"It would be too difficult to paint a picture of all of the devastation or to tell you all of the stories that we have heard. So, I would like to tell you the story of just one family that we know and have been trying to help with food and medical care.
This story is about Marivic, a young wife and mother. She, her husband, and their 4 children lived in the province of Baras (in the country side). They lived in a bamboo hut right next to her cousin, Dennis, his wife and their 4 children. On the day that Typhoon Ondoy struck, Marivic was in her home, near a small stream, resting as she had just given birth to a baby 5 days earlier. All 4 of her children were with her while her husband was working in the rice fields. It had been raining all night and all day, but this is not unusual in the tropical climate of the Philippines. She noticed that the water had begun rising in the stream, when suddenly, she heard a loud noise. It was a landslide and a large wave of water began rushing down the gorge towards her home. She took a sheet and tied her 5-day-old infant to her chest and around her shoulders, she grabbed the hands of her 3 year old and 5 year old children and told her 7 year old to hang on tightly to her and she tried to leave the house.
Meanwhile, she was shouting to her cousin’s wife, next door, to gather her 4 children (ages 2-7). Her cousin, Dennis, had traveled up the side of the hill sometime earlier to buy some items at the nearby sari sari store (a road side store selling snacks and drinks).Then the wave struck, forming a raging river where the small stream had been. It completely demolished the bamboo huts leaving no sign that there had ever been people living there. The 2 mothers and there 8 children were swept away with the water. Dennis watched all of this happen--as he was actually returning home from the store at the time the landslide occurred. A large boulder rolled down the hill landing on his leg and pinning him. He struggled to get free, but he was helpless as he watched his family being swept away. After the water had rushed through, other members of the village (most of them family) came running down the hill, they freed Dennis and started searching for the rest of the family. First, they found Marivic, on her hands and knees in a large pile of mud screaming and striking the ground with the sheet that had been tied around her. All of her children were gone, including the 5-day-old infant. By the end of the day, only the two 7 year olds were found alive, as they had been able to hold on to trees down the stream. Dennis’ wife and 6 children were killed in all.
When we arrived at this village—it was 2 days after the landslide. We first saw Marivic sitting and staring off in the distance. She was in shock. Her T-shirt soiled from her leaking breast milk, as she no longer had a baby to feed. Dennis and 20 other men were dragging the river looking for bodies. They had only been able to find one 5-year-old boy’s body. We gave them medical attention and began giving all of the men dragging the river tetanus shots. We gave them food and clothes and prayed with them as their hearts were breaking…knowing what we were doing was completely inadequate.
It has now been 3 weeks since the landslide affected this family. They are still looking for the bodies of their family members, but now they watch for the grouping of flies and then dig in the mud to see if they can find a body. They have only found one and half more bodies.
I do not tell you this story to upset or disgust you. I tell you this story because it is only one of a thousand stories of the loss and devastation that the Filipinos have suffered recently. Please pray for the victims and their families. Pray for the Lord’s peace and love to flow over them. Pray that all of the heartache and loss will draw them to the Lord—that His Kingdom will be advanced through this disaster. We have heard many missionaries report that their church plants are seeing many new attendees and there are many stories of salvation. Pray, also, that the Lord will show us where and how to work for Him in the aftermath of this tragedy."
Our family will soon join the Thompsons to lend a hand for a couple weeks. Pray for us as we prepare to return for this short time. Pray for Emily and Will that this time would provide some much needed closure, especially for Will who took our remaining in the states the hardest.
Below are a few pictures that the Thompsons took during one of their visits to this family.
A look at the riverbed
Destroyed Home
Make Shift Clinic
Our nurse LingLing comforts a child
Dr Val Thompson