Special Edition

November 2013 (Special)  

Dear friends,  

James 2:15, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”  
For those that may not have heard, a major typhoon hit the Philippines this past Friday. Some news agencies reported the typhoon as the worst in recorded history. The typhoon struck primarily the central part of the Philippines with high winds, heavy rains, and for those near the ocean, destructive waves.   It is impossible to put in words the devastation that was left in the hardest hit areas.

 Reliable reports have said that there are bodies lying on the streets and in the midst of the rubble.  Most of the news reports show of the damage in the larger city areas where most of the building have either been destroyed or suffered severe damage.   Communication was almost non-existent for the first several days.  Just yesterday we heard from the pastor of one of our churches in Bugabuga. He said that all but one of the houses in the village including the church building was completely destroyed.  He said the people are without food or housing. Just this morning, we finally heard from our most remote church. They said the building was totally destroyed as well as their sea weed that is there primary source of income.   From what we understand, the major help is coming to the larger cities but many of the small cities and villages are not being helped. We are sending a small team to go to some of these areas with some relief supplies. We are asking them to bring a report back to us to help us plan for future support. It is our desire to give but we want to make sure the supplies are what is actually needed in the respective area and that they get to the people where the greatest needs are.   We thank you on behalf of the Filipino people, for whatever help you are able to give. The need is great. The suffering is great. But our God is greater. He desires to get the glory though us as we are His hands extended to the needy.   We thank you for your caring and giving hearts!     Nels and Lorrie

Good morning!

Minutes ago I received news from our main pastor and overseer of the churches we work with in the Philippines.

For those that may not have heard, a major typhoon, by some reports the largest in recorded history hit the Philippines this past week. There are now reported thousands of deaths as a result. Until this time, there is still is no normal communication from much of the areas around Cebu.

Pastor Homer, the overseer of the churches we work with called me this morning. He just heard from our church in the town of Villaba. This is what he said, “Nothing was left all was gone carried by the strong wind even the drum set, guitars, roofs, lumber and all houses was destroyed, they are now hungry.” Pastor Homer also said, “Please pray for our people in Agutaya. There is no report and it is not yet reached by the media and the possibility of damage is also great because it is a small island and the big islands surrounding it was hit badly by the storm.”

We are making arrangements to send aid with Pastor Homer to Viiaba. Obviously, there is a great need. If you are able to contribute please send checks to our normal Reap account and designate for relief.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Nels and Lorrie

Dear Friends,

For those that may have not heard, what was said to be the “strongest typhoon in history” hit the Philippines last Friday. The major typhoon passed with not too much damage to the school campus or the city we live in. We still haven’t been able to contact several of our churches in other areas to find out how they fared. The churches in the Leyte, Cebu area and the northern part of Palawan were directly in the storm’s path. We have heard that there have been over 1200 deaths and some reports say it is in the thousands. In some of these locations all communication is out.

Please continue to pray for the Philippines. We are told another typhoon is heading this way but we do not have any details at the moment.

Nels and Lorrie