#Tacloban, #Leyte, #Philippines
It was a moment of utter desperation when I met Patrick
three months ago.
He was hunched over on the debris littered ground sobbing as
he told me how he’d been separated from his wife and children in the chaos of
Typhoon Haiyan.
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Photo posted on Facebook last November 11, three days after Typhoon Haiyan struck Tacloban City.
This is 27-year-old Patrick. He looks so tired and hungry. It's normal to see people tired and hungry here but what struck me is when I saw him sobbing making use of his bag as his pillow and falling debris as his blanket. He sobs out of misery. "I've been everywhere to look for my two children, my wife and my mother but I can't find them," Patrick lives near the seawall and his house was washed out by the strong winds and heavy downour of Typhoon Yolanda. Please pray for Patrick as he finds his family, pray for him to have strength and courage, and for all the typhoon survivors who have the same story as Patrick's. |
I was struck, here was a 27-year-old man begging for the
Lord’s mercy. He worried that his wife and children were among the bodies I’d
seen cast alongside the road, on a horrific journey to Tacloban.
“I’ve been everywhere to look for my two children, my wife
and my mother but I can’t find them,” he told me while gasping in between sobs.
It was a scene of absolute misery. I was crushed – my heart
torn as I took in his situation, a young man my age who had seemed to have lost
everything he held dear. As he huddled on an empty bag beside an uprooted tree
I shared a few of my biscuits and some of my water, just to help him fill his
hungry stomach.
As he started eating the biscuit, I stood up to leave. But
before I started to walk again, a little voice told me to one more moment with
Patrick. I asked him if we can pray together and he said yes. We covered our hands
on top of each other and embarked on a prayer that left us both in tears.
“Lord, I know what we gave him is not enough but please give
him comfort and his family. Help him find his mother, wife and two little
children,” I prayed.
It was all I could offer before I had to continue with our
assessment team in Tacloban. For the rest of the day, I encountered more and
more bodies. I witnessed people sobbing
and grew more devastated by all the destruction.
When I left Tacloban a few days later, and World Vision
began providing disaster relief assistance to the thousands of survivors, I
would continually conjure up Patrick’s situation. To me, he was the face of the
disaster – and I continued to pray for him.
Soon thereafter, I urged my friends and family to pray for
Patrick as well. I posted his photo and story on Facebook and asked for prayers
for him as he searched his family. I asked for prayers to give him strength and
courage and all for all the typhoon survivors who have the same story as
Patrick.
As time wore on, and the weeks unfolded from Haiyan, I
started to think less about Patrick and his family.
But just last Sunday, almost three months ago after Typhoon
Haiyan, I was requested to return to Tacloban and prepare for a visit from
World Vision Japan guests.
As the plane landed, I felt goosebumps. The experience of walking
through and over the debris and bodies two days after Typhoon Haiyan was vividly
returning to me. I continued to work planning the visit, but the experience was
never far from me.
A day later, with a teammate, I rolled into a local eatery for a late lunch. As I
ate chicken curry I looked up and caught a familiar face.
It was Patrick. He was working as a server at the small
restaurant.
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Photo posted on my Instagram (mai_zamora) Haiyan: Remember Patrick? He is the man we met the day after we arrived Tacloban, four days after Typhoon Haiyan. He was the man sobbing of the lost of his mother, two children and wife. He was the man we prayed over,
shared our water and biscuits. I think,
you infact prayed for him also, the time when I posted his story on social media. Almost three months after Typhoon Haiyan,
I met him today in one of the stores after a long day in the field and I'm so happy and blessed to let you know that our prayer for Patrick was answered. Thank you friends for praying with him and thank You Lord for the answered prayer |
A lump swelled in my throat. He smiled widely and took a
seat at our table
“By God’s grace, I
found my family and they are safe. Our prayer was answered, Ma’am,” he said.
My heart sang. I was overjoyed.
I was trying to control my tears. I am amazed and still overwhelmed
at how God revealed how powerful He is.
“As soon as I found them, after five days of being hungry
searching for them, I knelt down and raised my hands thanking God for answering
our prayer. At that time, Ma’am, I was about to give up and gave myself another
three days to look for them. I was just praying that in case I couldn’t find
them that they would just be safe,“ Patrick told me in the restaurant.
I asked him where his family was now living and Patrick said,
“We live in a World Vision covered area and my family received relief goods
from World Vision. We are very thankful to receive them. I wouldn’t have known
where to look for food for my children if World Vision hadn’t help us.”
When I heard him say those words, without hesitation I asked
to visit his family.
This afternoon with my colleague I visited Patrick’s home,
catching him as he was hanging his children’s clothes to dry. We met four-year-old
CJ and two-year-old James Patrick. We greeted his wife Ana Rose who just came
from washing the laundry along the river, just a few meters away from their
small makeshift house covered with a tarpaulin (waterproofed canvas).
His wife Ana Rose shared how they survived after Typhoon
Haiyan.
“We had been hungry for almost a week. Most of the time, for
days after the typhoon, my neighbours would just share a plate of rice for the
four of us but of course we couldn’t eat much because our priority was for our
children. We didn’t care if we are hungry as long as our children were not.
“The good thing is World Vision came and gave us relief
goods with 30 kgs of rice, sardines and kitchen utensils. They gave us
blankets, mosquito nets and a tarpualin that we use as our roof because our
house was totally damaged by the strong winds during Typhoon Yolanda (local
name of Typhoon Haiyan). We really didn’t know how we would have survived if
World Vision didn’t help us. Thank you so much to all of you and to God for
helping us to survive and for keeping our family complete,” Ana Rose says as
she smiles while Patrick prepared lunch of CJ and James Patrick.
Tonight, hours after leaving Patrick’s home, I can feel
God’s presence – even in the aftermath of the storm. Truly, God is real. God
answers prayers and He never forsakes his children.
Thank you, Lord, for the answered prayers.
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| Patrick with his precious gems. |
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| Haiyan: Yesterday, God led the way for me to meet Patrick again, almost three months after I first met him, then today I meet his family. Meeting his precious gems in their humble home has blessed me so much. Truly, God is real and He never forsake his children. Thank You, Lord. |
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