When I was on my mission in the Philippines it became apparent there were two seasons, a wet season and a dry season. But that is not to say it did not rain during the dry season - it just rains on time and a little less during that season. During the dry season on Mindanao it started to rain about 2:30-3:00 each afternoon and rained for about two hours. It was a nice way to cool off the afternoon. During the wet season it rains whenever and for however long; it rained long and hard and umbrellas did no good, the rain came through them and created a fine spray.

It was during one such rainy season I observed some of the strangest things I had ever seen. The rain started coming down and did not stop; soon it had nowhere to go. Mindanao is an island and I have never seen rain back up so fast that it could not drain off the beaches, but that is exactly what was happening.

Soon we were three feet deep in water and much more in some places and the water was still rising. The rain was still coming down.

We would ride around in public transportation, and there were only two types in this city. One was a motorcycle with a third wheel attached to the back tire and a bench with a canopy over the top. These were two cycle motorcycle engines, the type of engines where you mix gas and oil together and it burns at the same time, just like in a lawn mower or weed whacker. Needless to say, they do not move very fast and these tricycles did not work very well in deep water, if at all.

The other form of transportation is old WWII jeeps painted and decorated with bright colors and decals. They are called jeepney and are the major sources of public transportation in the Philippines. Some of the vehicles are cared for much better than others and some are not cared for at all; and some it seems are still all made from the original parts and held together with spit and wire.

It was from one of the jeepneys I watched a man sitting on the top of a sign post fishing in the rain during this flood, which in and of itself is strange but I only mention it because I watched him pull a fish from the flood water. I was dumbfounded and laughed to myself not wanting to make a big deal about it in case this was a normal thing on the island. But this is all leading up to something even more strange.

Further down the road we stopped in the middle of a bridge and water was coming over the top of the roadway. I could see a lot of water coming down the creek at great speed and from somewhere there was a loud noise. This noise was getting louder, and I began to realize it was a pig squealing as hard as it could. I could see this pig coming down this creek straight at us, then it disappeared, and all seemed to go silent.

All of a sudden, the water started to rise on the bridge, and it was rising fast. We could see the water top the tires and soon it was coming into the back of the jeepney and people were starting to stand on the seats wondering what to do. Just then there was a loud POP and the water was receding and squealing started again.

That poor pig was stuck in the culvert and had plugged it up, so much so that it had backed the water up over the bridge and into the vehicle. If you tried you could just picture this poor pig being pushed little by little, slowly down through this culvert until it popped out of the other end. That pop sent the pig flying through the air, out of the drain and then back into the creek.

This big, fat piggy did not swim - in fact I do not think pigs can swim as I watched the way this one was rotating head to toe and rolling from side to side. I think it was just more or less swiftly being moved down the side of the hill as it moved back and forth from either side of the banks of this fast-moving stream. Even if pigs could swim this one never had a chance.

This story happened to me more than 30 years ago and I have enjoyed telling it many times. I try to keep the story true to the facts each time I tell it, but try as I might, stories grow by themselves. Ask any storyteller. I have kept the above story true to the tale to make sure it is passed on correctly. This is an example of what you can do with MyStoriesAre. Long or short, serious or comical like this one, your family and friends want to know the real you.