Tacloban Philippines

We were so blessed to stay in the heart of Tacloban. We were next to a Jollibee's which is the Filipino version of McDonalds. Our hotel was the Z Pad. It was a great place to stay. We had a kitchen and living room area with 3 separate bedrooms that each had a bathroom. It reminded us of a dorm room here in the USA. Scott and I were happy to actually have a double bed. It was neat and clean and very comfortable.

Our expectation prior to leaving Utah was that we were basically going to take one bag (a backpack) and that in many ways we pretty much would be camping. We were pleasantly surprised by our fabulous accommodations and never missed the luxury's of home.

Directly Across the Street - View from our sitting room window!

The craziest part about this hotel is that on both sides of it and directly across the street were typical Filipino homes. The humbleness of their homes was striking to us however I am sure they felt as comfortable and blessed as we do in our homes here in Utah.

For the most part is was pretty quiet but as soon as it started to get dark there was lots of activity. People coming and going laughing and having a good time. I was so impressed with how clean and well dressed everyone was as they exited these meager living conditions.

Reunited!

Up early and off to the airport to fly from Manila to Tacloban to meet our missionary. If not for the jet lag we would not have been able to sleep. It was interesting as we checked into the airport. Security for the most part is pretty lax. It seems like every job that is being done there are 3 people working in the same space that one American would be expected to work in. Behind the check in counter 3 beautiful Filipino woman worked instead of the typical one. The people were very friendly and helpful.

 

 There is no doubt that this is the highlight of our trip. Nothing that happens from this point on can compare with this moment. Missionary Madi and some of the other sister missionaries were allowed to come to the Tacloban Airport to meet us. This would assist us with transportation to our hotel safely and remove any issues with the language barrier. 

It was so great to visit for a short time with Missionary Madi and the other sister missionaries. We hopped on a Jeepney and were on our way to the hotel.