“The storm that hit the island made a wave for Jesus and filled the whole church!”
So what were the 2 students going to do after the super-typhoon came through their area and caused devastation and destruction everywhere it went?
Keep reading!
What a great challenge
lay ahead of them! They had no power, no water, soaked materials and
devastation all around them, plus much more! The church members couldn’t help
them because all were living far away from them and all the roads were blocked
with fallen trees. When they tried to make contact with others through calling,
it wouldn’t go through. Amazingly enough, all the text messages they kept
sending me throughout the day came through and they received mine, as well. But
there was SO much to do!
Obviously, they couldn’t
start that night [the same day the typhoon hit]! The next morning (Sabbath), they still met for church and
told the church members they would try to start their seminar the following
night and encouraged everyone to come. They had no generator and their laptops
didn’t work at all. Their host told them no one would come to the seminar
because everyone was busy fixing their houses and cleaning everything up.
Sunday came and they decided that one of them would cross over to the main
island and get some assistance from the other PAFCOE team located on that
island. The other stayed to prepare everything for their target starting date
(Sunday night).
Imagine the work there was to do! Cleaning up, drying things out and so much more! The one who was left on the island to clean and prepare prayed earnestly that her partner would make it back to their place by 3 pm so they could start the program that night as planned. All day, she worked hard and in the afternoon went to the seashore to see if her partner was coming back. Upon not seeing her, she went to their house and prayed again that God would send her soon.
While the one student
was on the boat going to other island, she saw 2 beautiful rainbows stretched
across the ocean before her. She remembered the story of Noah and how God
promised that He would not send another flood again. It brought such comfort to
her to know that God was telling her that there would be no more typhoons while
they were doing their OJT.
At 3:00 pm, she arrived
back at the island! Two volunteer missionaries came with her and a generator,
too! They borrowed a laptop to use for the meetings. Though they were 2 nights late, they started their program amidst all the
trials and challenges. Because they had the only power in the island (or at
least in that place), once it was dark, the little SDA church was the only
lighted building in that whole area!
Since most of the
people had completely lost their homes, some moved right into the church and
just as the song at the beginning said, the storm that hit that island really
did make a wave for Jesus by bringing in people to the church (literally!)!
Because they had the only
generator in the area and people wanted to charge their cell phone and
flashlights, many would come to the meetings just to charge their devices. Of
course, they wouldn’t leave their gadgets there for fearing of someone stealing
them, so they ended up getting their souls charged as well as their devices! The church was full every single night – full of
people hungry to hear the Word of God.
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| The little lighted church. |
Before they had been
told the area was full of people with hard hearts who weren’t interested in the
Bible, but after the storm came through, everything was changed! Many, many
people heard the messages from God’s Word because even if they didn’t sit in
the church, they could hear the sermon from their homes since all was dark and
quiet everywhere else.
That first week was a
real challenge! But God saw them through every difficulty that crossed their
path! Food became a problem since all the plants and vegetables had been blown
away in the terrible winds. The price of food went sky-high and for awhile, the
students wondered if they might go hungry. But God always provided just enough
and never once did they go hungry! God took care of them!
During the 2nd
week of their time there, help from different organizations came to give
assistance to those who were affected. Relief goods were distributed to the
people. One old Grandma visited the students one day and asked why their church
hadn’t given anything to the people like the other churches who were giving the
relief goods. The students explained that they had been giving things to the
people – not material things, but spiritual blessings. Someone later told them,
“It’s because of your prayers and you praying for us that the relief goods
arrived. The others care about our physical needs, but no one prayed for us.
Ever since the storm hit, you have visited us in our homes and prayed for us
and that’s what we appreciate the most.”
Yes, sometimes people
value a kind, caring, praying friend more than a person who gives them food or
clothes. It makes a difference to know someone is praying for you! And that’s
what the students found on their island.
During the 3rd
week, they experienced trials with their electronics. Because the generator was
old, sometimes it would just quit in the middle of the presentation. But after
they prayed that God would make it work again, it did! Also, they began to
realize that the money in their budget would very soon be gone from paying the
high prices of the gasoline for the generator every night. What would they do?
They started trying to
call their friends to ask them for financial help, but their calls would never
go through. They tried so many times and never could reach anyone and were
getting concerned. Finally they were able to contact several of their
classmates who sent some money to help with the gasoline expenses.
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| The children who came to the children's program every night. |
One night as they were
walking home in the dark after the meeting, J2 had a terrible
stomachache. Her partner was walking ahead and she called out to her and asked
her to wait up. J1 did and just then a motorcycle came by and shone
his headlights on the road before them. Right in front of J1 was a
huge snake. If she had not stopped just then, she would likely have stepped on
the snake and gotten bitten. God was certainly keeping them safe!
Even the last week they
had challenges, and yet more ways to see God work for them! Many people around
them got sick, but God helped them be strong and healthy the whole time. After
the typhoon hit the city of Tacloban (another island), some of the prisoners
escaped from their cells and began roaming around, looking for trouble and
mischief to get into.
 |
| Still smiling, even after the storm! |
Unfortunately, some of
them found their way to that island and of course, everyone was scared that
something bad would happen to them. It was another way for the devil to try to
keep people from attending the meetings. There was still no electricity
anywhere, so the parents were especially cautious to send their children to the
nightly children’s program. The students prayed earnestly for protection and
the people still kept attending, though the numbers were fewer than before.
Yet despite the
challenges, God still triumphed and at the end of that one month, more than 10
souls accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and were baptized! The storm was
what it took for the people in that island to be interested in the gospel.
J2 summed it
all up when she said this: “Be still. Fear not. Keep going even when it’s
tough. Whatever disturbances there may be around you, fix your eye upon the
Lord. He always will deliver! Victory is always sure in Him!
And when J1
and J2 returned to PAFCOE to share their experiences, they were
glowing with smiles of what God had done through them! Both were so thankful
that they had gone through the challenges with God’s grace right beside them!
As one of them said, “I love the work!”
No matter the
challenging circumstances around you, God can still use them to bring about His
plan!
More exciting stories
soon to come!
