Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Angels amidst Sendong's wrath?

Pilar Benitez, a sister in the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals tells an inspiring story of unwaivering faith in the midst of the devastation by typhoon Sendong in Iligan City. Here's her account:


Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let me just share with you a heartwarming story of faith and trust in our Father. As you know, Holcim has a cement plant in Iligan, thus quite a number of our employees were affected by typhoon Sendong. Most of them, lost their homes & property, while others lost relatives and friends. Now that the holidays are over, our Manila-based Iligan residents have reported back to work, they all have their stories to tell, and here is one of them:

At the height of typhoon Sendong, several residents found themselves jumping from one roof to another frantically trying to save themselves. A group of about 60 congregated on top of a large house and they settled there for the night. Most of them were BCBP members while quite a number were from Couples for Christ and a muslim family. The rain kept pouring hard, it was pitch black and all you could hear were desperate cries for help. Below them, these 60+ people could see that most of the houses were under water and those that remained were either washed away by the flood or were destroyed by the hundreds of logs that came crashing down with the muddy water.

In the midst of this chaos, our brothers and sisters came together and started praise & worship. Their prayers and their songs could be heard above the din and the noise of houses being smashed against each other. The muslim family did not join in prayer but kept crying out in desperation. One of our brothers approached them and invited them to pray - and they did. Across the street, there were several people also on top of roofs who could hear our brothers & sisters in prayer.

The next day, this same people across the street, told our brothers & sisters that their house was spared because they could see that there were several men in front of the house that kept pushing away the logs that came crashing down. Who were these men? And could ordinary men have the strength to push away these huge pieces of tree trunks? They didn't think so.
It seems that their angels were working over time that night! The power of prayer. The majesty of our God. God is truly a faithful God!

Let us continue to include in our prayers all our brothers & sisters in Cagayan, Iligan and in Compostela Valley.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Hope for the New Year

Friends,
We wake up to a new year full of trials and uncertainty.
But having had a Christmas break that was truly worthwhile and full of meaning, we are re-charged.
For your good deeds, I pray with confidence God will shower you with abundant blessings this coming year.
Giving is always a blessing.
In our native language, “Sa inyong pagka-matabangon, ang Ginoo na’y mag-igo.”
I am not praying for more disasters, but I hope you will continue extending a helping hand to others in distress.
In the meantime, as we face fresh challenges in the coming year, my wish for all of us is that spoken in the old Irish blessing…
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Happy New Year.