GCI Philippines and Northeast Asia Region

 Update from the National Director on Typhoon "Sendong" and more news...

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Update from the National Director on Typhoon "Sendong"

National Director Eugene Guzon visits the Mugot family after the flash floods. They were able to escape the floods by using the folding aluminum ladder in going up to their rooftop. (Click to zoom).

December 21, 2011 -- I just arrived last night from a two day trip to Mindanao, to survey, to visit and to give some immediate relief assistance to our brethren in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. These were the two main areas in Mindanao which were severely damaged by the flash floods that came at dawn on Saturday, December 17, 2011. From the airport as the plane landed, one can see very little evidence that some tragic disaster happened only a few days ago. The sea was pacific, there was still green vegetation in the hills which were barely unruffled by winds.

Looking farther however as we began to drive to downtown area, the landscape began to change. It bore albeit silently, the traces of a storm and flash flood, codenamed "Washi" called locally as "Sendong"( our 19th storm this year) that made this place indeed in a state of calamity long before it was declared officially. Fallen trees and electric poles, a busted water pumping station, fallen bridges. These four elements alone broke the entire city to its knees, without water and power and resulting in the shortage of food and coffins, and overcrowded relocation centers. One church here is home to about a thousand refugees, where the place one sits on is also the place where one sleeps. You leave and you lose your seat and your sleeping space.

The ruined bridges also make the supply of basic necessities very problematically slow. We have seen the long lines of people in barefoot and with dirty clothes, cueing for their source of water from fire trucks, and food from churches, NGO's and other government units. As we drove, we cannot escape the smell and sight of stinking mud in the city streets, houses that were swept away by torrential rain waters and logs, and cars floating in mud or lying in their roofs in canals and along the highways. The scenario is true for Cagayan de Oro, but even worse in magnitude and scope in the downtown and coastal areas of Iligan City. It is feared that due to the tremendous amount of debris and the lack of clean water, this may also soon lead to an epidemic.

The situation right now is really that tragic, and was a literal nightmare to hundreds of thousands of people who never thought this could happen in a an area like Mindanao. For years, Mindanao have been safe from typhoons and floods of this magnitude at least. But this storm, which resulted in a ferocious flash flood in matters of minutes in early dawn, resulted to families trapped in their homes, and thus resulted to tremendous loss of life and property that exceeds the record of our other national disasters like" Ondoy" a couple of years ago. We heard from one of our leaders there that rescuers found bodies of entire families embracing each other as they died in one room in their house.

As of this writing, the government fears that the death toll could easily reach more than 1000 and indescribable distress in terms of grief, relocation, basic survival, rebuilding and rehabilitation.

The status of the brethren and the churches

This was a day after the flashfloods. This is the home of the Samaco family where the GCI Iligan City Church meets. (Click to zoom).

In Cagayan De Oro City, we have two churches there, and one in Iligan City. Each of them have about forty to fifty members. I got to meet with and join our Area Superintendent for Mindanao, Mr. Jerome V. Manriquez, together with Pastors Rollen Olango and Critito Rico of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City respectively in visiting our affected brethren both in Cagayan and Iligan cities. These past few days after the floods, they have been working tirelessly to look for and communicate with our brethren. Because some of the brethren lost their cell phones during the flood and due to power interruptions, it was difficult to contact them immediately. When I met them I felt relieved to know that our members are now safe and I also got to visit those worst affected in both cities.

As of this writing, all are accounted for and are safe, though some are aril looking for temporary shelter. While we are sorry for the almost thousand deaths , we thank God for his way of delivering our brethren, short of being swept away in the same communities along the path of the rampaging waters. One family, the Mugots had to climb their way in the dark through their roof with the aid of a small penlight. That was their only option. They could not open the door of their house because of the pressure of the water current outside. After they got to the roof, they lent their ladder to the neighbor who was sick who was screaming for help. That ladder became their way to go to their place of safety on the roof.

They just prayed even in their near panic because the water has reached to only about a feet below from the roof where they were staying. Thankfully about at about five in the morning, after about 4 hours being drenched in rain and being swept by strong winds, the rain stopped, which slowly led to the receding of the water. The same story of miraculous intervention happened to a member family who lives about four kilometers away, whose house almost suffered the same fate as the Mugots. They too have been spared. Other families I saw were busy cleaning their houses of mud, obviously exhausted and also full of their personal accounts of how treacherously the waters passed by them. But.. God has his ways of protecting the brethren.

Prayer points:

• For God 's comfort for the people in Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City who suffered tremendous loss of life and property at this time. The supplies are coming slowly and not in proportion to the tremendous need at this time. They need a lot of comfort and prayer.
• For our brethren's well being and provisions for their relief and recovery. Many of them went through flooding in their homes, resulting in the loss of personal belongings. The six brethren families who were severely affected are still in a state of trauma and shock at this time, especially the children. The three homes in Cagayan and three homes in Iligan were nearly beyond repair. They will immediately find a place to rent in the meantime, while salvaging whatever is left of their former dwelling. They will have to find another place on which to begin building again.
• For relocation of the two church meeting places. The church house that they use in Iligan and the place where they hold their small group meetings lost its equipments, furniture to mud and water. The vicinity where we have our church hall in Cagayan De Oro also suffered so much that there is a need for the church to relocate to a safer place.
• For additional supplies and food and clothing. We still need emergency food supplies for our members who lost almost all their belongings- beds, furniture, equipment, clothes except the ones they were wearing. One of them said that the pants he was wearing was the same one he used since the flood.
• For the restoration of the power supply and drinking water for the cities. This may take a month or more to restore.
• For additional volunteers and food supplies needed for the brethren to do a soup kitchen for the victims near the church area in Cagayan De Oro. Despite the trauma and the loss the brethren suffered, they felt moved with compassion to help by sharing some food and hot soup to the people near the near the church.

Although victims themselves, the brethren prepared food to be distributed to needy flash flood victims. (Click to zoom).

The national office already gave some financial assistance to the brethren most affected by the floods. But this is just the first wave, as we know that the needs are just overwhelming. We are beginning to receive some help from other local churches here and we appreciate these very much. In order to pool our resources together, we can receive these donations, and send them to the affected churches as early as we can. Our church in Cebu City through Captain Jessup Bahinting has airlifted almost a thousand bottles of water and used clothing for the brethren in the past two days. A few other churches have informed us that they have allocated some funds from their church to be used to help our churches in Mindanao. We continue to solicit the generosity of our brethren as we continue this relief mission especially for our brethren. Your love expressed in this way is very much needed and appreciated.

Painful as this experience maybe, it behooves us to realize that there is only real source of security and that is our Lord Jesus. Regardless of the physical, natural and emotional chaos we face, we can rely on Him as our source of peace. He understands our needs and is able to identify with us. We may not understand fully why we have to go through all of these, but one thing is sure, that all things work together for good to those who love God. When one sees the destroyed homes and wasted personal properties of the people there, It is amazing to reflect on how frail life can be. We may lose our properties, and even life- everything in an instant. But there is the most important thing that we can hold on to, and that is the love of our faithful God, our Emmanuel, who holds our lives in his hands. --Eugene Guzon, National Director

GCI Sta Rosa Celebrates Christmas with 7 Baptisms and a Mini Concert

December 26, 2011 -- Christmas is indeed the happiest occasion of the year. We get to commemorate a historic expression of the love of God in the birth of His Son Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. We who know our Savior get to experience the daily reality of His unconditional and loving presence, grace and faithfulness.

And what a joy it is when we see people responding to God's love. I am happy to share the good news about the baptism of 7 people in Sta. Rosa church. They are: Allan, Judy, Jermaine and Joanna Sanzell, Ella Eustaquio, Brian Babol, and Kaye Mercado. Allan, Judy and Jermaine Sanzell were baptized last December 20 while the other four were baptized on December 23, 2011 at the Laguna Bel Air 3 Village Club house swimming pool. The Sta. Rosa church members who were present hugged, prayed for and sang with joyful tears in their eyes as they witnessed these new believers saying yes to Jesus as Lord, Savior and friend.

ND Eugene Guzon and concurrent pastor of Sta. Rosa Church officiated the baptism ceremony with the help of Elders Ezra Raduban, Manila South Pastor Nomer Venus, with Ben Babol and Ruel Avila, pastoral team members of GCI Sta Rosa. Many of the brethren were present during the ceremony.

Majority of those baptized were led by God to the church through the outreach activities of the church there. GCI Sta Rosa continues to meaningfully connect with the community by offering relevant holistic programs like the Daily Vacation Bible School, activities for the community's youth, Christian films, and hosting a recent medical mission last December 4, 2011 serving about 800 patients. To cap these activities this year was a mini Christmas concert featuring the Himig Sanghaya Choir, which won fifth in a national choir competition held recently. The word portion during the mini concert was given by Bro Ric Deligero, a visiting pastor from the Kingdom Advance Ministries of Jesus Christ. For all of these blessings, we can only say "praise be to God" who makes all things possible!

Updates from GCI Mindoro

Wedding in Mindoro conducted by Ptr. Nomer Venus (Click to zoom).

• I conducted a grace-based wedding for Lauren Jean Cuizon and Jezreel Datinggaling last November 4, 2011 in Brgy. Malu, Bansud, Oriental Mindoro.
• We baptized and prayed for the 12 natives of Mindoro called Mangyans last Nov. 5, 2011. All are from Sitio Ablagon, with the help of Brothers Arthur Cuizon, Russell Neils and Jayson Meimban. These brethren asked for spiritual nurturing from Ptr. Bernardo Cuizon as they learned that my father-in-law, Ptr. Bernardo has been pastoring Sitio Tuog. A total of 60 natives has been baptized already. Tatay Narding, a 77 year old pastor, is still enthusiastic in ministering to our native brothers, wherein healing manifestations has been taking place.
• Ptr. Gilbert and his family is willing to help Tatay Narding in Mindoro ministry according to Dr. Rey Taniajura.
--Report from Ptr. Nomer Venus