I am Edwin Paredes Espiña, 46 years old. I am married to Dorothy Lumbre- Espiña, 45 years old. We have 3 children namely, Chris Ian 16 years old who is now in his 3rd year high school, Shamma Gift 9 years old is in grade 3 and Elisha Joy 7 years old is in Grade 2.
I am a pastor of Tacloban Community, Tacloban City. We used to have 3 services before the typhoon Yolanda hit us. The congregation is quiet big that we average our Sunday attendance to 550. The church is located where there are plenty of students because it is surrounded with big schools (2 state universities and the biggest national high school in the region)
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Acknowledgement of your prayer andhelp
I would like to thank you for the help that you extended to the people of Tacloban, to me and to my church in one way or another through prayers, financial help and relief goods. Indeed the Lord’s ways are higher than our ways.
Allow me to share to you a first-hand story about my personal experiences about the typhoon Yolanda. But I will make sure, and it is my objective that you will not only be hearing how destructive the typhoon and how depressing and horrible the situation in Tacloban City was but at the end you will picture God as the God whom you can always rely on to. I would like you to picture our God who is always true to His promises. When He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” I would like you to know that it is true! It is true also when He said, “come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
It is my desire that at the end of my story your faith in God will become more stronger than ever before. And by the time you experience typhoonsin your life or if you are presently facing a typhoon, you can confidently say, “I have confidence in my God for He is stronger, more stronger than any other typhoon.”
Tacloban city is a beautiful city and a promising one. We have already started to boomeconomically. You will know that the city is starting to rise up when you see some investors starting to invest their money for business. Malls have started to rise, banks started to open and new hotels have been constructed. A lot of people have been visiting the place.
For many years, way back in the 70’s and 80’s, our area have been the hot spot of typhoons. Typhoons used to pass by and used to linger.
Being a Taclobanon who lived in Tacloban for many years, (I am now 46 and i lived in Tacloban for 43 years while the other 3 years I lived in cebu for my Theology studies), I experienced a lot of strong typhoons ever since I was a kid. I even promised myself that when I grow up I will never live in a house with a nipa roofing. It must be concrete so I can still sleep well even if there is a typhoon.
But for many years, since half of the 90’s until Yolanda, we never experienced strong typhoons already. The calamities used to hit the Bicol region and the Luzon area.
November 6, we have heard that a super typhoon was coming to our area. Evangelical churches and pastors have organized prayer and fasting. The city government have announced evacuation and have already set up evacuation centers. The weather was hot. I also did my part by asking our members who were living near the coastal area to come to the church. Though, they agreed tocome, but somehow they did not come. Instead, they moved to the house of some relatives where they think they are safe because the church was far compared to their relatives’ house.
Nov 7, it was already raining, Taclobanons were already panic buying. There were people that I asked to stay and spend overnight in the church. There was one guy who was persistent to go home. Since he respect me so much, he obeyed na lang (walang nagawa but very thankful at the end).
November 8. Around 5am. It was raining and windy but not strong. We still have electricity. Communication is still on going through social media, internet, celphones. We received text message that Guiuan, a town in Eastern Samar was already hit at around 4am and it was expected to hit Tacloban City at around 7am.
When the typhoon finally hit us, it was strong as I expected it but not so much as compared to what I experienced before. We secured our things because waters coming from the rain started to wet the things inside the house. I confined my kids in a room wherein they will not get wet and tried to comfort them (since it was their first experience) by telling them that “everything will be fine and that it’s good for them to experience this so they will know what a typhoon is all about.”
But in reality I was actually worried because I noticed that there was a tall tree planted just at the back of the house and two electrical posts (1 wooden and 1 cemented) they are standing and located near the front corner of our house.
During that time, I was only confined in my own vicinity. What I mean to say is that, I was only thinking about my family and the house. I did not bother to think about other people and theirconcerns. I was talking to God. I was actually complaining. I said, “Lord, why did you allow these things to happen to my family?” I was only thinking about the after effect that the typhoon will cause us. I complained about the repairs, the mess, putting back the things in order, the plan of the church for that week will be altered, the brown out, etc. I became so selfish.
Later on water rose up so quickly that it reached inside the house. It rose up fast but the heightstopped in between my knees and my ankles. All the more that I complained to God especially that the toilet was already clogged up.
When the strength of the typhoon finally subsided,I and my wife went to survey the extent of the destruction in our neighbours’ houses. I was not aware yet of how massive the destruction was. We went to the street. And there we saw how big the destruction was. It was only then that I finally realized how massive, enormous, gigantic the destruction brought by Yolanda. It was only then that I personally realized how destructive atyphoon signal 4 was.
Our house (rented lang) suffered only minor damage as to compare the damage done to our neighbours’ houses. As I looked and observed the destruction brought by Yolanda to our neighbours’properties, I alternately glanced at our house. I can’t help but to praise the Lord! As I look at our house, I saw a reflection of God’s love and protection over me and my family. I considered that house as a monument and as a testimony of how God loves me and my family and how He protected us from destruction. I saw the tree at the back of our house it was standing still. I saw the 2 electrical posts they were standing still while others were already damaged and laying down the road. PRAISE THE LORD!
THE DESTRUCTIONS
Upon knowing my family was ok and will be ok, I and my son decided to visit the church to find out the extent of its damage. We traversed the knee deep water and walked for about 3 kilometers just to reach the church. Along the way are sceneries of massive devastations. No structure that did not suffer damage. The scenery portrayed a vicinity of total destruction. You can see in the faces of the people the picture of sufferings, pain (physical and emotional), hopelessness.
Hospitals are helpless. There was a sign in the hospitals that says, “No Admission, No Supplies.” Funeral homes refused to accept dead bodies for they have a lot.
A DAY AFTER YOLANDA
A day after the typhoon hit us, the scene was almost unbearable.
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People have to endure the walking of long hours and distance because vehicles cannot pass through the debris that were piled up along the streets.
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Dead bodies of both human and animals are scattered in most places but especially along the road because people brought them there for authorities to pick them up. But even people in authorities were also victims so no one picked them up not after 5 days or a week.
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No supplies of food, water and medicines
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People are walking to and fro which I do not know where they want to go. They were described as Zombies. Some people were in a state of shock.
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It was unbearable for me to see my family going away to go to Manila for safety while I was just left alone. Although, it will be much more unbearable for a father to see his family suffer for lack of resources.
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It’s unbearable to see people rushing out from Tacloban to come to Cebu,Manila and to other parts of the country.
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At the airport you can see people from all walks of life, young and old, healthy, sickly and wounded who are desperate to fly on the C130. You can see in their eyes hopelessness and fear.
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Relief goods were hard to find.
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A lot of gossips have scattered and have escalated the fear, desperation and hopelessness of the people such as:
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People from the Jail that goes to houses to rob and kill
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Some of these were not true or half true
As a pastor, it pains me to see my church suffered in structure, equipments, files and people.
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We lost 4 members of the church.
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A family of 12 of which only one survived.
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We have members who lost their loved ones
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Some of our members were homeless (some took shelter in our church building)
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Few days after the typhoon hit us, almost half of the members of the church have left the city. That is why from 550 average attendance it went down to 201 as based from our last Sunday attendance.
God moved in mysterious ways
Churches and other Christian organizations both local and international have been used by God to help Tacloban city. Although, the relief goods from the government were hard to find, churches from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao came to our rescue. There were outpouring of help to thechurch. Most of these helps came from churches that I do not know about, lead by pastors whom I have not met in my entire life. Some of them have given help without even having the chance to see their faces.
There were even some churches who doesn’t have any plan of dropping by their goods to our church for the reason that they don’t know us and they don’t know that we exist. But since the church signage was still in tack, they decided to drop by and gave us sacks of goods.
As soon as we received the goods we distributed at once to our members who remained.
MIRACLE
Computer. Our offices in the church was flooded up to waist line deep. The water has submerged our computers and tables. But God protected my table. It was the only table that was saved. It did not submerge. The laptop issued to me by the church which I placed inside the drawer of my table was spared from that flood. It was the only laptop that was left in the church that was saved.All of my important documents, books and my bible were all placed on top of my table and they were all dry. All the rest of the computers of the church were all damaged. I don’t know how it happened.
1 Thess 5:18 - Give thanks in all circumstances for this God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Not only that we can thank the Lord during good times but even in bad times. On my part I thank the Lord for bringing Yolanda because I learned about network (network of pastors), linkages with some organizations and churches such as yours.
Prayer requests:
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Full recovery of the people from that storm and bad memories.
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My church will full recover and be back to normal operation.
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Direction for my family. It seems that it has been altered. My kids are continuing their studies in Las Piñas up to the end of school year. But if the situation in Tacloban is still far from safe, then, there might be possibilities that they might continue to stay in Las Piñas. It is not God’s will that I will be separated from my family for a very long time.
Thank you so much for the help. May God bless you always.
With love and prayers.
