Dear Pastors and brethren,
The month is rushing to a quick conclusion in a few days! With the unexpected rains and floods locally and in other countries like Australia, we know that times are changing always, but mostly in ways we do not expect, nor want. What a sobering thought of how much people need God. Our consolation is that He is at work anytime and anywhere, regardless of the circumstances. The environment may not always be friendly and easy, but we rest in Him because He is in control.
For instance, Maricel Bautista, 34 years old of San Fernando Pampanga may have thought that her goiter condition was hopeless. She is just one of many who may have wondered how for years whether she can still be healed. The goiter had gotten worse and she could hardly swallow due to a swollen throat. But things changed for the better this week when she was blessed with the chance to
undergo a major surgery and treated for free by our surgeon friends from the USA. As she was being discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago, she could not help but say, "Salamat po sa Lord." These words of gratitude were expressed in different ways throughout the week as God expressed his love and provision through the four-day medical, surgical, dental, and spiritual mission in two outlying poor communities in San Fernando and Bacolor in Pampanga.
Maricel is one of the over 100 surgery beneficiaries and 8,300 patients treated by close to 100 doctors and surgeons and nurses from the United States from January 17-20, 2011. It is amazing to see how God moved through 300 volunteers - doctors, nurses, student nurses, city health workers, army men who provided shuttles, security and dental care-including 30 GCI volunteers who distributed meals and about 100 bibles and around 500 daily bread devotionals, helped with documentation, purchased medicines, set up tents and provided prayer support and counseling. Each helping hand and compassionate heart made the mission another testimony of God's grace, teamwork and love at work. The pictures will be posted for you to see the snapshots of the whole event. According to the city administrator as he addressed the crowd before the huge crowd of patients, he said that while they had medical missions in the past, this is different, as it included a wide range of help, both physical and spiritual. Thank you brethren for your part in our projects like this, which has created new inroads for the church to connect with the community and also to strengthen our ties. We would also like to express our special gratitude of Pastor Audie Santibanez and our brethren in Pampanga church for their service, ministry and labor of love during the medical mission.
This early, we are already exploring with the city leaders on areas of partnership for holistic ministry in the near future. We also have received many thankful text messages especially from the city and the beneficiaries saying that this made a big difference in their lives. We praise God for He is good!
Updates on Cecil Bangay
Some of you are aware that Cecile Bangay was hospitalized for Malaria on the first week of January, 2011 shortly after she arrived from volunteer missions work in Kenya. She is doing well and we praise God for her speedy recovery and is now out of the hospital. Her several days of hospitalization was quite costly, reaching PHP 70,000. She was able to get some financial help from relatives, but as of this time, she is still praying for about PHP 55,000 pesos. Cecil has been a dedicated missionary, and has for more than a decade been offering herself to share the good news in the Philippines, Asia and Africa. It will be good if we can also show our concern for her if we can make a voluntary special donation to defray her medical expenses. Please let the brethren know about this need; they can give donations to their respective pastors, and I would like to ask the pastors to please send the money to the National Office with a corresponding note "For Cecil Bangay's Medical Fund". We pray that God will address this need soon. Any amount you can raise will be a big relief and encouragement for Cecil.
Update on the flooding in Australia
The note below comes from John Mclean, National Director of GCI Australia, about the recent flooding in Brisbane, where quite a number of our brethren are staying. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney and their daughters live in that part of the country and we learned that they are safe and not so affected by the flooding. However, it is helpful to intentionally pray for our brethren and the rest of the people there, who have been affected by the "Ondoy"-type of floods which they experienced recently.
Australian Floods
Parts of Australia have just experienced the worst floods in a century. Seventy-five per cent of the state of Queensland was underwater, an area bigger than the size of France and Germany combined. In a 72-hour period, more than seven billion tons of water fell on the southeast of the state alone, roughly the equivalent of all the water in 15 Sydney Harbors. The state capital of Brisbane, the third largest city in the country, came to a standstill as rising waters inundated the suburbs and central business district.
Many amazing stories abound. An eight-meter wall of water rushed down a valley outside the city, hurling cars, trees, and homes in its path, foaming over bridges and railway lines, leaving death and devastation in its wake. One country town, 700 meters above sea level, experienced an "inland tsunami," with a massive rush of floodwater from the huge downpour of rain. Many cities, farms and communities were submerged across the state. At least 18 people are dead, and more are missing, with grave fears for their safety.
Our heartfelt thanks to the members of our international family around the world who have contacted us, inquiring after the wellbeing of our members and assuring us of their prayers and concern for all affected by this crisis. While several of our church members have frightening stories of close calls (just missing being washed away in their car), flooded dwellings and workplaces, temporary isolation caused by the floodwaters and impassable roads, and flooded farms and destroyed crops, there has been no loss of life, and considering the scale of the disaster, we are very thankful to God for this. Our national office is in an area not affected by the floods.
For the many people evacuated, the reality of returning home has meant returning to mud everywhere in their homes - covering the kitchen, filling the cupboards, ruining all the furniture and electrical goods, destroying the family photographs. And then there's the smell - a nauseating, swampy stench that lasts for years, unless the walls and flooring are replaced.
In the midst of the grief, loss and heartache, there are also many encouraging stories. Last weekend, on what has been called "Salvation Saturday" and "Salvation Sunday," 50,000 volunteers arrived to help clean up in Brisbane. Strangers helped people they had never met; neighbors who had never spoken helped each other clean out their houses. Many of our members joined the volunteers, now affectionately known as the "Mud Army," helping clean up, remove rubbish, and feed other volunteer helpers.
Times of disaster can bring out the best in many people. Those returning to what's left of their dwellings need to deal with very real grief, sorrow and anger. Most of them, though, when interviewed standing in the wreckage, smile, cry, smile again, and talk about how life goes on. In addition to the willingness to help others in need, the constant theme being expressed by those most directly affected has been one of valuing the things that are really important in life - relationships, family, friendships - and the relative unimportance and impermanence of possessions. As one man wrote, "Materially we are briefly impoverished. Spiritually we are enriched - now and forever. In exchange for some trinkets and trash devoured by floodwaters, we have found treasures we had forgotten existed."
The "treasures" he referred to are relational - friendship, kindness, service, a helping hand. The estimated cost of the flood in Queensland is around $15 billion. As the cleanup continues here, four other states are now experiencing floods of major proportions. Food supplies are severely threatened. The recovery will take a long time, both for individuals, communities and the country. Thanks again for your prayers and expressions of concern as our nation picks up the pieces and goes forward.
Brethren, let us continue to remember Australia in our prayers, trusting that God loves them and can minister to them during this difficult time. In closing, I would like to thank you again brethren for your continued support and committed participation in God's work in and through our denomination. Our labor for the Lord is never in vain, and I pray that He will continue to strengthen you, reward you, and meet your needs fully according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Your brother,
Ka Eugene
