Volcanic Eruptions.....

The recent Taal volcanic eruption last Sunday afternoon found me and my husband safe at home in Cotabato. My daughters Martha and Marion were however at my second home in Manila. They posted pictures taken by their friends from Tagaytay and other near by areas. The eruption was a big blast that ashes fell far and wide even reaching up to Manila and Quezon City. When ashes began to fall in Quezon City, I was of course concerned about my daughters over there. I told them to close all windows at home and not rely on the maids to do so. Tomas in Cebu was also concerned about his sisters. He told them not to go out, and to stay and eat at home that night. My daughters were prepared though, they were home. They also gave the security guard an N95 face mask to use. Pretty soon, authorities began to suspend classes for Monday, declared no work in government and advised people to stay at home and not exposed themselves to the toxic ash fall.

This recent incident, made me recalled that time when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991. It caught us, my children and I, living at Balete Drive, Quezon City. (While Lucas stayed behind in Cotabato.) I had during that school year, enrolled all my children at Jubilee Christian Academy. (Except for Roy who was studying at Philippine Science High.) My father Francisco Ledesma just passed away on June 5. We were that very night commemorating his ninth and last day of rosary prayer at my brother Jun place which was just right behind my apartment, where my father used to live. After the prayers, we also ate dinner over there. After dinner, while walking back home, white ashes were already falling down from the sky. At home, my son Tom began to get frighten because of the smell of sulfur. He was afraid that we would all die from toxic suffocation. He asked for us to go back to my brother’s place and sleep the night over there, due to the fact that my brother Jun had air condition units in their rooms, and thus deemed safer. That evening, I too was also concerned about my asthmatic son Roy, afraid lest the ashes would trigger him an attack. But my 4 year old twin girls were already asleep. So I told them, that the three boys can go over and sleep at my brother’s place, while we girls, together with the maid Imelda stay home. Tom would not hear of it. He wanted everybody to go. If we would not go, he would stay too. To appease his fear, I closed all the windows of the house tightly that night. The next morning, ashes encompassed all homes. Our apartment got dusted too but not as much because of the tightly closed windows. It was a Sunday, we rode the jeep and went to Mt. Carmel Church to attend mass, covering our noses with handkerchiefs. The wind was blowing ashes all over the church. There were very few church goers. It felt like a movie doomsday scenario with the almost empty pews. I was thinking, “Where are the people? Aren’t we supposed to be here for we need God more now?” According to my children specially Emil, who also recalled the incident with me, said; they remembered the priest saying a hurried and short homily. I didn’t even noticed. I didn’t even know why I wasn’t even at all that frightened. (except my concern for that one asthmatic son.) Somehow I knew we would be all right.

Still, thinking about it now, I guess I must have been maybe naive then; yet still, I am glad I was brave maybe because I had faith? I do thank you Lord for protecting us, please continue to protect us everyday.