Yolanda Aid Worker Story 3

 God’s Unexpected Provision

By Pastor Steven Dime

Pastor Dime (above, center) and Jay Johnson Go (below
wearing mask) in action in Tacloban. 

The main purpose of my journey to Tacloban City was to remind people that there is still a God who cares and continues to provide in spite of dire circumstances. But before I could remind people of this wonderful lesson, I learned firsthand that God has a funny way of first teaching us the very lesson we want to impart to others.

I grew up in Tacloban City but have since migrated to Manila and am currently pastoring Lighthouse of Faith Tabernacle in Makati City.  I was selected to be the operation manager of CCOWE Care Caravan (A conglomeration of Chinese Churches created for the purpose of extending Christian concern and love especially in calamity-hit areas) for our Tacloban relief distribution. Bro. Jay Johnson Go of UECP volunteered to join me in the operation.

We had two main objectives in Tacloban: distribute relief goods and scout for contacts from surrounding towns for future relief operations.

Knowing full well the dire situation in Tacloban City during those first few days after Yolanda hit, I had to mentally condition Jay Johnson. First, I told him to be prepared to live on a biscuit-and-cupcake diet only. Second, we needed to conserve our drinking water because we wouldn’t be bringing too much of it with us. If people saw that we had supplies we could get robbed on our way downtown. (We were told that there was no transportation available and that we would have to walk all the way from the airport to the downtown area). Third, there were no guaranteed flights back to Manila. We would be taking chances. Hopefully we could get to Tacloban, distribute our goods and be out of the city within a week. Hopefully our food supply would last that long.

We stayed at the Ritz Tower which is owned by a good friend of mine. The CCT team happened to be also staying at the Ritz. Our relief goods would not arrive for a couple more days. They too were waiting for their medical team to arrive and had nothing planned until then. We decided to offer what little help we could to the city vice mayor who put us on a dump truck loaded with relief supplies headed for Brgy. San Jose.   

That one relief distribution activity forged a bond of friendship between our team of two and the CCT team. Little did we know at that time that the CCT team was God’s way of providing not just our needs but a reminder that He still cares and continues to provide.

When Jay Johnson and I arrived in Tacloban, we only had two liters of water each and a plastic bag of store-bought cupcakes and biscuits, which, by the way, was not much. On the first day, we had to take small sips just to make sure our water would last for a week. We didn’t even bother eating the first day in the name of conserving food.

When Pastor Ed Gomez heard of this, he graciously invited us to join them for every meal. In fact, he was very insistent that we join them. Every meal, we got to enjoy freshly cooked food courtesy of the CCT team. We never prayed for it. We never asked for it. We were prepared to eat only biscuits and cupcakes for a whole week. If God could turn water into wine…we found out that He can also turn cupcakes and biscuits into rice and fish and chicken.

When the medical team arrived, I realized that they didn’t have a pharmacist with them. They had doctors, nurses…but no pharmacist. I have been involved with medical/dental missions since I was in college. And I understand the importance of having someone familiar with medicines to do the dispensing of medicines in a medical mission or people could get the wrong medications. Being a licensed pharmacist, I volunteered to man the dispensing of medicines.

It’s amazing how God puts two and two together and everything just falls into its perfect place like a jigsaw puzzle. Doctor Demy came up to me afterward and said that we were a great help. God allowed us to be exactly where we were needed.

After Jay and I distributed the CCOWE relief goods, the only problem left on our end was how to get back to Manila. By the grace of God, the CCT team rented a van and was going back to Manila by land. And again, by the grace of God, there was enough room for Jay and myself to hitch a ride with them all the way to Manila. And again, by the wonderful grace of God, the CCT team offered us a ride without our asking them.

Our God is really a God of wonder and provision. We went to Tacloban hoping to remind them that God cares and still provides. And in turn, we were the ones reminded of that wonderful fact! May all the glory be unto our God…the great Provider.

New Boat, Fresh Hope for Roxas Fisher Folk

Fernando and Isabelita Ibanada in their new boat. The
net is the only piece of fishing gear they were
able to salvage after the storm.

Fernando and Isabelita Ibanada of Barra, Roxas City go out to sea in the small hours of the morning, bring home fresh catches of fish, crabs, and shellfish, and help make Roxas City the seafood capital of the country. But when Yolanda battered their tiny barangay on the northern coast of Capiz, the only boat they owned was shattered, never to be used again. 

Today, a month and a half after Typhoon Yolanda struck, Tatay Fernando has hope as fresh as an early morning catch of fish and he can go out to sea again – in a newly-purchased secondhand boat. The Ibanadas and four other fishermen are the first of 33 boat owners to receive loan assistance for boat purchase or repair from CCT and Bread from Heaven Christian Fellowship (BFHCF), a church in Las Pinas, Metro Manila. 

The couple will also receive P5,000 worth of housing materials free from BFHCF  for their partially-damaged house. The boats and eight houses being rebuilt with assistance from CCT and BHCF were dedicated to the Lord in a simple program attended by families of the recipients and by Pastor Doy of BFHCF. 

Anna Mae Labanero, CCT regional peer servant, said, “By Janaury we will have 20 more houses and about four more new or repaired boats to be dedicated to God.” 

Labanero added that all 2,079 community partners whose houses were totally destroyed will also receive assistance in 2014. Recipients of micro finance loans from the CCT Savings and Credit cooperative are referred to as community partners within CCT circles.

Of the 1,905 CCT community partners in the province of Capiz, about 310 are in the fishing industry as fishers, vendors, or processors.

- with reports from Connie Defensor, Roxas City, Capiz

Yolanda Aid Worker Story 2: Unexpected Rescue

Dr. Demy (standing) and Dr. Pan Callanta in Tacloban, Leyte.

By Pastor Ruel Castino as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

It was nearly sunset.  Three doctors and two nurses in the  medical mission team I was part of  were rushing to attend to a few more patients before Yolanda-devastated Tacloban would  be plunged again into darkness. 

They were treating survivors at the Rizal Central School where several families had taken shelter during the storm. Earlier, non-medical members of the group, myself included, had shared the Gospel and given out Bibles in the classrooms. 

A little girl, about five years old, had been hanging around the makeshift clinic as the team did their work. To pay her a little attention I taught her an action song which she acted out with gusto. 

“So where are you and your family staying?” I asked her afterward.

She pointed to another building and casually said her mother was not well. 

I decided to go see if our doctors could offer the woman some assistance.  It turns out girl's mother had been in a small accident at the crowded evacuation center and was suffering from burns on her back.   But lying next to her was a child– not one of hers --  gasping for breath. This boy, about six years old, was more in need of immediate medical attention than the woman.    

In other circumstances I’m sure the boy’s father would have brought him to a doctor.  Or he would have at least gone to a drugstore for a few tablets that would stop the asthma attack.  But this was just 13 days after the super storm that had made life in Tacloban come to a standstill.  People had lost their homes, hospitals were ruined, transportation was next to zero, and the stench of dead bodies still under the rubble filled the air.  Perhaps the father had given up hope and was waiting for the inevitable to happen. 

But I knew there still was hope for this child.  I alerted Dr. John Tabije who said he  indeed needed to be brought to a hospital.  We were lent one of the few vehicles available, an army truck brought to Tacloban by Japanese aid workers. The first hospital we brought the child to was closing just as we arrived.  They were open only during the day.   Thank God the child was admitted to the second hospital we brought him too.

When we visited the boy before leaving for another Yolanda-battered area he was breathing much better and his father had lost the look of hopelessness on his face the day before.  (The woman with burns on her back also sought medical attention she’d been trying to put off.)

And that little girl I taught an action song to?  Perhaps she will never know the important role she played in saving the life of another little child at the evacuation center that day.  

Pastor Ruel Castino (holding water bottle) with a relief delivery team
in Leyte. 

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The Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries is committed to long-term rehabilitation work in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda.  

Should you want to donate to Yolanda survivors, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch
               Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation
               Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2
               US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0
               Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation. 

Yolanda Aid Worker Story

Unforgettable Experience:  Leading a Yolanda Survivor to Christ

By Jacob Macarilay as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

Jacob Macarilay cleans wounds
sustained by Yolanda survivor while
being swept out to sea. 

Anastacio, Yolanda survivor,
 tells aid workers his story. 

From the plane, the scene below seemed to me like someone had gotten tired of playing with his toys and, in a temper tantrum, had toppled them all with a quick sweep of the hand.  But this was not a playroom floor strewn with toys.  This was Tacloban City 12 days after it had been hit by Super Typhoon.  Trees and utility posts were lying on their sides, buildings of all sizes were roofless, cars were piled up and surrounded by debris. 

I was with a medical team sent to Tacloban by the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries (where I work as a school nurse) and the Victory Christian Fellowship. This was my first visit to Tacloban.  I wondered, “How would I have felt if I were coming home to a city as devastated as this?”

As soon as we stepped off the plane the depression all around was almost something we could touch. Then Pastor Ed Gomez and his wife Geraldine who were to be our guides through the city rushed up to greet us.  They had lost almost all their material possessions in the storm but but they welcomed us with the sunniest of smiles. I was supposed to be bringing them  encouragement, but here they were encouraging me.  Their joy was contagious.     

We unloaded our bags and medical supplies at the Ritz Tower de Leyte, an event venue and restaurant also heavily damaged by the typhoon then we set off  to meet  the vice mayor and register as aid volunteers.

The vice mayor, we found out, was a pastor! A survivor too, his home and car were damaged. He had to walk to and from the city hall everyday.  If he seemed exhausted it was understandable -- he was dealing with a situation far worse than anyone’s worst nightmares. Still, he worked with quiet determination. 

He requested our group of three doctors, two nurses and one non-medical staff to fill the gap between the local government's efforts  and ‘big players’ bringing in aid such as international organizations, the Department of Health, and the Philippine Red Cross. 

Back at the Ritz, we met two volunteers looking for a group they could team up with. Steven introduced himself as a registered pharmacist.  Jason, although just about my age – 21 – said he’d been doing volunteer work for quite some time and had actually crossed paths with Steven at relief operations thrice before.  We knew God had sent them our way. Steven's experience with reading scribbled prescriptions and Jason's assistance with dispensing medicine helped us serve a lot more patients than we could have without their help. 

We treated more than 500 patients in two days in Leyte. One of them was Kuya Anastacio.

He told me his survival story while I cleaned wounds on his legs. 

Like other men in his seaside community, he’d sent his family to an evacuation center and stayed home to keep an eye on their belongings.  The storm surge flattened  houses in the entire neighborhood and swept him and many others out to sea.  Clinging to someone's house post as dead neighbors floated around him he earnestly prayed that God would spare him. Several hours later  a rescue team fished him out of the water alive.

As a nurse I am trained never to give in to my emotions when treating a patient. But I was crying just as hard as Kuya Anastacio as I told him, “God heard your plea.  God has a purpose for your life.  He gave you a second chance.”   He turned his life over to Jesus that morning at the evacuation center.

This is my first job, so this Tacloban trip is something I will never forget.  What makes it most unforgettable was the opportunity to lead Kuya Anastacio to Christ. 

Yolanda Survivor Story

A Miracle at the Philam Life Building 

By Geraldine Gomez as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

The building that sheltered Geraldine, Ephraim, and Shalom Gomez while
Yolanda raged over Central Visayas.  Windows on second
floor where they stayed are intact.  Photo: Pet Cumagun

Ed, Ephraim, Geraldine, and Shalom:
Yolanda survivors 

Thursday, November 7 was just like any other weekday. It had been sunny all day, business establishments were busy, children went to school.  There seemed to be no reason to leave for the night but my children, Ephraim, 9, and Shalom, 5, and I packed some clothes anyway.

My husband, Ed, had received a text message inviting our family to stay at the Philam Life building for safety. For days, the news carried reports of a super typhoon brewing over the Pacific and Tacloban was going to be directly in its path.  Just a few days earlier, Ed had passed the  insurance agents’ licensure exam which is why  the company had his cell phone number. 

Late in the afternoon we said goodbye to Ed who would keep an eye on the house. I could feel neighbors smiling behind us as my children and I left with overnight bags and pillows.

Several other families had received the invitation too but no one else came to stay at the three-story building in downtown Tacloban. In  a room on the second floor Ephraim and I pushed some tables together, spread out our blankets and settled down for the night.

The wind started to blow menacingly at three the next morning. By four o clock it was howling mercilessly.  It was the scariest thing I have ever lived through.

I felt like crying but I didn’t want the children to be terrified. Instead I clutched them tightly, and we alternately prayed and worshipped God.  Soon the lights went out. A little later I couldn’t reach Ed on the phone.  I wondered how he was faring and quietly prepared myself for never seeing him alive again. 

The wind finally died down at ten o clock in the morning and we took stock of our surroundings. Bodies were floating in the flood water outside. The wind had peeled away part of the roof and rain pouring in had flooded the top floor. The glass  door at the main entrance to the building was broken and water had reached nearly nine feet.  But in the room that had been our refuge, every single window pane was intact.  Not one was broken. 

At about five in the afternoon, nearly 24 hours after we had said goodbye to Ed he walked into the room, having walked all the way from our house for the past several hours. He said that our roof, except for the part over the bathroom was gone.  His precious collection of theology books (he is a pastor and Bible school teacher), our wedding album were hopelessly damaged.  But we were all alive, safe, and unhurt. Reunited, we thanked and worshipped God as a family.    

*******

Ed and Geraldine Gomez were beginning to introduce the savings mobilization program of the Center for Community Transformation in needy communities in Tacloban a few weeks before Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated the city.  

*******

Should you want to donate to Yolanda survivors, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch
               Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation
               Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2
               US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0
               Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation. 

By Candlelight

Young people help repack relief items in Calbayog City,
 five hours away from heavily-damaged Tacloban. 

Days before aid began to come from Manila,
 CCT staff in Leyte were bringing in supplies from Calbayog 

which suffered almost no damage.   

Candlelight is often associated with images of romantic dinners.  But for residents of Region 8 --- those who live on the islands of Leyte and Samar --- candlelight now lights everything done after sunset. 

Power lines were toppled in the region, which was the hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, as well as in Regions 5, 6, 7, crippling businesses and the return to normal life.  According to authorities it will be months before electricity is fully restored in the regions, but the energy department has vowed to restore power in major cities by Christmas eve.   

In response to the need for light,  the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries brings solar lamps to Yolanda-affected communities as part of its relief efforts  and long-term rehabilitation work. 

CCT has operations on the islands of Palawan, Panay, and Mindoro.  It was beginning to introduce its savings mobilization program in Tacloban, Leyte when the storm struck.

----------

Should you want to donate to Yolanda survivors, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch
               Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation
               Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2
               US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0
               Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation. 

Counseling Needed By Yolanda Survivors, Doctor Says

School desks serve as makeshift clinic for Dr.  John Tabije (standing)
 and Jacob Macarilay,  nurse, at a Tacloban City evacuation site. 

Dr. Demy Reyes  and  Dr. Pan Callanta (below)  treat 
 Yolanda survivors  amid the rubble left by the super storm.

“Yolanda survivors need counselling the most at this point,” said Dr. John Tabije after completing a medical mission trip to Tacloban.  “Several groups are already attending to basic medical needs.  What’s needed  now is people who will help them deal with the trauma.”

Dr. John was part of a team of three doctors and two nurses sent by the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries (CCT) to Tacloban two weeks after the city was devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda.  “We treated people with open wounds, mostly from stepping on nails or broken glass, or after being hit by flying roofing sheets. We brought a child with asthma to the hospital. We put a broken limb in a cast and gave anti-tetanus shots. But a lot of medical teams were also in the area. What survivors need at the moment is someone who can help deal with their losses, help them face the future,” he said. 

The CCT team partnered with the office of Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin in bringing medical treatment to survivors in evacuation centers in the city proper, to students of the World Evangelical Bible College in the neighboring town of Dulag, and to residents of Brgy. Talolora, Tanauan. 

“Another major need is transportation,” Doc John pointed out. “Relief supplies are piling up.  Volunteer drivers and trucks are needed to transport these to villages that have yet to receive any form of help. Sick survivors have to be brought to the hospital." Most vehicles in the city were rendered useless by the storm surge brought about by the Signal # 4 typhoon. "Even the vice mayor has to walk 45 minutes from his home to the city hall.”   

Doc John said that temporary shelter such as tents was also in short supply. 

CCT was just beginning to introduce its savings mobilization program in Tacloban when the storm struck. It also has operations in Palawan, Iloilo, Capiz, and Mindoro, provinces that were also hit by Yolanda.

Ruth Callanta, CCT president and founder, said, "We enjoin friends and ministry partners to join us in the long-term work of helping our community partners rebuild their homes and lives."

Should you want to donate, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               

Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch

Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation 

Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2

US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0

Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation. 

Photos: Pastor Ed Gomez

After Yolanda: Encouragement and Guidance from Tsunami-Related Booklet

A few days after the December 2004 tsunami that resulted in 38,900 deaths in Sri Lanka,  Ajith Fernando, national director of Sri Lanka Youth For Christ, wrote a booklet that encouraged individuals struggling because of the disaster and provided biblical guidelines for those helping survivors.  The booklet was later on revised by Mart de Haan of RBC Ministries, publisher of Our Daily Bread, in response to the challenges posed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  

Here is a link to a PDF version of After the Hurricane: A Biblical Response to Calamity:  

http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/after-the-hurricane.pdf

May the Lord use it to bring timely encouragement, comfort, renewed joy, and guidance. 

CCT Staff Give Up Christmas Baskets for Yolanda Survivors

More than P270,000 has been pledged by staff of the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries toward survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

As of November 18, some 317 staff had pledged P129,100 from their capital build up (CBU), six staff had donated P11,500 from their savings build up (SBU), and 261 had offered to give up the food hampers given by the organization every Christmas in favor of sending the cash equivalent to the survivors in the Visayas.This was learned from Cris Manabat of CCT's Jehovah Jireh Credit Cooperative. CBUs and SBUs are amounts regularly deducted from the salaries of CCT staff.

The CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative has micro finance operations in the Yolanda hard-hit provinces of Iloilo and Capiz on Panay Island. It began savings mobilization work  in Tacloban, Leyte earlier this year .

Among CCT Community Partners: Zero Lives Lost

Although more than 6,500 CCT-assisted families were affected by Typhoon Yolanda, zero deaths were reported by staff in the provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Leyte, Palawan and Mindoro. 

Some 6,585 families in the path of the storm suffered total or partial damage to their homes while among the 65 staff working in the affected towns and cities, 14 suffered totally damaged homes. 

Two pastors arrived in Samar on November 15 where they were to meet up with Leyte-based Pastor Ed Gomez and would then proceed to Tacloban  to locate community partners about whom CCT still has no news.  

A team of three doctors and a nurse is scheduled to leave on Wednesday, November 21, for Tacloban.  

CCT is accepting donations for the survivors. Most-needed supplies are food, water, and medicine.  Ruth Callanta, CCT president, also noted the practicality of providing solar-powered lamps which can also be used as cell phone chargers.   

For inquiries in the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809. 

Should you want to make a cash donation, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               

Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch

Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation 

Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2

US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0

Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

To make tax-deductible donations from the US, please visit philippines.causevox.com

Communication Established with Tacloban!

CCT has finally been able to get in contact with Pastor Ed Gomez, its pastor in Tacloban. Praise God that he and his family are safe and now staying with relatives in Calbayog, Samar.

Two CCT staff are now making their way to Calbayog to meet with and minister to Pastor Ed and his family. Together, they will go to Tacloban to locate community partners*, staff and their families, and the 35 partner-churches in the city. They will identify needs and assess the overall situation  to help CCT better provide relief and aid to the area.

Please pray:

• For safety of the two staff as they make their way to Tacloban.
• For God's protection and guidance as the staff and Pastor Ed locate community partners, staff, and churches.
• That God would guard their hearts as they are surrounded by  physical destruction and people who have experienced great trauma.
• For Paster Ed and his family to be encouraged by the presence of their colleagues.

*community partners is the name CCT gives to the people it serves 

CCT Yolanda Relief Efforts Begun

The Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries has begun relief efforts in areas affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

One hundred percent of CCT community partners in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo lost their homes, and 970 community partners in Coron, Palawan were affected. We have yet to determine the number of families affected in other areas where CCT has ministry work and are still trying to establish communications with co-workers and 35 partner churches in Tacloban, Leyte.

A team of Manila-based staff originally from the Visayas has been sent to locate community partners and to stay long-term, to help not just with relief but with rehabilitation.

We invite you to join us in this effort of helping our community partners and staff in whatever way we can. Should you want to donate, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               

Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch

Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation 

Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2

US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0

Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for any concerns or queries. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation.