Dear brethren,
It is heart wrenching to see pictures of the severe devastation which hit the central Philippine islands called the Visayas (for the Visayan Sea), especially in Leyte and Samar. News is still dribbling out from the areas most severely affected, and we have brethren in those areas. The official death toll as of today is 5,632 with another 1,759 missing and unaccounted for. So far we know of five saints killed and many others who suffered losses ranging from homes and belongings badly damaged to their being demolished and swept away.
Three reports are provided below which came from Filipino brethren: 1. Jonathan Carino, 2. Willie Pelino, and 3. Rody Gumpad. Jonathan lives in Cebu City on the island of Cebu which is about 70 miles from Ormoc City, Leyte. He is helping to relay benevolence to brethren who are suffering in the northern part of Cebu Island and in Leyte. Willie lives in Ormoc City and works with three congregations there, so his is a firsthand report from one of the hardest hit areas. Rody and Lordy Salunga live on Luzon and they recently served as messengers for Filipino and U.S. brethren to bring help.
Many churches and individual saints across the U.S. and even in Canada and Australia have asked Keith Greer and myself to act as their messengers to take funds to brethren in the affected areas. Although our trip Dec. 2-20 was originally planned as a teaching trip, we will set aside part of the itinerary to meet with brethren representing various churches in need and we may make day trips into the affected areas. It will not be safe for us to stay in those areas any length of time. We will pray for God’s providence and for prudence in making specific decisions. We will keep careful records of the distribution made.
I suggest that additional churches which may be planning to ask us to deliver funds should wait until we distribute the funds in hand and can report on the ongoing needs. I will try to send some reports while in the Philippines and will definitely send a follow-up report soon after my return home. There will be ongoing needs for the next several months and I will be able to offer suggestions as to how we might best relay and deliver funds after my return.
I suggest that individuals planning to give might go ahead and send additional funds with the following thoughts in mind. There is more flexibility in how individual donations are used such as providing help to obtain, repair, and construct church buildings. Also shortly before typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda hit the Visayas, parts of central and northern Luzon were hit by a strong typhoon which did not get much publicity because of the severity of Haiyan. With your permission, part of the funds provided by individuals could be shared with saints suffering in these areas where we have many brethren whose cries have been drowned out by Haiyan.
Rather than attempting to summarize the reports written by our Filipino brethren, I will reproduce them in their own words below.
In Christian love, Ron Halbrook
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JONATHAN CARINO REPORT ON DISTRIBUTION OF BENEVOLENCE
AT BOGO CITY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
The recent typhoon that hit our country was the strongest and widest in area of coverage. Hardest hit were Tacloban City, Ormoc City, Baybay City and most of the towns in the island of Leyte. In the island of Cebu, the northern town and Bogo City were hardest hit. Some part of Negros Island were seriously damage. There are churches in these aforementioned places.
In Tacloban City the typhoon was coupled with storm surge (high strong waves) while the rest of the was just very strong wind. This explains why houses and buildings in Tacloban City were washed away. In the other areas, the strong wind uprooted big trees and the roofs of buildings. As a consequence, 7 houses of brethren Bogo City were either washed away (they were at the shoreline) or destroyed by the strong wind or fallen trees.
There was no food and water. No electricity power even as of this writing. There was anarchy in Tacloban City because of empty stomach and absence of water. The early arrival of the US Fleet with food and water supply prevented the situation from bad to worst. By God’s providence, Harry Osborne was here for a preaching trip. US brethren contacted him and immediately sent benevolence funds. He was at Cebu City when the calamity happened and made immediate distribution of rice (our staple food) to the suffering saints at Bogo City. As funds came in, he decided to go to Ormoc City and gave funds for the saints of Tacloban City, Ormoc City, Baybay City, Mahaplag, and Abuyog. Before leaving for home, Harry left with me the remaining funds he had.
Rody Gumpad (of Tuguegarao City) and Lordy Salunga (of Angeles City) both very sound and faithful gospel preachers came last November 21-23 to distribute also funds. We went to Ormoc City, Baybay City, Mahaplag, Abuyog and finally Tacloban City. After they left to their respective places, I decided to give rice and grocery and other basic needs after inquiring from the afftected saints. Not all the things I needed to buy were available in Cebu City. Even rice was scarce here so we have to go around the city and look for available grocery. The reasons we have to buy them here are because there is not enough supply, you have to queue in the long line, quantity is rationed, and obviously the prices are high. Taking all things equal, I decided to buy them here and bring them to the affected areas. The members of Cebu City church of Christ, where I preach, helped in the repacking and distribution.
We prepared a total of fifty seek (56) sets for each individual saint with each set costing a total of Pesos: Three Thousand Ninety Seven (P3,097) or roughly $72 at the exchange rate of P43 to the US Dollar. There are five (5) who received additional items because their houses banished and the total cost for each of the five is Pesos: Five Thousand Sixty One or roughly US Dollar $ 117.70. The total cost spent for the rice and commodities distributed yesterday (Nov 29) for the churches in Bogo City amounted to Pesos: One Hundred Eighty Three Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Two (P 183,252) or roughly US Dollar ($ 4,261.67). There are still others, whose houses were destroyed, but have not been reported.
The next distribution will be at Tacloban City, Ormoc City, Baybay City, Mahaplag, and Abuyog. We have to cross the channel to reach the island of Leyte.
The greatest impact of this benevolence on our suffering brethren is to know that there is a God in heaven who cares for His children through brethren on the other side of globe, whose act of love and concern has touched the lives of brethren in need and made the suffering bearable and relieve the pain thus giving comfort in this time of great need.
The brethren requested that their deep personal gratitude reach the heart and soul of every loving American brother and sister who sacrificed that others be relieved.
Thank you very much! May God bless us all.
Because of Him, Jonathan
JONATHAN R. CARIÑO
1031-C Juana Osmeña Ext.
Sacred Heart Hills, Capitol Site
Cebu City 6000, Philippines
jrcarino2@yahoo.com
You might like to view some pictures of the repacking and distribution of benevolence at Bogo City. Just copy and paste the link at the address bar on your browser.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.597407760295076.1073741862.100000775728663&type=1&l=e76b6311c3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.598208153548370.1073741863.100000775728663&type=1&l=938faeea5f
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WILFREDO “WILLIE” PELINO REPORT ON CONDITIONS
AT ORMOC CITY, LEYTE NOVEMBER 27, 2013
I apologize, I am sorry for I did not report immediately regarding our present situation because we were looking for our loved ones, brethren or were in shock and I thought I had already been dead. I give thanks to our Almighty God that gave us new lives together my family, my brethren at Ormoc City. We were blessed enough because we are not included those thousands of thousands of dead persons but we are thirsty and hunger, no network coverage here at Ormoc City, for it has not been restored, media has been shut down, no television, no cellphone signal for foreign countries. Right now I am at Cebu City, a hundreds of nautical miles from Ormoc City, just to report this important information to my loving brethren in Hebron Lane Church of Christ.
Yolanda is Haiyan, the international name with 260 KPH struck last November 8, 2013 in Leyte and Samar provinces. It has been one of the most powerful ever recorded in the Pacific and one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall at Leyte island that no amount of preparation could have been enough for Typhoon Yolanda. The magnitude of this devastation has not only shown the resilience of the Filipino at a time of great loss but has also awakened the Filipino and American brethren spirit of helping one another according to what our Lord teaches us. God is watching us every step of the way. And as we prepare for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, we must find it in our hearts to give, to share, and to care for the sick, the wounded and the dying.
After the strongest winds ever recorded and tsunami like waves destroyed dozens of coastal towns and killed thousands of Filipino people. The houses in our area including our brethren belongings were flattened when the storm surge. All our brethren live in a bungalow-type house before, but after the storm, every thing was gone. Our brethrens’ houses suffered more extensive damage because the dwelling house made from the lighter materials could not withstand the heavy winds and rains. Now we started rebuilding our homes, using whatever wood and materials we could find in the debris. But some of our brethren are staying inside the roofless house with a tent above our heads to shelter them from the rains and the elements. It would be a long process of rebuilding anew residence, for it would take a minimum of three to five years for new planting to bear fruits that all our agricultural plants – the base of the regions economy had been destroyed nothing left. Some left them homeless and economically dislocated, more of them would have no recourse to move out to nearby Cebu, Metro Manila, to Mindanao and elsewhere they have families or relatives to live with. And the official of our village urged residents to flee to other cities and find food and shelter with relatives.
Now we are all victims. Everybody was down and disable that we were walking with them, together with them. But we don’t want to die, we sustained injuries and went for days without food and shelter and believing has a reason – the importance of faith in God and do not put value in our possessions as what Job did as demonstration of life is full of struggles found in the Bible when Job with his calamity came ( Job 1-2,42 ). Imagine walking through the streets trying to look for shelter, scavenging for food to eat and water to drink, looking for loved ones underneath of the earth and desperately looking for a familiar place among the ruins. And we all crying with one voice, “Oh, please God help us for this disaster is a great for us. ”
We wish to thank to our Almighty God. We asked for His help for all our brethren who survive this typhoon to be able to eat and continue a life that is hopefully more blissful that God would always be here offered our comfort and we believe what saved us is our prayer.
After strong Typhoon Yolanda occurred in our area, we thank our brethren from United State of America in the person of Brother Harry Osborne with Brother Jonathan Carino of Cebu, and Brother Rody C. Gumpad with Brother Lordy Salunga both from Luzon to see and help our critical situation. In the name of the churches of Leyte, we would like to thank you, all American and Filipino brethren from the bottom of our hearts because you are the first responders to come and help us. The churches of Leyte who are most thankful for the cash money which you gave for our food relief and non food relief assistance for within few days of our existence. When we bought from the money of our brethren, we maximize it four the whole day due to we really wouldn’t know what to do or where to get all our needs for the next day. We appreciated the first group responders who did not mind getting wet and injured in a critical situation in Leyte just to give the supplies to the affected brethren. Again, we are grateful for the generosity of our brethren of United State of America whose earnings for their living offered to us in order to glorify our Lord and Savior. And to all our brethren within the congregations and individual brothers and sisters who will be willing in sending various forms of assistance, the churches of Leyte are profoundly grateful.
God bless and keep us always and more power to you all, I am.
In Him,
WILFREDO R. PELINO
Typhoon Yolanda Survivor
Brgy. San Vicente, Ormoc City
# 6541 Leyte, Philippines
churchofchristormoc@yahoo.com.ph
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RODY C. GUMPAD REPORT ON FIRST DISTRIBUTION ON LEYTE
NOVEMBER 27, 2013
Regarding our first trip-distribution of Benevolence to our severely devastated brethren in the Visayas (Nov. 21-23), bro. Lordy Salunga and I (With Tessie) flew to Cebu City. Our bro. Jonathan Carino came and pick up us at the Airport and took us at their home for meal! It was good to see bro. John again and his family. Tessie stayed there with sister Carino while the three of us (Rody, John, and Lordy) traveled at night by boat going first to Ormoc City! Just upon arrival early in the morning we already saw the tremendous devastation in that place! We met some of the Preachers who joined us and we continue our travel to other places/Congregations where we met brethren until we reached Tacloban City! I cannot really described here of all that what we saw on the way! It was already two weeks ago since the Typhoon passed and yet you can still see the many untouched things destroyed by the Typhoon (Houses and everything)! Report said that more than 5,000 now recovered dead and yet still many are missing! We are so thankful to God that all in all we heard only about 5 Christians as casualties in different places but many relatives or family members of Christians were dead!
In this said first trip distribution, I received a total of $18,580.00 from US Churches & Individuals, and also a total of P39,170.00 ($912.00) from Philippine Churches & Individuals. All this amount has been distributed to 20 affected Churches (With more than 300 members) and 14 Individuals! As it was directed to me I exclusively gave to the Tacloban Brethren all the donation from the Philippine Churches and Individuals (P39,170.00). We cannot describe the gratefulness of the recipient brethren as many of them secretly shed tears of thankfulness to you all, brethren who generously contributed! Before giving them, I explained that ye brethren are not rich materially but you were immediately moved when ye heard about what happened and even many of you are also hard in life, that even some of you were just like the woman that has her last mite and ye gave! All these words touched the hearts of the brethren and that made your gifts so very precious to them and encouraged them more in the Lord for knowing that they have brethren elsewhere who cares! God also knows all our hearts and works and he may be praised and be magnified always! Again, all those recipient brethren want to say to you all brethren who donated; “THANK YOU VERY MUCH”! May God bless more all of you! On my part, I urge you brethren that please give me more time and I will send you later the detailed report about the sources of these funds and the recipients for your record purposes. Thank you very much for your understanding!
Our Brother Lordy Salunga also made his own distribution to the funds that were sent or entrusted to him so he has another record of that. We are thankful to bro. R. H. of Shepherdsville, KY and a small Church in Georgia who generously shared us some amount for our travel distribution expenses! Thank you so much, brethren!
Tessie and I will go meet bro. Ron Halbrook and bro. Keith Greer when they arrive on Dec. 3 or morning of the 4th. Lord willing, Tessie and I will go back to the Visayas after next week! The reason is because we still have beloved US & Filipino brethren who want me to deliver also their help to our devastated brethren there! Hope & pray that all those pledges and those who would like to send funds to me exclusively for this purpose will all arrive before we go. The affected brethren in Visayas need more help for them to rebuild their homes and restore their losses, etc..! Brethren, let’s continue to pray for them, please!
Likewise, bro. Jonathan Carino requested me to go and help teach at their Preacher’s Lectures/training at Cebu City, so, I will be working with him and bro. Ron Halbrook, bro. Keith Greer, bro. Lordy Salunga, and bro. Jack Jaco, but only on Dec. 9-11 for we must get back to Manila and continue do works needed for our transfer to another building.
BECAUSE OF CALVARY,
Rody & Tessie Gumpad
P.O. Box 075
Tuguegarao, Cagayan 3500
Philippines
rodyc.gumpad@gmail.com