Ministry at the Lighthouse

I apologize for not having posted sooner. The WIFI is a little tricky here. I want to thank you for your continued support and prayers. Miss you all. [4 weeks down, 4 to go CRAZY!]

I am currently staying in Tacloban at Kids International Ministries (KIM) base called the Lighthouse. This area was one of the most affected by Typhoon Yolanda last November. Seven months later, there is still much destruction and debris but progress has also been made. It is interesting to see as we drive past different communities the ‘mark’ of relief from all over the world. I have seen relief from Samaritan’s Purse, a Taiwan Buddhist Foundation, China, Germany, and the U.S. Also, some of the Korean Armed forces are here to help, as well.

Our ministry looks a little different every day. My team has six people. We are paired off. For the past two weeks, I have been working alongside my team leader, Moe. We rotate doing feedings, construction and housework. More specifically, I have been able to participate in feeding children and their families, handing out vitamins to children, sanding a wall by hand, painting, shaving strips of bamboo with a machete for a home structure, painting room numbers on doors, mopping, sweeping, washing dishes, preparing and cooking meals, making beds, cleaning bathrooms, and cleaning fans, doing devotions for the whole house, etc. This ministry also holds a movie on Friday nights for the kids in the community as well as Awana on Saturdays (which consists of some games, a snack, and a bible lesson by age group).

I have also had the opportunity to visit and hand out New Testaments to some people that live in the community behind the Lighthouse. As a missions and anthropology major, it was awesome to see one man named Mark get excited about receiving a New Testament in Waray Waray, the dialect in Tacloban. Previously, he only had the bible in English and Tagalog, the national language. Now, he will be able to better understand the New Testament. Something simple yet incredibly important in giving value to culture.

My team stays here at the lighthouse with our Filipino family (AKA the staff) and the mission trip teams that come and go. We have met people of all ages, from all over the world and the United States including but not limited to Australia, Taiwan, England, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, California, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Michigan, and New Mexico, etc. The people we have met are about as diverse as my team in regards to where we are from: Moe- Texas, Leah- New York, Kathleen- Illinois, Jon- Minnesota, Becca- Florida, and Me- Pennsylvania. Anyway while these teams stay with us, our ministry is also to serve them well and be available to them.

One of the most interesting parts has been getting to hear peoples’ stories. We were able to hear stories from before and after the typhoon. Many lives were killed by the typhoon. One of the men here said that the government announced around 6,000 deaths (if I remember correctly), but he thinks it was over 10,000 from talking with people in the community. He thinks that the government listed fewer deaths because they did not want the UN coming in and taking over. Many people are still dealing with grief, guilt and heartache from having lost numerous family members. Hearing their stories speaks strength and courage.

One man in particular stuck out to me named Carlo along with his friends Jake and Ryan. Carlo lost four family members in the typhoon. He tried to save his grandmother, but he was unable to reach her. He tried to save another little neighbor girl but had to give her back to her father because he feared letting her go. Her father ended up not being able to hold her. The father still blames Carlo for his daughter’s death. Carlo blames himself. Carlo drinks to ease the pain. He wishes he had died rather than his family members. His friends Jake and Ryan were fortunate to not have lost any family members in the typhoon. They were with him to keep him company. We prayed over them and were able to give them Waray-Waray New Testaments. We also invited them to a community bible study.

Love,
Emily