Giving to Baganga

The Altar was full of people who wanted to be healed.

The Altar was full of people who wanted to be healed.

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We recently were able to return to Baganga (about a six hour drive) to take a big load of donated clothes and toys to distribute at Faith Tabernacle Church.  They also asked me to preach on Sunday morning, and in that service God instantaneously physically healed almost everyone who came to the altar for prayer.

We were able to give out over 120 toy and clothing bags to the children there, and also gave many clothes to the adults too. The children were so overjoyed to receive nice toys and clothes.

A little girl reading the Bible we just gave her.

A little girl reading the Bible we just gave her.

For those of you who don’t remember, over two years ago a category five super-typhoon named Typhoon Pablo hit Baganga and took hundreds of lives including the pastor’s wife. It nearly destroyed their town and heavily damaged this church. Through your support, we were able to rebuild the church and the parsonage and restore hope to these precious people. Although there has been much progress, many of the people of Baganga are still trying to get back on their feet. We are committed to keep helping these people, and are going back again to minister to them in December.

Elijah enjoying himself in a tricycle in Baganga.

Elijah enjoying himself in a tricycle in Baganga.

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The “Celebrate Baganga” Evangelistic Concert

The "Celebrate Baganga" ConcertOver Easter weekend, we partnered with other ministries and had a big two-day evangelistic blow out in Baganga. We had an outdoor concert, a basketball tournament, free surfing and skim boarding lessons followed by an outdoor evangelistic movie.

The Crowd at the 2014 "Celebrate Baganga" Concert

It was extra challenging because there was a strong rainstorm in the middle of the concert. Filipinos generally don’t like to be out in the rain and it drove some people away, but because we put on a quality concert with good prizes, it kept people from leaving and gave them a chance to hear the Gospel.

"Faith United" playing at the Celebrate Baganga Concert

I was honored with the opportunity to preach to the remaining 150-200 people who all prayed the prayer of salvation with me. I absolutely love these types of outreaches and can’t wait to do more of them in other areas in the future.

The crowd in the rain at the 2014 Celebrate Baganga Concert

Celebration in Baganga

Faith Tabernacle Church Before and AfterAbout two weeks ago, despite significant risk, we went to Baganga to celebrate the dedication of the new church building there.

With the radical Muslims currently in berserker mode in the island, all of the other missionaries decided not to go on this trip. We cautiously proceeded and made sure we were not seen on the way to Baganga and only showed our faces at the church and where we slept.

Praying over the people at Faith Tabernacle Baganga.

Praying over the people at Faith Tabernacle Baganga.

Elijah enjoyed the trip and made new friends in the church.

Even though our alternator went out on our trip, our vehicle got us there and home to Davao City safely. Thank you for your prayers.

Elijah hugging Mommy during our ministry trip to Baganga.

You are Heroes for Helping Save Lives

What makes a hero?

Many people call going into a disaster zone to rescue people without knowing the risks heroic, but honestly all those who made this possible are heroes. A hero saves lives and by helping our teams go by supporting us financially, you are heroes. Thank you for helping us go.

Part of the seemingly endless destruction that spans for 200 km throughout Mindanao.

Part of the seemingly endless destruction that spans for 200 km throughout Mindanao.

My first trip to Cateel was almost disheartening because we were the first relief organization to assist the hospital there and the situation seemed hopeless. My second trip to Cateel had much more encouraging results. When we arrived, the hospital had a fully covered tarpaulined roof, a giant generator, and a full volunteer medical staff.

Cateel Hospital 10 days after Typhoon Bopha Pablo

We quickly made the decision to go further south to Baganga (which had a higher death toll than Cateel). Baganga was a very different situation from Cateel. Apparently due to a political situation, the aid agencies that were assisting Baganga had just pulled out and they were abandoned in bad shape.

When we made it to Baganga, the Hospital Clinic was only staffed by about three people including one over exhausted doctor overseeing the whole place. The roof was completely stripped off from the storm and the hospital had no electrical power for 10 days.

The Baganga Hospital Clinic which serves 50,000 people.

The Baganga Hospital Clinic.

Inside, there were about a dozen babies lying throughout the hospital on tables with IVs sticking out of their hands with exasperated parents huddled around them. As a new father, this was unbearable for me to see. I had to fight back tears as we helped light the place with a couple of lights from our generator. Later that evening after we set up camp outside the clinic, I went back in and prayed for all the babies and all the patients in the hospital.

Babies on IVs in Baganga Hospital

Babies on IVs in Baganga Hospital

The next day, we rearranged the lighting situation and properly wired the hospital with about eight lights with switches and granted them the full use of our generator. Unfortunately, during the rewiring I was cutting some wires down and slipped with the knife and stabbed myself in my thumb down to the bone. With blood gushing everywhere, I quickly sat down and received first aid from another volunteer. The medical team conveniently arrived within the hour and they patched me up as best they could.

I got in a knife fight with myself and lost.

I got in a knife fight with myself and lost.

It was a bad start to the trip and made my right hand useless for a few days. I had the last opportunity for days to head home right after that, but instead decided to stay. By evening, we had covered the roof of the hospital with giant tarpaulins. Thankfully, we covered the roof because it rained very hard that night and we got soaked in our campsite. Actually, it rained hard every night. We were pretty much soaked in our camp just outside the hospital the whole time each and every night.

Setting up Camp outside Baganga Hospital.

Setting up Camp outside Baganga Hospital.

As I checked the hospital after the lights were installed and the roof was covered, I noticed that only two of the babies I prayed for stayed there that night. No one from the medical staff had released the other babies, but the parents took them out of there on their own accord. I didn’t hear any reports, but I can only hope that they were healed after I prayed for them and they didn’t need hospitalization any more.

Babies on IVs sleeping on tables (no beds) with no roof on the hospital.

Babies on IVs sleeping on tables (no beds) with no roof on the Baganga hospital.

The next few days, the medical team went out with the Philippine Army to remote communities to treat wounded people. They were treating about 70 to 100 people per day with some serious untreated wounds from the storm.

Philippine Army Truck carrying our team.

Philippine Army Truck carrying our team.

One man had his ear cut off during the storm and needed emergency transportation to get help. We used our private team vehicle (a very simple SUV) as an ambulance for these cases. One of the worst cases was a man who stepped on two rusty nails in the debris and his untreated foot was terribly infected. Our team took him to a better medical facility where he likely had to have his foot amputated. We provided emergency medical transportation at all hours of day and night up until a few hours before I left. The last night I was there, I heard about 3am, “The baby’s not breathing! We need to transport it to Cateel.” It’s about a 40 minute drive to Cateel hospital, but unlike the Baganga clinic, they had oxygen there, so our camp woke up to facilitate the transport. Thankfully, we got the baby to Cateel in time to stabilize its breathing along with some other patients that needed better care. I am certain that these “ambulance” trips saved many lives during our time there.

With a mix of natural help and spiritual help, we were able to save lives and change lives. As a team, we kept our camp running for two weeks straight with teams rotating in and out for 4 to 5 day rotations. We even had a team stay over Christmas sacrificing time away families to help people in need.

We had to cross the river with this bamboo raft because the bridge was washed out.

We had to cross the river with this bamboo raft because the bridge was washed out.

This effort was made up of many ministries and agencies working together in unity to make a difference. Extreme Mercy International teamed up with Global Impact Foundation, Stitch of Truth Gear, First Responders International, and Mercy Maternity Clinic.

Happy Kids in Baganga. One of them had his grandma die in the storm.

Happy Kids in Baganga. One of them had his grandma die in the storm.

What is next?

During the course of our interactions with the locals and hearing their stories, we came across a heartbreaking story. Our team met a pastor whose wife was killed in the storm. This family lost everything and are still holding services in a roofless church and ministering to people in need when they need ministry themselves.

The pastor (far right) lost his wife in the storm and is sitting with his daughter and grandson. We are going to roof this church. Will you help us?

The pastor (far right) lost his wife in the storm. We are going to roof this church. Will you help us?

We have decided to take on the project of roofing this church. It will cost us about 2,000 US dollars to buy the materials. Our team and the church will do the volunteer labor. This roof will span the church and parsonage and keep this grieving family dry and provide shelter for their services. It will also serve a dual purpose as headquarters and a superior shelter for our teams when we stay in Baganga. Even though the rescue stage is over, we intend to help these communities recover. We intend to keep going back and helping these people as long as we can.

Will you please donate to help put a roof on this church?

If you would like to support us through the mail, please send your checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders to:

Extreme Mercy International
P.O. Box 72266
Phoenix, Arizona 85050
U.S.A.

We are also looking for a good vehicle with good clearance to make the rough road 700km (435 miles) round trip to Baganga and back. The vehicles we have been looking at will cost anywhere from 5,000 to 7,500 US dollars and will be used for recovery efforts now and rescue teams in the future.

Will you please consider starting out the new year as a hero by helping us change lives?

Cateel is 90% destroyed. People are dying and need your help.

Cateel Destroyed

I just got back from Cateel and cannot put into words the devastation I saw there. This is a community of 28,000 people. The entire town is destroyed. There are no buildings with roofs left on them. I’m guessing that 80% of the homes are destroyed and what buildings are left have no roofs! There is no water, no electricity, no communication. All of the cell phone towers and utility poles are snapped like twigs.

Cateel, Davao Oriental

The hospital was stripped from the inside out and there is no roof left. When we arrived, there was only one doctor in the whole town and she was working in the hospital. Her house was mostly destroyed and she was working non-stop in a hospital devoid of even basic supplies. Patients are lying on wooden benches and there is no medicine available. Even the hospital beds were blown out of the building into the unknown. I was honored to help drive the midwives and nurses from Mercy Maternity Clinic into this disaster area. The doctor was so thankful to have some help that she cried.

The Cateel Hospital with no roof!

The Cateel Hospital with no roof!

The smell of dead bodies permeates from the rubble that was once homes. The churches are destroyed beyond recognition. When we arrived, it was only four days since the category 5 storm annihilated this town. The government school where the people went to evacuate and wait out the storm was totally destroyed. The official death toll from Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) is now 902 with 635 missing.

During our first trip, we had 40 people with us and we helped support the hospital with medics and supplies. We did children’s ministry including a worship concert and a movie (with a projector and big sheet). We cut and folded tarpaulins late into the night to provide shelter for people.

Tarpaulins

I made the mistake of sleeping in one of the vehicles. At about 2am, my teammate Manny woke we up and kicked me out of my “bedroom” because a little girl was born and he needed to drive the father to get some things for her. I was happy to hear the news, but groggily and homelessly walked over to one of the other vehicles with my backpack. After a couple of minutes, I saw one of the midwives groping in the dark looking for hot water. I helped her find some and carried it into the hospital where I got to see the new little girl and another woman in difficult labor. After feeling useful again, I made my way back to the basketball court where I found Manny’s bed and went to sleep. A few minutes later, Manny returned, woke me up, and I moved back into the Toyota FX.

At about 3:30am my teammate Dan woke me up to pray for an expectant mother in labor and things were going poorly. The laboring woman was already wounded from the storm and too tired to push anymore. We prayed for about 30 minutes when the downcast midwife came out to us and told us that she could not find any heart tones on the baby and the baby was probably dead. It was quite upsetting to hear this and I finally went to sleep on the basketball court. Shortly after I woke up, I heard that they had found the baby’s heartbeat and that the mother was pushing again! Her little boy was born shortly after that! He was weak and floppy, but he recovered and was healthy. That was such a great miracle. Praise God!

The Mercy Maternity Clinic Midwives and Medical Team.

The Mercy Maternity Clinic Midwives and Medical Team.

The next day, we went to the town hall and sorted and loaded relief goods (80 pound bags) into dump trucks and any vehicle we could find for the Army to distribute.

Typhoon Bopha Relief Goods

Before we left we swept through the hospital counseling and praying for people. I have to say that this was the hardest thing that I did the whole time. There were two little babies there who survived the storm convulsing with every breath because they nearly drowned during the storm. I prayed for them and one seemed to be improving as I prayed. As a new father I could not imagine the grief and difficulty these parents must be going through. It makes me cry as I type this. I also prayed for many children who were hospitalized with diarrhea from drinking the water. I just heard yesterday that one child died from the same symptoms. I cannot explain the grief that I am feeling, but I cannot stay away from helping these people.

Cateel Damage

We are going back right now for our second trip into this devastated area. It is a 8 hour drive over terrible roads to get there. We will arrive 10 days after the storm, this time with the sole purpose of setting up camp and ministering at the hospital and supporting the medical volunteers. The plan is to help the ministries we are partnering with (Global Impact and Mercy Maternity Clinic) to establish a full time camp rotating volunteers in and out of here for the next 6 months to a year funds permitting.

Cateel

We will be bringing donated generators, medical supplies, and transporting more medics over the next 24 hours. We plan to stay in this area for 4 or 5 days and come home well before Christmas, spend time with our families, and go back again within a week, God willing. Please pray for us as the roads are quite treacherous and the conditions are worsening on the ground. Please also consider giving to help us. Your financial gifts can literally save lives during this crucial time.

We can receive one time donations for any amount simply by having you click this button and pay with your credit card or PayPal account.

If you would like to support us through the mail, please send your checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders to:

Extreme Mercy International
P.O. Box 72266
Phoenix, Arizona 85050
U.S.A.

 Thank you and God bless you,

Matthew Triggs
Executive Director
Extreme Mercy International