The wind was blowing and then all was silent.
Super-Typhoon Haiyan has impacted more than 4.2 million people across 36 provinces in the Philippines, according to Philippine authorities.
But help is starting to arrive. In the picture below, U.S. Marines help displaced Philippine nationals from the back of a KC-130J Super Hercules at Vilamor Air Base in Manila, Nov. 11.
Licensed for use by Creative Commons by Flickr member DVIDSHUB.
The Philippine military repaired and re-opened a bridge to the worst-hit island of Leyte. Some stores of food and clean water are now close by, but with so much chaos in the hit zone, distribution is limited.
The victims of Typhoon Haiyan are desperate for food and water and to find their missing family members.
- Nolan Alonzo, a Filipino in Britain, is afraid that 17 of his family members are among the 10,000 dead.
- Ex-serviceman David Geraldson from Fallbrook, Calif., received a text message from his wife reading, “The wind is blowing,” and no one has heard from her since. He is now searching for his wife who vanished while visiting her grandchildren in Tacloban City.
- The wife and three children of John Wynn, a missionary in the Philippines, only survived because Wynn punched holes into his ceiling and pushed his family through. The water rose and stopped just two feet away from their hiding place.
Up until last night, the people of Tacloban had been cut off from the world, leaving those affected feeling forgotten and without hope. Fortunately, Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), which Haven Ministries helped to found after World War II, just went back on the air with power from generators flown in by helicopter.
This temporary radio signal, set up in the shelter of Tacloban City Hall to protect operators from looting, is the only radio or TV signal on the air in Tacloban. In two weeks, a 500W trasmitter will arrive to replace the current 50W transmitter so that more can hear critical local news about where to get assistance and supplies. In addition, listeners will hear Scripture, words of comfort, and music pointing to Jesus Christ … right now these are the only words being broadcast into the silence.
Here at Haven Ministries we were delighted to learn that Haven Today is back on the air across the Philippines as power has been restored to all FEBC’s stations, blanketing the Philippines with the hope and comfort of Christ! And we will continue to record special programs of encouragement for our Filipino listeners.
Would you join Haven Today in bringing hope and help? Our relief fund will direct two-thirds of your gift to immediate humanitarian relief, and one-third to FEBC’s emergency broadcast ministry.
Not a dime for Haven Ministries. Every dollar you give goes to the Philippines!
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?
Pray for the rest of the Body of Christ who are also laboring to bring help. Ten members from a Eureka, Calif., church were on a humanitarian mission before the typhoon hit. In the height of the storm, the group hunkered down together and survived. While waiting for their flight out, they decided there was more work for them to do. The Lord had altered their mission and given them a new task. They are now helping in the broader relief effort.
