Christmas in CDO

"What would it be like spending Christmas here in Cagayan de Oro City?" -- my thought when December came on. Walking down the streets of the city, I have seen how lively the city is during this month. Passing by their well decorated parks, I felt that Christmas is really near. I was also excited for the parties and activities that is set for this month. I never thought that all the happiness and excitement that we felt will soon fade away. 

It was only 8 days before Christmas when typhoon Sendong hit Northern Mindanao. This typhoon did not only washed away the houses and trees, it also took away lives of people. There are still some that are missing.

The then month of enjoyment now turned into mourning. Sadness and devastation felt around the city. 

Because of what had happened, some, especially the victims of the typhoon, doesn't want to celebrate Christmas anymore. There is nothing to celebrate when a lot of families is in mourn because of their dead and missing relatives.

I know that the whole nation was devastated because of the tragedy. I am also sad about it because we were also affected by it. 

Instead of sulking, don't you think that the more we should celebrate Christmas? What's wrong with us is our wrong perception of Christmas. When we hear the word Christmas, all that we can think of are parties, exchange gifts and fun fun fun. We haven't thought of the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas is more than parties and gift giving. We forgot that Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. The birth of the one who saved us from all of our sins. And so with this, the more that we should celebrate Christmas for us to thank God. Be thankful for all the blessings that we have received. Thank Him that despite of the tragedy, we are still alive. Everything happens for a reason and there's a purpose and a reason why we're still here.

Despite of what had happened, our family still celebrated Christmas to show our gratefulness to the Lord Almighty. The incident is also an eye opener for me. It made me realize that celebrating Christmas doesn't have to be "bongga". The most important thing is celebrating it together with your family. We had a simple preparation to celebrate Jesus' birthday. It is also our way of thanking Him for the second chance that He gave to us. And also to acknowledge His presence in every challenges that we are facing.

Lord, thank you so much for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us!

Wrath of SENDONG

December 16, 2011 -- a date that would forever be a part of Cagayan de Oro City's history.


Around five in the afternoon, we were preparing to get off from work when it started raining. We weren't able to leave the office right away because of the heavy rain. We were waiting for the rain to stop but it didn't. And so, we decided to just go because it's getting late already. On rainy days plus rush hour, it's really hard to ride a jeepney right away. Me and my father was able to ride a jeepney around 6:45 pm. Another thing that made us late in going home -- the heavy traffic!! It was 7:20 pm when we reached Cogon Market. From there, we rode another jeepney to Taguanao (where we are staying). Before reaching our house, we have to walk downhill less than a kilometer. Road is not cemented that's why I have to remove my shoes and wear slippers. Halfway, we had to pass a way that is now filled with water. The water level reached up to our legs. I just don't know why it is filled with water because every time it rains, that way never gets flood, only that night.


Eight in the evening when we reached our house. Upon arriving, I washed my feet and changed my clothes after. Then we had our dinner and watched television. While watching, the electricity went off. I think it's around 8:30 pm when the lights went out. Then by 9 pm, the lights were on again. As I remember, the lights went on and off like three to four times. By the fourth time it went off, the lights never came on again. 9:30 pm when the lights went out for real. And so, we decided to kick off our beds and sleep. I couldn't sleep because of the heavy downpour. Actually, it's not only me but also my grandma. My father went out bringing an umbrella to fetch my mother outside the road. While waiting for my mother and father to come back, I tried to close my eyes and sleep. I was about to go to dreamland when suddenly the wind blew so hard. It was as if our roof was blown away by the wind. Little did I know that it really blew off one of our roofs. I just found out that later in the evening when I decided to check things outside the porch. The wind keeps on blowing so hard that's why I can't sleep anymore. Even my grandma wasn't able to go back to sleep anymore. My father and mother arrived and we tried to fix the roof. We just put a tire on top of the roof so that it wouldn't be totally blown away by the wind.


10:00 pm -- my mother brought food and so we decided to eat it since we couldn't sleep yet. After eating, my father and mother went outside to check for the river. During this time, the flow of the river is still okay. The height of the water is still in the usual height when it rains.


10:30 pm -- the water became big and is flowing rapidly.


10:45 pm -- the water now covered the island that is on the other side of the river. The only thing that you can  see on the other side are their roofs. My mother told us to transfer our things to the other house because she is not feeling right anymore. She had a feeling that the water would soon reach our house. Minutes after, the water is only two stair steps away from our house. My father woke up our neighbors and told them about the situation. They then helped us in transferring our things. Seconds later, the water reached to our porch already.


11:00 pm -- we had transferred all the important things to the other house. The water now reached inside our house and it is up to knee level. Outside the house, the water is up to stomach level.


By 11:00 pm onwards, we just stayed inside the house were we had transferred our things. During that time, I have witnessed trees and houses that went together with the water current. The rain is still pouring so hard and the wind is doing the same as well. It's as if it is infuriated. What we did that time was to sit and pray. That's the only thing that we could do. We couldn't run away from that house because of the flood. Me and my family prayed and sung worship songs. I guess, it was around 2:30 in the morning when the rain had stopped falling. If it hadn't stopped, surely, the flood water would reach inside the house where we took refuge to because the water was only one stair step away from the house.


When the rain had stopped, we then felt the tiredness and decided to take a rest.

our Refuge during the storm

In the morning, around 6:30 am I think, I was awaken by the sound of my mother's voice. It's not only my mother's voice that I heard but also of our neighbors. I hurriedly get out of my made up bed and checked out the commotion outside. As I went outside, I saw the aftermath of the typhoon. I was shocked at what I saw, the island that is on the other side of the river is now a deserted place. The houses and trees there were washed away by the flood. Even the trees on our side of the river, were washed away also. To go and check out our house, we had to walk bare footed because of the flood mud. Using slippers would only slow us down because it gets stuck in the mud. Looking at our house full of mud, I suddenly became tired by looking at it. There would be a lot of work to do. Some of our things were brought away by the flood. But those things were not important anymore, what matters most is our life.

Despite of what had happened, I'm still very thankful to God because we're still alive. Our family is complete and nobody is missing. I consider myself lucky and blessed because God never left us that time. He proved to us that we should never be afraid and that He is always there for us. I also can prove that prayer is very powerful. God really listens to all of our prayers.


Never in my life have I thought that I would be in this kind of predicament. I never thought that I would get to experience this kind of tragedy. But then, all that I have thought were wrong. I now have realized that happenings like this are inevitable. We may never know what lies ahead of us. We can't predict our future. It's only God who handles it and it is only Him who knows everything.