A Typhoon Destroyed Their Home 🇵🇭 So We Built Them a New One

This week's video is a special one. It's not about beautiful destinations or having an adventure, but it is about human connection, which is one of the most beautiful things about traveling. Where I am right now is Dumaguete City in the Negros Oriental part of the Philippines. And six years ago, I was not far from here when I met this amazing Filipino man while I was waiting for a ferry that was late. And we talked for an hour. It was so much fun. Life, love, the ocean. And little did I know at the time, but this would turn into a six-year friendship until about three years ago when the messages just stopped. And honestly, I was worried. So when he finally got back in touch with me, I found out that a typhoon had hit this region of the Philippines and it had been devastating. He lost almost everything, including his home. So in that moment, our relationship changed. We went from sending emojis and friendly messages to rebuilding his life. And he never asked me for anything, but I wanted to help. So I sent what I could, when I could. And over the next year, I would get weekly photos of the process, the cement being poured, the walls going up, and eventually the roof going on the house. It was such an amazing thing to be part of. And today is the first time I'm back in six years and he's actually coming here right now to pick me up on his motorbike and take me to his village to see the house that he built. So let's head over and meet him and see where this day takes us. So great to see you, brother! Hi, Mr. Adam. You look the same. Yeah, and you also, you... I think I'm a little bigger. Yeah, much bigger. Yeah, much bigger. Hi. Hi, this is the man right here that it's all about right now. Yeah. So good to see you. And also, I am hardly feeling like... I don't know what is happening right now. Yeah. That we met each other for five years. Five years. I think it's six years. Oh, six years now. Six years. Wow. Thank you. I'm so happy to see you. Should we go to your house? Okay. Okay. All right. We ride for my little scooter. Okay. Are you ready? I hope it doesn't go... when I sit on the back. All right. Okay. Let's do it. Let's go. Thank you. It's beautiful. Is this your cow? All right. We've arrived. Hello. Nice to meet you. Adam. And you? Oh, thank you. Can I give my right hand to you too? Put a little bless. How old are you? Forty-six. Yeah. Three years. Yeah. Three years. Close. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Let me take my shoes off. Oh, the shoes. You don't wear shoes in the house? Wow. Got the family pictures. The Holy Rosary. And you have a real roof. Worth 40,000 plus. Okay. Yeah. That's why. And it keeps you dry. Yeah. Perfect. That's the most important thing. You can arrive there, all your clothes will dry. Yeah. This is our roof. A simple roof. Okay. Only blaster last year. I have this one. The other side, I have a deep. And this is, I sent to you, a cabinet, closet cabinet. Okay. That I built. You built this? Yes. I will show you the five photos. Okay. Great. Sorry for the Sorry. No, that's great. Sorry. It's everything you need. Yeah. Yeah. I built this to two units. The other one is today. I gave, I will, I just sent to my cousin. Yeah. There. The other brown guy. And you built this house? Yeah. Wow. With bare hands, with the help of Jesus Christ. Wow. I have an additional at my kitchen area. Nice. Oh, look at that. Some fish. Very cool. I just cook for you. It smells so good. You cook this? Yeah. Wow. Did you say to me that you cook humba? Yeah. Yeah. This is pork? Yeah. Okay. And this is smell fish. Smell fish. It's okay. It's better than okay. It's great. I'm just so happy to be here. And I love all of your green out here. Nice little property. Was this where your house was before the one that got destroyed in the typhoon? Wow. So I make it a renovation. Yeah. The design of this house is like the old one. I didn't change the design. I just make it into a concrete design. So stronger now. Yeah. Stronger. I like it. This is a temporary from my old house. I'll make it into a door. Oh, so you took the old door from the old house. Because I don't have enough money for the door. You recycled it though. Yeah. And you have a little vent up top. Keep let the wind come in. Very nice. Transom. Very cool. And this is your charity. You know what? It feels like charity, but it was just doing the right thing. Yeah. You know, you were in need and I could help. And you know, I think we can't always help sometimes because we're not able to financially. But at the time it was just, it worked. And I wanted to do what I could. And Heidi and my dad. I'm thankful for your dad, Mark, that he's kindness also. Yeah. He was really moved by your story. Even though he didn't see me. Yeah. But that's my dad. He loves to help people when he can. And he helped me so much in my whole life. So thank you, dad, for being such a good dad. Mr. Mark. Thank you very, very much. And this is your son in my house. He taught me. He taught me. Thank you. I know. We're so happy to be here. I wish he could be here too. Yeah. It's open. My house is open for you. Well, if I can ever get him. Anytime we've been windy, visitor in Philippines, just visit my city. Yeah. Or province. Especially to my house. All right. When that storm came, were you at home when it came? Yeah. We hide this. You hide down here. Oh my God. That must've been so scary. My carpentry works tools. This one. So me and my son hide in here. And this one is mine. You pulled it down in front. Wow. This one. And then the wind is very, very strong. Whistling. And then this one take off. Not a corrugated sheet. Yeah. The other one is corrugated. Blown away. Blown away. Must've been terrifying. Yeah. The house is shaking for the wind. Wow. And you had to hide under there. Yeah. I feel like so many of us in the States and the Western part of the world, we never really understand what that's like. I mean, there's places in America where they have hurricanes and tornadoes and stuff, but to be, I mean, it must've been so devastating and scary to your son under there. Yeah. We hide this area. We cover this because maybe some debris. Yeah. How long did it last for? I think last for an hour, two hours, three hours. And it took almost everything. Yeah. But the most important thing is you and your son were safe. We're safe. And you also. Yeah, I know. But I'm so grateful that you guys made it. Because he gave us the strength. He gave us the senior centennial. Senior centennial. That is my pattern also. Oh, I see. The oldest one. Ah, yeah. I saw him. I saw so many of them in Cebu City. Yeah. You saved him? Yeah. Oh, from the storm. Yeah. From the storm. Did he get blown away? Not, but almost. Almost. Because falling debris, I will discover. Wow. So that it will never be damaged. Well, I'm grateful. It's an old statue. I think I'm eight years old. That is, we buy that one. My mother buy that one. And now she's passed away. I'm sorry. It's hard. Yeah. And so what do you think? How much did all of this end up costing for you to build with everything? For the, you see that one? The used cost 70,000. Because, oh no, 90,000. With the roof. Okay. With the roof. Almost 100,000 in runoff. Almost 100,000. Wow. Then I stopped because the money, it's lacking money. Yeah. But hopefully you can finish. Yeah. With the help of our father. Yeah. I know he has given to us with the strength of our power so that we build our home. To finish this. It's a beautiful home. I slowly work, but finish. Yeah. And now it's stronger than it was before. And you're stronger than you were before. Thank you. Together. Together we can do anything. And that's why supporting each other is so important. You know, like it's so easy to, when you have everything and you're safe, to not worry about other people. But all over the world there's people that are suffering, that are having problems, that are losing their homes, living in fear. Man. And we could all make a difference if we just gave a little bit more of ourselves. Because there's no impossible with helping each other. Yeah. There isn't. Yes. Together we can do anything. Amazing. Thank you so much for giving me a tour. Yeah. This is where I live and to help them also. Because I'm the only one. There's nothing else that can help me. I have no mother. And my father is, there's another family. Oh. Yeah. That's why. That's why in my own I'm sorry. Yeah. I know. Because my heart is always aching. I'm sorry. I'm the only one who stands still. It's been 10 years now since I broke with my, with my wife. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay. Because I expressed my feelings. It's okay. People that I don't know from the other side of the world who came to my country. No, don't cry. I mean, it's okay to cry. Don't be sorry. I cry all the time when something means something to me. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Thank you, bro. Such a nice guy. I feel like this was such a wake-up call for me. You know, sometimes we can take for granted just how lucky we are. We can take for granted what we have. Like, imagine being in your kitchen underneath the sink, holding your child with a table in front of you because your roof is blowing off of your house in a typhoon. And unlike at home where, you know, there might be some government help to come and relieve you afterwards or to give you a place to stay. They don't have that here. You know, so many places in the world don't have that. So, you know, that resilience of people, the way that they just pick up and keep going forward because there's no other place to go. You can't go back. Wow, I keep getting choked up. And I think that's the thing about travel. It gives you perspective because when you just have that little bubble that you live in and there's nothing wrong with living in your little bubble, but when you live in that bubble, it's hard to see outside of it. And when we finally do get out there in the world and we see what it's like for other people, it not only shows us the world, but it shows us ourselves. And it shows us what it means to have what we have, to have an education, to have a roof, to have running water, to be able to drink out of your faucet. I mean, these are things that we take for granted, at least most of us do. And it reminds me every day when I'm out here that there's so much more to life than the things that we hold so dear to us back home. And it's that perspective that changed things. And to be able to share life with someone else, to be able to share his family, his kindness, his stories, you know, like just the raw emotion that he was willing to give to me is something that I will always be grateful for. So if you enjoyed this video, please give me a big thumbs up, comment, subscribe, and don't forget to bling, bling, bling, bling, bling the bell. I will see you next time, my friends. And thank you so much, Raldi, for opening your home to us. And he just gave me a gift on the bag. It's a little worn off, but it says, Bro Adam. And it's a pair of shorts. Look at that. He knows me so well. Generosity is a beautiful thing.