Distribution of Benevolence - Tacloban

Our morning again started very early at 4:30am which meant a wake-up time of about 3am. The short night left Jonathan with only one hour of sleep and me with about three hours. Our 6am departure on the flight to Tacloban meant we had to be at the airport at 5am. We have decided these are not the hours for a couple of old men!

The flight to Tacloban was on a prop plane and was only about 45 minutes in length. Upon arrival, the level of damage was immediately obvious. The hangers that were at the airport are no longer present. The terminal building is missing a whole wall of glass that used to enclose it on the side towards the gates. The inside is gutted of all walls, ceiling and fixtures. Temporary plywood dividers mark off the various areas. Before leaving the airport, I fell off an unmarked step that was cracked and took a tumble onto the pavement. My left hand was scrapped and my left ankle turned. As I got up and started walking, I just had to laugh at how I must look walking with a bad right hip and a strained left ankle, limping on both legs in blood-stained pants. No serious damage, but a graceful entrance it was not!

Driving out of the airport towards the meeting place of the Scandinavian Village congregation in Tacloban took us by a large part of the total destruction of this city. Though I have visited and preached in Tacloban numerous times, I could not recognize the city at all. There are tents, bare modular units, military-looking shelters and other temporary dwellings provided by the U.S. and the U.N. — which actually means the U.S. has provided the vast bulk of all of it. Various nations from around the world have sent in heavy equipment to help with cleanup, so progress is apparent, but very slow due to the vast devastation.

There is truly no way to describe in words or even in pictures the level of destruction in this city. When you see a full-size ship sitting where buildings were, a good distance from the water, it makes clear the power of the storm surge that leveled much of the city. Though Ormoc was the worst destruction I had ever seen to that point, what I saw in Tacloban made Ormoc look good. As we went through what used to be a densely populated area in the city with the sea in view, we could not help but think how many thousands died in that very area.

There is far more construction activity apparent in Tacloban than was evident in Ormoc. At first, you see there are very flimsy structures of aged material that you see and wonder how it could have survived. But on closer look, it becomes clear that they have been recently put together from remnants of buildings destroyed in the typhoon.

When we got to the village where Nilo Zabala lives and labors (across a bridge of coconut trunks), brethren from that congregation as well as those from Abuyog and several churches on Samar had gathered. We got right to work trying to find out the needs that existed since we only had about 3 or 4 hours before we had to leave and fly back to Cebu.

Most families in the church at Tacloban had totally lost their houses. Some are now living in places providing little to no protection from the elements. We were able to relate assistance from the generous gifts of many brethren in America. As in San Vicente the previous day,funds were given to buy construction materials to start building shelters where homes were destroyed and to do essential repairs to houses badly damaged. Let me be clear that we did not provide funds sufficient to fully rebuild a finished house. Our purpose was pure benevolence — helping with materials to provide a shell structure to protect from the element with the brethren doing the necessary labor. There was also a continuing need for food. The same process was repeated to address the needs of the smaller congregation in Abuyog.

The homes of the brethren in Samar were not severely damaged, but they were in great need of food since their needs had not been addressed in any way since the typhoon. There is a large number of brethren on Samar and we recognized that their need for food was very serious, needing to be addressed immediately. All of the brothers and sisters in these places were overflowing with thanks to their American brethren who had provided these things. They asked me to express their deep gratitude!

When we got back to Cebu, we went to the bank where we redeemed the remainder of the MoneyGrams. By my rough computations, the funds provided by many of you will be sufficient to meet the needs that can be addressed at this time on Leyte, Samar, northern Cebu and northern Negros. This is where the bulk of the destruction was done by Yolanda. In some of those areas, there are a large number of our brethren, while in other areas the number is much smaller as the work there is very new.

After many years of little results on Leyte, the Lord’s work has grown at a very fast pace over the last two years. Much of the reason for that has to do with three preachers who are earnestly spreading the gospel — Nilo Zabala, Juanito Esquadra and Willie Pelino. The work of a very zealous man, Manuel Epilogo, converted about two years ago has also been extremely fruitful. Beyond the benevolent need, there is a great need for support of Nilo Zabala, Juanito Esquadra and Willie Pelino who are effectively doing the work, though not receiving enough support to adequately provide for their families. With the recent calamity and its illustration the temporary nature of this life, it is an ideal time to further press the saving gospel of Christ and the eternal salvation available by His grace to those who obey His will.

Thanks again for all of your help in material and spiritual assistance. I wish you could all see firsthand the faces of these brethren who are in great need, but made to rejoice and feel the love of brethren who have reached across the globe to help them because of the bond we all share in Christ Jesus. May God bless you richly for making this all possible!