Hope arrives … finally.
Helicopters are ferrying in food and clean water from a U.S. aircraft carrier. Australia and Britain are sending doctors, nurses, and military support staff. And the first wave of relief workers from our ministry partner, Far East Broadcasting Co. (FEBC), are now on the ground helping to coordinate relief efforts.
It’s not too late to make a difference. In fact, the time to give is right now as the momentum of Christian relief efforts begin to build. Not only will your donation through Haven Ministries send help by the hands of Christian believers, but Haven has also committed to sending 100% of all relief donations to the Philippines.
Click Here to Make Your Donation
Despite the help that has arrived, the staggering immensity of this tragedy is greater by far. The need is still pressing and largely unmet.
“Help. SOS. We need food,” read a message painted by a survivor in large letters on Tacloban’s port.
Houses, medical facilities, rice fields, and fishing boats are “flattened” and “destroyed,” says Alexis Moens, a team leader with Doctors Without Borders: “People are living out in the open; there are no roofs left standing in the whole of Guiuan … The needs are immense, and there are a lot of surrounding villages that are not yet covered by any aid organizations.”
Bobbie Womack, a missionary from Athens, Tenn., is afraid that because relief is coming in slowly, competition for that relief will be high. “I know it’s a massive, massive undertaking to try to feed a town of over 150,000 people. They need to bring in shiploads of food.”
In a beacon of promise, last night those with cell phones on and in range got a text message from FEBC, directing them to tune in for critical information about relief and words of encouragement. Charles Morris, Haven’s speaker and president, was among the recipients (see a screenshot of the text below).
There is still no power for those in Tacloban. Most of the broadcasters in Tacloban have died. Expensive radio towers were swept away with the water. All local radio and television is gone and won’t be back for at least three months.
But there is power at one location, Tacloban City Hall, where FEBC is camped out and broadcasting as the only radio signal around. The FEBC emergency First Response team only discovered power because they plugged their equipment into an outlet on a whim. Now they don’t have to bring in fuel for the generators. Batteries and crank radios are also being passed out to those without a means to listen.
FEBC’s 1st Wave Relief Team Pictured Above
We thank the Lord that the one source of communication for those affected is a Christian radio station that’s offering instructions from the government on where to find food and shelter, as well as hope in Jesus Christ with words from Scripture.
Even as hope arrives, Scripture tells us to mourn with those who mourn. Tacloban saw its first mass burial of unidentified bodies, which included only dozens from the current death toll. And thousands are still missing.
Nestor Librando, a 31-year-old carpenter, brought his young son’s body to a chapel in Tacloban. During the storm, Librando was trying to guard both of his sons, but his youngest was taken from his arms. He then found the body behind his house. After the chaos of the storm, Librando wrapped his son in a red blanket and brought him to the chapel. Librando said, “I brought him to this chapel because there was nowhere else to take him. I wanted Jesus Christ to bless him.”
FEBC is broadcasting and handing out food and water in the name of Jesus Christ. Would you join us in praying that the Holy Spirit would use what we say and what we send to be the hands and feet of Jesus?