Rebuilding of U-Turn for Christ CC Hernani and Event in December

It has been about one month since Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) wreaked havoc on the Philippines.  Currently, the death toll stands at 5,924 and 1,779 people are still missing.  It was reported that 500,000 homes where completely demolished and an additional 536,000 damaged.  More than 12 million people have been affected by this super typhoon when it made landfall on November 8.  Several islands were left without electricity or phone towers to communicate.  Information was slow in getting out and millions of people were left homeless and without access to food, water and medical care.

U-Turn for Christ/CC Herani Re-Building underway

Gerry Brown's son Joshua is continuing the work in Eastern Samar through Christmas and New Year's.  Here is the status of the efforts to rebuild the church.  Foundational pillars are being poured now for the second level along with the foundational slab for the ground floor, since they all have to be poured together for the strength of the building. Crazy since all is still being done by hand. The work at the Bible School is continuing with Glenn Cole from CC Lone Mountain.  He is now helping to watch over that project after Pastor Bong got them going. They had a little trouble getting the sand to quit caving in on them there while digging the foundational footings for the pillars, but Pastor Bong showed them how to shore it up and now they have two foundational pillars in place and are working on the other 8 that are needed.  

Feeding Program at Hernani Elementary School

The feeding program with the children is on-going.  Now with the elementary school back in session, the feeding includes the whole student body and teaching staff in Hernani.  There were originally 482 children in the school.  Since the typhoon, about 200 of them have returned to school.  Some are still unknown about, while others have moved with family in other parts of the island.  CC Dumaguete and the CC Bible College Dumaguete have come alongside the U-Turn for Christ family by sending relief teams.  They are doing a Christmas Evangelistic outreach for the school kids and community.  The event took place December 18 (Update and photos to follow.)

The Superintendent of Education had a meeting with Gerry Brown and requested to expand into two other villages that were also devastated.  They asked for help with some school supplies (pencils, pens, paper, erasers and any out dated books).  That would help them greatly since all was lost in the typhoon.

U-Turn for Christ Hernani Calvary Chapel Will Rise!

1. The rebar for the first columns is up at the church in Hernani and the foundation is poured. This is causing no small stir in the community. People are REALLY excited.

2. U-Turn for Christ Hernani Calvary Chapel is the first building in the Hernani area to be rebuilt. The entire community is coming by to lend a hand.

3. The team put up a sign in front of the church that says, "Soon to Rise... U-Turn For Christ Hernani Calvary Chapel." The neighbors are inspired.

4. All the neighbors want help rebuilding their own homes. The opportunities to minister through service, prayer and fellowship are incredible.

5. The workers are all using hand tools to do the work. The only power tool they have among them are a couple of cordless drills. Pastor Gerry says it looks like an Amish church building to watch them work together so beautifully.

6. Pastor Gerry is scheduled to return to the US on December 12th. His son Joshua will be relieving him. Glenn Cole from Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain is also on his way there, to arrive around December 10th. He will work as a construction supervisor in Samar for some months before taking his position at CCTC Dumaguete. 

7. Several teams are on the ground helping with the work. Currently, there are two teams in eastern Samar. The goal is to keep them going throughout the next months and years.

8. The church building at Borongan has a roof. The next project will be the kitchen which is waiting for Glenn Cole to arrive.

9. Calvary Chapel Dumaguete and Calvary Chapel Training Center are planning a Christmas in Hernani outreach on December 18th. Please keep that in prayer.

New Update from Samar

The past weekend was the national holiday of Thanksgiving in the US, and there are many things to be grateful for in Typhoon Relief.  Praise God for His provision and His faithfulness!

1. The roof is almost finished in Borongan. It was a huge project, but the team started putting metal on the roof during the last week in November.

2. The construction on the church in Hernani is waiting for more funds before work can begin, BUT the team asked a road crew if they could borrow their grader for clearing the property. There was a heavy equipment operator on the CC Creekside, Washington team. The crew said "no" but instead they came out to the property with all of their equipment. They graded the property and dug the footings for the church in about tow hours. This would have been about a month worth of work. They did it for free. Praise God!

3. The Calvary Chapel / U-Turn team are still the only ones doing any type of feeding in Hernani. The governor of Hernani asked if they would start feeding the people twice a day instead of only once. They love us there and many people are getting saved through this ministry.

4. The Superintendent of Schools said that the team could keep the school for as long as they are doing the feeding ministry. He gave Pastor Gerry Brown a letter stating such saying also that he looked forward to a long term relationship with us.

5. The relief supplies from CCTC arrived. It was enough food for 1,150 families 5 days and non-food supplies for 1,707 families. (9 tons worth of goods). The team handed out relief goods to 250 or so families. Once again, many people gave their lives to the Lord.

6. Details are sketchy on how the Lord worked this out, but somehow the relief work and feeding resulted in the team doing a Bible study in a little town north of Borongan named San Julian. Many gave their lives to the Lord there. Pastor Gerry asked if they had a Bible-teaching church in town and they said they did not. He committed to doing weekly Bible studies there with them. It looks like God just birthed Calvary Chapel San Julian.

Prayer requests:

Ongoing support for the work in Samar is needed: this work can easily keep teams busy for the next few years. People are also needed as missionaries to the Samar region: please pray about moving out there and doing some long term ministry. There are going to be tons of opportunities to disciple new believers, raise up church leaders, run orphanages, counsel, and do relief work.

The video below was recorded in Hernani during the week of November 18.  It is a powerful and personal picture of the devastation there - but also a picture of hope in Christ Jesus.

Communications with the team in eastern Samar has been slow and difficult.  Getting photos and even detailed information has rightfully taken a lower priority than serving the people of Samar and spreading God's love and mercy.

But today there are pictures and more detailed information from the team on the ground led by Pastor Gerry Brown.  Here is Pastor Gerry's update with minimal editing:

We got here safe and the team is doing well.  It is as bad as you can imagine. The destruction is in most of the east side of the island, and total destruction in most of the barangays (villages) surrounding us. We did lose two church members from Calvary Chapel Hernani; a father who leaves behind six children and a widow, and another

young girl from our youth group.  The facilities here are our first priority so that we can house the teams. We have had difficulty removing the debris and damaged areas of the church and one of the houses.

We made assessment runs yesterday [Sunday, Nov 17] into all the surrounding areas. It looks more like a tsunami hit Hernani, with 95 percent of houses and all government buildings gone. The jails opened their doors and released prisoners to save their lives when the storm hit. No problems are evident from that.

Pastor Ken bending rebar

We had no trouble crossing the island. We are experiencing trouble getting gasoline and diesel though. Which means we have to make long trips to the capitol to buy 20-30 gallons at a time.  With the facilities that are left standing, we are able to house 30-35 people now. Some of the original team will leave today [Monday, Nov 18], some on Tuesday, and some on Sunday the 24th, so you know what we are looking like at this time.

I was able to meet with the Governor of Eastern Samar, Conrado Nicert Jr., and the provincial police manager of Samar, Levi Nicart, today, and after talking with them, we have now been asked to handle a feeding station in Hernani, where we lost the two members and the Church and Pastor's house. There are 100 now confirmed dead and 260 still missing in Hernani.

Pastor Gerry (left) talking to local officials

We have always had great relationships with the government officials here, but God’s hand is certainly on us at this time because as we were talking, in walked the Chief of Police, Eufronia Loyalk Obong, Sr., who immediately came up giving big hugs and thanking me for coming. The Governor liked that and asked for a meeting with me, the chief of police, and Hernani's Barangay Captain. And the Governor promised to provide protection for us when feeding and giving us the initial rice to start up the feeding. They are giving us the three rooms left standing in the school and we will be working to put together a makeshift kitchen right away. That gives us great opportunity to minister to government officials, and the police department, and the people in the most devastated areas hit by the typhoon.

I hope you are all on board with us. Since the communication is so difficult with us right now, I am moving as God is leading and thanking God for the opportunity that He is opening for us all. I was able to secure fuel for the ministry as well after our meeting and we are now put on priority status with the gas stations as God has shown favor once again with past relationships with the owner of

Pastor Gerry ministering in prayer

this station and he knowing our works in Eastern Samar and thanking us for coming and doing relief. 

Thank you for your help. Please keep all praying for us and for the people devastated here in the Philippines.

On Sunday, November 17, Pastor Jimmy Morales of Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain dedicated over half his pulpit time to giving an update to his congregation regarding Typhoon Yolanda relief.  If you would like to see this update, you can check it out on YouTube by clicking the link here: http://youtu.be/tBMMvkDXmfo

The first stateside response team has been in eastern Samar for over three days.  They have inspected affected villages and discovered the following:

• In Hernani, 90% of homes and business have been destroyed.  There are over 100 dead just in this small town.  Calvary Chapel U-Turn for Christ Hernani was completely destroyed.
• In Balangkayan: 500 dead, 500 homes lost (this is a small town just north of Hernani).
• Calvary Chapel Lalawigan in Borongan church roof was destroyed.
• School of Ministry Locoson kitchen building destroyed.

Immediate needs include the following:

• Families have little food, little relief. Some have lost all, with only clothes on their back.
• Rebuilding CC Lalawigan church to host teams
• Rebuild Locoson to host teams
• Rebuild Calvary Chapel Hernani church and Pastor Jerome's house (in Hernani) to use as a center to reach the community.

Most of the dead are buried in temporary mounds of sand until they receive proper burial.  The team in eastern Samar will continue to distribute relief goods prepared by Calvary Chapel Dumaguete. Much of the destruction occurred in certain barangay (communities) while others are left untouched.

Typhoon Yolanda brought the sea in about 4-5 kilometers inland from the beach, with 20 ft waves sweeping entire villages out to sea.

Please pray for the relief effort and comfort and gospel to go out. Survivors are open to prayer and receiving Jesus.


There will be a group from Calvary Chapel Dumageute and tha Calvary Chapel Training Center transporting relief supplies on Monday night (Nov 18, local time). 

There is also a team from Calvary Chapel Creekside in Washington state bringing much needed water filtration equipment and chain saws as well as other equipment and skilled construction workers. 
Calvary Chapel Spring Valley has a team mobilizing for a December 3 departure from Las Vegas.

Please keep all these team in prayer for safety, health and effectiveness.  Continue to pray that the Lord's gospel would be preached in both word and deed.  Especially, prayer for the people of Samar: Borongan, Locoson, Hernani, Balangkayan, and the hundreds of barangay we don't know the names of yet who have lost sons, daughters, mothers and fathers.  May the Lord comfort them, and bring them peace, safety and sustenance.  

Another update from Pastor Gerry and the US team in Samar:   Things are going well with the team. All are healthy and functioning well (praise God!) 

The team is currently repairing the church building at Lalawigan (Borongan City) for teams. The roof was destroyed: putting it back on is a bit of a challenge.  Once the roof is on in 2-3 days, they will be able to house 35-50 people at a time.

Hernani access has been established. The team is divided between those working on the roof in Borongan and those traveling to Hernani with emergency supplies.  Everything is gone in Hernani: the death toll in Hernani is over 100 so far. The police station, markets,and the high school are all gone. Hernani was a middle class town: the only things left are about 5 homes.

It is a 4 hour drive from Borongan to the capital (Catbalogan) – which is the nearest source of fuel and/or communications (email, regular cell phones).  Currently, the team has one jeepnie for transporting teams and they are renting another. The team at CCTC Dumageute is working on getting CCTC's jeepnie over to them as soon as possible.

The biggest need right now is finances. The team must make the 4-hour trip to Catbalogan daily for fuel and supplies, plus EVERYTHING is way more expensive right now than under normal circumstances. 


Meanwhile, in Dumageute, supplies continue to be gathered and packed for onward movement to Samar.  And more of our brothers and sisters prepare to go serve.  This message came today from a dear saint getting ready to travel from Dumageute to Borongan:  "Packing up and getting ready to join Genghis and the first US team in Samar tomorrow. Too much to get done, and doubts start to creep in and Jesus lifted me up this morning in His Word... can't contain God's goodness... must declare it... His promises are truly for those who OBEY, just as Abraham did! TO ALL RELIEF EFFORT VOLUNTEERS FOR SAMAR... THIS IS FOR US ALL --- Genesis 22:16-17 " "I SWEAR BY MYSELF, DECLARES THE LORD, THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS... I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU..." Thank you Lord Jesus, for the promise of your favor. ALL GLORY, PRAISE AND HONOR TO YOU ALONE! WAY TO GO, SWEET JESUS!" 


If God is with us, who, indeed can be against us?

Pastor Gerry reports from Samar:

The team arrived safely in Borongan.  The Calvary Chapel in Borongan was destroyed, as well as the members' homes.  The team is focusing on clearing roads to allow passage to the southeast to get to Hernani.  Hernani is a small town where there is another Calvary Chapel U-Turn for Christ church.  This is the first reliable report from Hernani: the church and all the members' homes have been destroyed - either flattened or washed out to sea.  Two church members perished in the storm.  In the whole community there are only 10 homes still standing.

A small team of Filipino locals from CCTC Dumageute will go in to support the team in Borongan on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Pastor Gerry is requesting a list of supplies from Dumageute or Cebu.  Obtaining and transporting these supplies will be a challenge, so please bathe this list in prayer:  fuel, fuel containers, heavy duty hand tools, generators, powerbars and ready-to-eat snacks, rain gear and work gloves, water purifiers and prayer - lots of prayer.

On Monday, Nov 18th, a shipment from local donations will go out from Dumageute and Cebu.  This shipment will include 20 sacks of rice, canned goods, bottled water, candles, soap, clothing and bedding.  The Cokaliong Shipping company is continuing to ship these relief supplies for free (many thanks to Cokaliong - and praise be to God!).

Another pressing need is vehicles.  Vehicles are available for loan from Cebu, but getting them to Samar is a challenge.  Infrastructure damage and lack of security are currently preventing them from moving, but there is hope they can move soon with military support - so pray that a good contact with the Philippine or US military will be established soon. 

The multi-church team with Pastor Gerry, Pastor Ken and others arrived at Calbayog City on Thursday at 7 am local time via the Cokaliong overnight ferry.  The ferry is currently transporting relief supplies at no charge, and CCTC and CC Dumageute are collecting water, clothing, blankets, food, and other supplies for onward transport via the ferry into Samar.  Pray that the Cokaliong ferry is able to continue this service at no charge as long as it is needed.

So far, the team transported enough relief supplies to Calbayog for 241 families - this represents one day's worth of in-kind donations at CCTC and CC Dumeguete.  In-kind donations continue to be received in Dumageute.

The team left Calbayog for Borongan City (about an 8 hour drive) at 10 am local time with 4 gallons of fuel and were able to purchase only 2 more gallons before departing.  Pastor Lemuel Yabor is the Calvary Chapel pastor in Borongan.  His home was destroyed in the storm, and the church was severely damaged, losing its roof and all furnishings - only the walls remain.   Pastor Gerry plans on traveling back and forth between Borongan and Calbayog every 2 days to communicate and get more supplies. 


Please keep in prayer all the people mentioned (Pastors Gerry, Ken, Lemuel, Wads, Ron, etc.).  Also, keep the other members of the teams in prayer as well as all the local relief workers, and of course the victims of the storm.  Here are some more specific needs and prayer requests:

For the team: wisdom, strength, and good health

Fuel

Safety: for the team to be able to get military support.

Generators are badly needed for rebuilding. 

Future teams need to be construction teams, with the goal of rebuilding churches and homes.  Team members will need to bring their own tools - hand tools and or power tools.  Power tools should be cordless and able to charge on a 220v supply, although 110v power may be available from some generators.