. The skin on peoples' feet is getting itchy due to walking through it for several days with little access to water to clean it off.
Then we regrouped at the church after the deliveries, and bizarre of all surrealities, the mud-splattered Relief Society women gathered in the parking lot, me included, complete with their hired dance instructor (probably cost less than a chocolate bar, but still) to practice our performance for the Christmas party. Oh don't you worry, the party will go on!! People were expected to bring their own rice, but since most people don't have rice except for what we brought them, that seems a little over the top, so I and Sister Alma will cook rice all day tomorrow again.
But before the rice cooking, Elder Cropper and I will go and cut a Christmas tree!!
Yup, here in the island of Negros, the people cut down two huge banana trees each with a huge bunch of maybe a hundred bananas on it. They whack off the big leaves, then tie the trees to their front porch. They can add lights or decor, but mostly they don't. Then they just eat the bananas as they ripen.
We have seen these all over, but we didn't know they were in lieu of Christmas trees till tonight when we went, after dance practice, to teach at our friend the banana farmer's house. He told us of the tradition, said people order from him and he gets 3 times the normal amount for a bunch of bananas this time of year. We asked him if we could get one from him. He grabbed his really awesome machete and off we went into the banana jungle next to his house. He had to move a live electric wire that was strung through the jungle, then he whacked down the tree, catching the huge banana bunch in one hand as the tree fell to keep it from squashing. We are going back up tomorrow to collect that one and cut another.
So, who knew we would be cutting a tree here on our mission.
While we were practicing our dance in the parking lot, a contingent of folks pulled up--a couple of humanitarian service missionaries and a couple of church employees from Manilla. They said they had procured a truckload of supplies, that they would be delivered to the church building, that we were to separate them out like we did today with the stuff we got for members of the branch, only we are to deliver them to the city. They had made arrangements with the city social services who have a list of folks in need. These supplies will go to the city to distribute. Guess we get to don the yellow Mormon helping hands vests again for that event.
Tonight we went out to pay for the pigs, but plans changed, so we checked the church. No one there except Bro Ybanez walked up, without his pedi-cab. He was exhausted so we offered to take him home. The way to his house from the main road is almost impassable until today, he can finally get in. He's been staying at his mother-in-law's house which is really just a bamboo fence around a mud floor. On the way home with him we stopped to check on a family who was holding vigil for their dead father on Friday, then the flood came Sat. They were scheduled to have the burial Monday, but we had not checked in to see how that went at the Catholic church. The had their own miracle story to tell. As the floods rose, they moved the casket, then went back up stream to get all their belongings. It's a miracle no one drowned. The funeral went off as planned and the sister had even saved the food they'd purchased for the wake.
While in their house, the sister from the really bad mud pit house texted and asked if I could get her a pair of boots as a Christmas gift because the skin on her feet was wearing off. We were near, and though it was dark, we drove in as far as was safe without succumbing to the ooze and Elder Cropper put on his boots, and with only the tiny light from his cell phone walked in the rest of the way and gave her my most valued possession, my boots. He said he arrived at her house, called "Ayo", and she came out, very amazed to see him. He said she has never been so animated, and said, "ah!! Auto-mateeck."
Anyway, lots of folks are getting help. No matter where we went we were utilized, people who had been in need just seemed to fall into our path. We are doing nothing that each of you would not do if you were here. It is WAY more than I bargained for, but what else is there?
I will never forget dancing a Filipino version of cha-cha in the parking with a bunch of women half my size while a truck backs in with a load of temporary shelter materials for people like we've been slogging in to see most of the day. Oh life is sooooo strange.
And we did get the moment of loveliness on the banana plantation, up above all the devastation, in the quiet with the brilliant children. They served us banana bread, we talked of baptism and the Savior's precious gift to us of his atoning sacrifice. We showed a video of the Nativity. It's the only thing in all of this that I actually know is real. What else is there?