Right after the flood subsided, a mother and her two children walked barefoot to the Macasandig Baranggay Hall. They were wet and tired and dirty … Then for a brief moment, the girl stopped and smiled a very sweet smile … as she waved to her primary teacher, my daughter Ella, who was at that time waiting for a tricycle to her work. Then she walked again … following her Mom and brother.
That scene took Ella by surprise – she did not know what to say. When she came home after work, she asked us if Sister Labitad and her family had been reached by our Bishop. You see, early dawn that day, just a few hours after our Ward Christmas Party, a deadly flash flood 7 meters high wiped out whole communities in our area, killing at least a thousand people and rendering hundreds of families homeless. We were thinking of them at the height of the flood. There was very little we could do. There was total blackout in our area as light went out as early as 11 pm the night before in the whole city. Rain was also pouring which made things more difficult.
Finally, three nights after that deadly flash flood, I finally was able to talk to Sister Labitad and heard about their ordeal. I had goosebumps all over me as I listened to what they had to go through. I had tears running down my face and a lump in my throat as I listened about a mother’s fear and agony over the possibility of losing her children and her own life. But from all this I learned a very simple truth … Children have abiding faith … full, 100% faith in God! Children are full of hope, too! And they easily forget… And above all, they are always sweet – no matter what they’ve been through! ♥♥♥
