Dear Friends and Kolapa House of Charity Family, There is little time for useless talk here. People are suffering from thirst, hunger, and emotional pain, much of the pain comes from the unreasonable ruthless hearts of other humans who are not suffering, like politicians who are hording relief goods and dispersing such with motives that their acts clearly indicate are for political gain. I have been warned not to report this, however after much prayer I and thought, I must, for it is for the Filipino people whom Jesus came to save also that I am defending. They are our brothers and sisters and we must help them too, all of them to the best of our ability, and without discrimination or personal gain. How can one do this you might ask... I know that if I do my best to help, thats what is important. So thats what Im doing, thus this report. Since Typhoon Yolanda was headed right for our mission house and ministry field of effort in Tacloban and outlying areas I watched for two days without sleep the storms track. As it approached Tacloban City, the eye right for our little mission location, and also the conference office of the Seventh-day Adventist church, the news reported that this was the largest storm of this kind to ever hit land, and that it had the highest sustained wind speeds ever recorded, around 235 miles per hour. Clearly this was going to cause damage. Knowing that many of our children and their families, including our ministry workers, would be effected and most certainly parish I called them warning them of the danger only a few hours away. This was Wednesday. I told them to stop everything including their work and seek shelter. These people were at sea level and only a few feet from the waters edge. Although people were warned of this event, thousands remained and refused to take heed. When I called on Thursday our workers were sleeping and they said since Wednesday the storm was gone, it was a clear blue sky and even though the news said there was a storm coming, few would believe it because all outward signs indicated a peaceful day, that life would go on as usual. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM! I was reminded of past events like Noah and the flood, and Im reminded of Jesus soon coming, that before he comes, although warnings have been given, He will come while people are eating and drinking and even getting married. While I dont have any insight as to exactly why this catastrophic event happened, other then its a sign of the end, and God is preparing hearts to long for a place of no more suffering, yearning so much that our hearts could turn to our Savior for help, for the water that only He can give that will be a spring of water springing up such that we would never thirst again. After the storm, knowing that many of our people, young and old alike, where most assuredly dead David Youngs and I boarded the first plane leaving San Francisco to Hawaii, then to Guam, Manila, Cebu and a twelve hour boat ride to an island near Tacloban City. David is near the disaster zone now and I have come back to Cebu where there is power and internet to give a report. With Gods help we were blessed to have successfully arrived at our Medical Missionary School at the next island, also right in the path of Typhoon Yolanda. When we arrived at this location no one person was harmed and not one block of the school was hurt. Our mission boat was in perfect condition, our motorcycles were perfect, and the multi-cab vehicle was perfect. On Sabbath David preached about our comforter the Holy Spirit, and we marveled at how the church was saved, even though it was a temporary constructions while we are building the outer walls. A few human bodies washed up on share when we arrived, coming from Samar and Tacloban area only about twenty miles away. With Gods help and to His glory we delivered enough food for our literature evangelists and the children so that their focus can be more on ministry then searching for food. I was able with a little searching to locate wholesome food in Cebu, like oat groats, wheat, peas, corn, and black beans. These were found at an animal feed supply, and were cheaper than rice, however I did buy a few hundred lbs of choice Palawan rice. The first night of our arrival I hooked up our solar power with LED lights using a 220 volt inverter, so upon arrival the first night, we had bright lights in the mission school with the sound equipment working. We sang songs and had worship. People from the village marveled and peered in the windows wondering where the power was coming from without any generator. I used our car and motorcycle batteries as storage power for night use. When we arrived we had no extra money, only a few pesos that David held onto for emergency. I borrowed some of these emergency funds, about one hundred dollars, and I took our mission motorcycle and boat to the various areas of our mission effort. After about two days of travel and house visits I was ready to give a report to the families who are in different countries, some of our church and so of other churches. Many of these families did loose their house, and life for them at this moment is very hard and the children are crying. I cant tell you how it made me hurt to see children crying and I didnt have food or peso to give them, only take some pictures and leave telling them that I would try to get word to their families and to persons who might want to help. Its not that these people are above or carry a special privileged then others, they are simply people our ministry has invested years of time ministering to, and hopping that they would make a full surrender to Jesus, and be workers to earn treasures in heaven, but more importantly who would work for God because of what He did for us through His son Jesus. It would be a profound blessing to be able to show these people love during this most difficult time, and final my report let to simply say we are helping them because we love them. We are not trying to get them to even join a church, just simply give their hearts to Jesus and work together to win souls for Gods glory. As an active member of the Seventh-day Adventist church I would like to see them be a part of our church family, but this is not would will bring them salvation; it will be their connection with our heavenly King Jesus that will save them. How they work for Kind Jesus will be the work of the Holy Spirit. Final thoughts and recap bellow: God provided and opened many doors, but not without problems. David who traveled with me, a sixty year old man, is ill, and could not travel back to Cebu with me. He is suffering from heat exhaustion and a lack of fruits and vegitables. When we were in Cebu to buy supplies David was on a high until he realized he lost his cell phone with all his contacts. Then he spent a few hours writing a report with tears in his eyes after seeing much suffering. He posted his report and found it didnt post, upon trying to find it, it was not to be found. He really felt bad. Our next big problem was to get on a ship with hundreds of pounds of food and supplies. This was a problem because all ships were fully booked. God not only opened a door for us to get on a ship going directly to the island of our choice, but also they did not charge us anything. The owner provided a letter the stated we could go on board even if full, and at no charge, and we arrived twelve hours at sea. After arrived to the port and dealing with porters at both ends paying the least amount possible, we arrived at the school. Our missionaries cried and rejoiced and we all praised God together. They had no food to eat except what they could find in the jungle which was coconut and tapioca root. They didnt even know that most of the other areas were destroyed. Our little unfinished mission house was not harmed by the storm. The leaks that we have were from before. No we are struggling with keeping the grain dry and free of mold. We need about $500.00 to build a cement roof over the storage room which will also be used as a storm shelter in the future. The most costly part of this is the re-bar and cement. Gravel and sand are free plus labor to deliver. Davids report if sent was aimed to help raise some funds and share the burden of this trip. We didnt know how much if any money was raised while we were in the disaster zone, but when David started getting sick and unable to travel I came to Cebu to see what funds were available. When I got off the ship, which again the wouldnt charge me, I went strait for an ATM machine. I tried to withdraw two hundred dollars but nothing came out. I then tried one hundred and nothing. So I checked balance and there was about three dollars in our ministry account. Truly this is a faith trip. When I left David explained that he was afraid. I reminded him that God doesnt give us the spirit of fear but of love, and joy, and of peace, and of a sound mind. That as a missionary we need to be willing to die for these people as Jesus did for us and for them and that we cannot be cowards. Ive learned this on past mission trips where I almost died, many times. This is not the time and the place to be afraid of dying. I do believe God has a purpose for David still in life, and that not only will he learn much for his time in the mission field, but he will be a big blessing to people where ever he goes. Hundreds have already been touched and helped by Davids two sermons the last two Sabbaths. I will wait here in Cebu twenty four hours, then I must go back and check on David even if I have no money with me. I am okay with this and God will provide, just watch and see. You dont need to help, God will impress others who have a calling and a longing to share this load. But you can read and share this with others on your facebook and perhaps, just maybe it will be an inspiration to them, especially if they know David or anything about our little ministry here at Kolapa House of Charity. Recap: Please dont believe the news regarding aid is coming in and everything is okay. Things are not okay, and no aid is coming to small islands around Tacloban. Im here I know. Gas is twice the price, you cant buy more then three things at any store, and as you get to the really bad areas there are no stores left. Local government are not always honest in their distribution of any goods. Im praying earnestly that God will bless us during this time and enough money will come in that we could do more. Our ministry owns a nice multi-cab that could be used to help, but we dont have money for gas to drive it, or change the oil. The tires are getting slick. I wish I had enough funds to bring back tires, but God knows our needs better then we do, and Im willing to accept what ever God has for me. I remember how God has led and helped us in the past. Sincerely your brother in Christ, Steven Jenkins
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 06:29:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015