Monday, August 23, 2010

Back, Surigao City Fire

It's awful to be sick. I was sick for more than a week two weeks ago. I literally couldn't get out of bed as a result and my entire body hurt. Flu has never hit me this bad. And when I finally did recover, work backlog consumed most of my time that it became impossible to even go online. My facebook page has never been this stagnant; and I'm unable to answer non-work related e-mails. I miss the internet and I miss blog-hopping. But now, I'm back with a vengeance. I will be visiting other blogs later. 

On to a different thing, I am sad to report that almost 200 families were left homeless after a fire razed through one of our city's biggest slum areas last Saturday. The fire started in the block directly in front of our church/ministry center. In the middle of all the chaos, I couldn't even do anything except text the worship team who at that time was supposed to start their practice for Sunday's worship service. I had to be in a beauty pageant in the school where I teach and I couldn't leave because I was at the judging table tabulating scores and also judging the students' pirate costumes. It's a relief that the fire never got to our church and no one I know got hurt or lost their properties. It is sad though that almost all of our neighbors lost their homes and properties to the fire. An old lady, whom I was told was paralyzed, didn't make it our alive either. There were two children who got trapped and died too. The houses in the area were made of combustible materials; so as a result, it took three hours to completely put out the fire. Here are some of the photos of the fire courtesy of Ma'am Sharon Guerra:


And what was left of the area after:


We praise God that our church is safe. Times like these are truly difficult even for us who actually made it out unscathed. However, looking at what was left, especially seeing the place so ghastly truly breaks our hearts. Even though the reasons are hard to understand at times, our Lord God remains sovereign and in control of all. Not everyone in church is able to give a lot including our family (with financial difficulties all over the place). But yesterday, even in our nothingness, we decided to pool in whatever we can give just to be able to give to those who lost everything. My mom and I raided our closets and so did the other members of our church. In total, we were able to give away 5 sacks of clothes and 2 sacks of footwear. I am also collecting pledges. Some of my friends have pledge to donate clothes, rice and toiletries. We will accept donations for as long as they will come. We are also willing to provide temporary shelter to those who have nowhere else to go. If you are willing to give something, either in cash or kind, please contact me through my facebook page.

Updates on the donations and all to be posted soon.

5 comments:

  1. Hope everyone's okay and find themselves back on their feet again soon.

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  2. Being sick blows, I think I've spent the last month sick off and on... Currently I have an annoying head cold ><
    Glad you're feeling better!

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  3. aww. so that is why. the above comment is right. being sick blows. omg the fire! thank God you and your family's just fine. i wish i already have a job so i could donate. :(

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  4. Posting comments about the fire that hit our City of Island adventures from the perspective of an eyewitness after a few hours when the fire was declared out would somehow be an agonizing task in retracing what we did individually and corporately as a church. God be praised for His faithfulness that He spared the fellowship center for the brethren to be able to reach out to those in need most especially those who are directly hit by the fire. God touched many hearts who responded compassionately to extend relief in the form of food, clothing and other items needed to alleviate their sufferings. Some Teachers from Mariano Espina Memorial Central Elementary Schools(MEMCES) were readily on hand to assist and provided the services for the positive identification of the victims and distribution of the relief materials intended for them, of which many students and their families were victims of the calamity in view of the fact that their school MEMCES, its proximity is only in the neighborhood of about a hundred meters away from the fire scene. To God be the Glory!

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  5. There is answer in prayer, so be with God forever!

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