News from the Philippines

Thankfully, Clody and family are well. He emailed me today. But here is some sad news from the internet (various places):

"Sadly, 32 of our brothers & sisters from Tacloban City (the worst-hit place) are confirmed dead from super typhoon Haiyan, many are still missing and 1 Kingdom Hall destroyed".

" Communication is very difficult as power lines and cell sites are down. The circuit overseers are visiting the brothers and local elders are caring for their sheep. Tomorrow a brother from the Branch Committee will go and visit the Taclooban area to see what needs to be done."

"An as if the disaster last month was not enough, then came the super typhoon badly hitting Central Visayas that brought untold deaths and destruction especially in the Samar and Leyte provinces facing the Pacific Ocean. The people were warned and they were ready for the strong wind but were unprepared for the storm surge creating waves 10 to 15 feet high, This is first time that people here in the Philippines experienced that problem and those living by the seashore suffered the worst tragedy.... Sad to say that 26 brothers and sisters died in Leyte not to speak about their houses destroyed. Some escaped to higher grounds 3 days before the super typhoon had first land touchdown in Eastern Samar and Tacloban City in Leyte.
Now the branch organized 5 truckloads of relief** goods to the distributed in Samar and Leyte but we do not how long it will take to reach the affected areas. Some of the roads have yet to be cleared due to debris like fallen trees blocking the highways

We all hope and pray that our brothers and sisters there (and all who have died) are held safe in "the everlasting arms" until the time comes for them to wake from the dreamless sleep of death. And we must pray that the relief gets through.  There seems little infrastructure left in the places hit by the storm.  

And when they do wake, the world will be coming back into a perfect balance once again, as the Kingdom of God - the heavenly government for whose coming Jesus taught us to pray - will be in charge. And we will be ruled by the law of loving kindness - and awed by the power of nature, but no longer afraid of it.

Today - as this is supposed to be my diary- what did I do?  Three loads of washing - some tidying and dusting - and my studies, out on the balcony in the Autumn sun.   Captain Butterfly and I plan to watch the last episode of Poirot tonight - the very last as (spoiler alert), he dies.

Audrey rang about the calendars and to ask me if I had seen the sunset last night.  I hadn't as I had retired to a darkened bedroom with the worst headache of my life.  Don't often get them these days either.   However, the Captain just told me he photographed it, so I might ask for a photo for this blog.

Its an interesting, and lovely, sunset over the Channel tonight.  Bands and bands of clouds being edged with pink, and a calm blue Channel underneath.

The books begin to arrive

What have I been doing - to feel so exhausted?  I think the answer is "not sleeping well".

We had a brother down from Bethel who gave us a special talk on Saturday night, followed by sandwiches, tea and cakes.   Col chauffered me there and back, but wouldn't come.   The talk "Friends and Followers" was angled to make us think about what we read in the Bible - about how extraordinary Jesus' life was. We read through the Inspired Scriptures constantly, so it is easy to become so familiar with them that we forget that.

I didn't make it to the meeting on Sunday, but I did listen in on the telephone lines.  I have just emailed a brother in the Philippines, hoping to find out he and his family are OK, after the recent disaster. The worst tropical storm in recorded history apparently!  JW.org tells me that the brothers are already there, helping.

Linda came over Sunday afternoon for tea, cakes, and a chat.   I wasn't able to get to the morning meeting, but listened in on the phone.  The little bit of walking about - on crutches - that I did at the Hall on Saturday night seemed to cripple me.  I woke up hardly able to move.

The books for my next operation and convalescence have begun to arrive and are being stored, tantalisingly, at the bottom of my wardrobe.  A couple of Gerda Charles - a marvelous writer, long out of print.   And three climbing books, with, hopefully, more to come. I can't now remember what I ordered.  I want to go and read them all now now now. But I mustn't. If I remember it rightly, the first two weeks I am back, I can't do anything, beyond get myself in and out of bed, and to the loo, so I need them then.

I will need to be whisked up to the top of Annapurna, or back in time with Gerda Charles, who evokes her life in Jewish lower-middle class, provincial England, in the first half of the last century in magical words. There is so much bad writing about nowadays, that the good shines like a beacon.  And good writing can take you away from the pain too.

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The Schemes of Mice and Men...

Robert Burns would have been able to say "I told you so" last night - and probably in a wonderful poetic way too - as our schemes for supper went "agley".  Jackie came for supper, and we had planned to order a takeaway from the newly vamped Indian restaurant round the corner.   But, we couldn't get through to them on the phone. They were either engaged, or not answering.

So we gave up and went back to our usual "Lemon Grass".   We got straight through - and the order arrived at our door 20 minutes later.  And the food was excellent as always.  The restaurant is run by Thais, and the delivery men seem to be Eastern European - usually Polish I think. And it all works with charm and efficiency.

One time they were deeply apologetic because their delivery van had broken down, so we went up to collect it.  Those were my glory days when I could drive and walk.   And when I made my little joke about how they should get a Tuk-Tuk, they laughed a lot (even though they had probably heard it 50 times that evening).

As I said, charm and efficiency.  And, of course, tasty Thai food.  I think we will be faithful to them, takeaway wise, in future.

I actually slept the night through, but it wasn't all that relaxing as I dreamt we were fleeing from a tsunami.  Col was on a beach, on his mobile phone, with his back to the sea, and the sea began to recede and we were shouting "Run, a tsunami is coming."  We took refuge in a tower, in a completely flat landscape, and...

Once again, I wonder why I do this to myself.

The Search for a Householder

Jay rang to say she couldn't make it next Thursday so I had to search round at the meeting last night to find a householder - and Gay's daughter kindly agreed to stand in. We hope to practise it Sunday after the meeting, but I am now worrying about how I am going to get there on Sunday, as Captain B has a treasure hunt on.

We have a special talk at the Hall tomorrow evening, followed by tea and cakes.  So maybe we can get together than and practise it.  

It has been quite a fraught morning with this monster typhoon hitting the Philippines. I hope my brothers and sisters there are all safe. They have only just been through the earthquake. And we have been phoning back and forth re the son of a friend who lives there - till he managed to contact his brother and us and ask us to let his mum know they are all ok. Thank God.

Pakeezah

I couldn't sleep last night. Since my hospital stay, I seem to have lost the knack. And so I found myself watching a Bollywood movie in the early hours.  It was called Pakeezah, and means "Pure of heart".  And I loved it.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the Friday evening Bollywood movie when we were in Expatworld.

The heroines are so lovely and feminine. They don't, or didn't back then, have that Hollywood there-has-been-a-terrible-accident-in-an-embalming-parlour look.   And I love the dancing and singing.

There was an apple pudding recipe posted on my fb site this morning - it used six apples.  And I have six apples left from the Captain's last picking.  So I made it.  Its rather nice.

Then Captain Butterfly took me for my weekly outing to the Arundel Wetland Reserve. The light was wonderful. We lunched - him off pork, me off veggie chile - then he left me with my mug of foamy coffee and my studies while he went off to do some filming.

I found a voice from the past in my mailbox the other day, which was a lovely surprise, taking me back to the days of Nabbs.

Cyril the Lemming

The Speaker at the Hall gave us two memorable illustrations, one being Cyril the Lemming.   He described a cartoon showing the (now discredited, I think) picture of a whole herd of lemmings throwing themselves over a steep cliff. One, though, has stopped right at the edge, and is looking thoughtfully around. The caption read:  "This was when Cyril realised he was different from the other lemmings."

For the second illustration, the Speaker reminded us of the windmill gnomes that used to be on (some) peoples' front lawns. The little gnome held a windmill, and at times it would look as if his arms would turn vigorously so that he would appear to be twirling the windmill.  Of course, it was the wind turning the windmill, which then turned the arms.  He was at the mercy of every wind that blew.

The point of the illustrations is of course to remind us not to be at the mercy of every wind that blows; to be different from "the world" - and not to head right over the cliff with the crowd. So it means trusting in Jehovah with all our heart, keeping on learning his law, and sticking with it.  And swimming upstream, against the current, to the end of our lives, or to the end of this system of things - whichever comes first.
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We were also reminded of how lovely the world is, how wonderful the creation is, when we read these words from Job, when Jehovah asks:

"Where did you happen to be when I founded the earth?
Tell [me], if you do know understanding.
Who set its measurements, in case you know,
Or who stretched out upon it the measuring line?
Into what have its socket pedestals been sunk down,
Or who laid its cornerstone,
 When the morning stars joyfully cried out together,
And all the sons of God began shouting in applause?"

And of course, this, from Psalm 19:

"The heavens are declaring the glory of God;
And of the work of his hands the expanse is telling.
One day after another day causes speech to bubble forth,
And one night after another night shows forth knowledge.
There is no speech, and there are no words;
No voice on their part is being heard."

Without words, the creation tells us every day and every night of the qualities of its Grand Creator.

There was another rainbow today - we have had a cold but sunny morning, followed by intermittent rain - and wonderful big waves on the Channel.

I spent most of yesterday struggling away trying to do my talk for the Ministry School.  I don't have to deliver it till next week, but my householder, needed to see it today. Its far from brilliant, but its a subject that I think would be easier to address in a public talk, rather than a five minute dialogue.

A flock of butterfly memberships came through the letterbox yesterday, so that is Monday taken care of.

A Rainy Autumn Day

Raining yesterday, Captain Butterfly was not able to get out into the countryside and photograph things...  aargh.  Trapped indoors with a bear with a sore head.  Though I must admit it was very nice to have him here all day, working away at the next computer. And he is busy de-frosting the freezer at the moment. What a hero! He did get an outing in the afternoon as I gave the poor guy a vast shopping list.

Its overcast this morning, its been raining, and will apparently be pouring down tomorrow.  The sky is full of clouds, dark grey at the horizon and the Channel is such a pale blue its almost white. It all looks lovely.

The gallant Captain chauffered me door to door to the Kingdom Hall for the meeting last night. We - the congregations world wide - started a new study - one of the brochures:"Who is doing God's will today?", and we are going through the Christian Greek Scriptures once again, book by book.   I wish I had thought to note where I started all those years ago, as I would know how many times I have read the complete Bible.

I never read it through even once in my Catholic Convent years.  I can see why now, as had we read this:    “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth.  You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them....", wouldn't our religion - the Catholicism of the Fifties (I cannot speak for the Catholicism of Now) - have come to pieces in our hands?   It was very statue-based. We prayed to That Statue for this, and to This Statue for that.

Well, I am more grateful than I know how to say that the God of Abraham sent his witnesses to my door. And feel bad that I still can't go door to door myself. Grateful I can get to the meetings though. I now manage to stand for the opening song and prayer, and for the song in the middle, but I have to stay seated for the closing song and prayer.  And when my recovery seems slow and I get depressed I must remember that before the op,  I wasn't able to stand at all during the meetings, and wasn't even able to make it for the last pre-op week.  So I need to note whatever progress I make.

As I hobbled on crutches into the Hall last night, one of my brothers said: "You are hurtling along now!"   I glowed with pride.  So watch out Usain Bolt, your gold medal reign may soon be over (as long as I can persuade the surgeon to install the kneejet engines during my next op).