One of my big takeaways from my time is that leadership matters. I already knew that as I find myself as a leadership studies professor at a graduate school and seminary – but sometimes you see things with increasing clarity and crisis situations like this tend to expose leaders for who they are.

Over the few days in Mayorga and Leyte I was exposed to great leadership by people who have earned the trust of their people and who serve well – and many were IGSL graduates!

In other posts you saw the Mayor and some of the government who are giving timely leadership. The Mayor is doing a great job bringing the right people around him and around Mayorga – but it’s clearly done with an authentic humility and a commitment to serve and lead people to a better place that lifts them up AND honors God.

But we served side by side with a few IGSL graduates that really got me excited about what we’re doing here at IGSL.  Pastor Danny (in red below) is one of the key players in mobilizing our church partnership as he’s a pastor at a large megachurch here in Manila that had the resources to provide the domestic relief kits.  He went with us and it was a privilege to see his leadership both of his own people from his church as well as in the community where he was able to preach the gospel several times.

He and I at one point ended up being able to talk to one of the councilmen about the gospel and about the difference between a religion about Jesus and a relationship with Jesus. Danny graduated IGSL in 2012 and he continues to have a great ministry both in Manila and now in Mayorga.

Loy is also an IGSL graduate from 2012, a classmate of Danny’s (above).  He is pastoring in a different part of Manila (tando sp?). But I was as impressed with him as he connected with different communities in Mayorga and communicated the gospel, but not in a performance based way given that we were holding a lot of things they wanted. Both Danny and Loy communicated great honor and respect and connected with the people. It was a joy to see and some people did come to Christ and some made commitments to repent and again turn back to Jesus as the Lord of their lives.

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Gerri is also an IGSL grad from a couple years ago.  After being released from prison (where he was discipled and ministered to by IGSL students at the time who visited the prison), he got to know the school and eventually applied to study here.  He continues to give great leadership to our military ministry and much of our relief efforts as well.

This in addition to my friend and fellow professor and Phil. CCC staff Neil and IGSL’s President Tom who I’ve seen lead with commitment, dependence on the Lord, and great vision for what God can do.

These experiences have been a blessing to me. I am blessed to serve, but so encouraged that through serving and going I was given such vision and motivation for what God has called Christine and I to here at IGSL in Manila for however long he leads us to be here.  It’s so motivating to raise up Christ-dependent, servant leaders who have the character and skills to minister widely and deeply to their own people.

I’m excited that we’re all a part, you and us, in raising up leaders like that throughout all of the Philippines and the whole of Asia.

Here’s our IGSL team! (the guy on the left and the guy in the middle are graduates and the other 3 of us are faculty)

The most uplifting experience of the time was being able to experience the Mayorga town Christmas party at the town square.  It’s the only place with electricity and every night people come their to charge their cell phones in the town square area that has some outlets.  Our last night there, there were many more people there!
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We were late to the party because we were trying to finish the last 2 Barangay’s and giving out the kits and finishing what we came to do. But when we returned, the party was in motion and the energy was high.  Our teams received huge cheers and it was incredibly encouraging after working for over 12 hours.

More inspirational, they turned Christmas lights on for the first time in Mayorga which gave everyone a boost. A band from the Military battalion provided the entertainment and it was such a fun time.

It was evangelistic as well. Before we got there I was told 3000 Bibles were passed out and there was a message of encouragement! I was sad I missed that, but it was a great time.  If any of us were struggling to get into the Christmas spirit, I tell you we were cured of that quickly!

Most telling of the Spirit of the community is this big billboard in front of the city hall (see above). There is leadership being given from several sources to point people to Christ. Pray that this continues!

By far the most powerful experience of the trip is getting face to face with the people affected by Typhoon Yolanda.  We had 3000 back to school kits we gave to many of the children of Mayorga and the 2000 domestic and home rebuilding kits we gave to households so they could rebuild their homes and have needed supplies to cook and keep food on the table.

You may have seen on the news, people referring to the resilient spirit of the Filipinos. It’s amazing how many smiles I saw – it’s a tremendous part of the culture here in the face of loss and trials.  But make no mistake, it’s been a painful and devastating experience for so many and there is much needed to help them rebuild their lives.

Handout out the school kits was easily the most fun because the kids were great and excited and thankful and having a great time.  School buildings are still in bad shape so one of the next things is to help restore school roofs and provide for school clothes, but for now the parents and kids are so thankful the kids were exhorted to continue to place a high value on education while helping them be preparing for when the school doors open after the holidays.

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Giving out the domestic and house repair kits was a more emotional experience. Some people were visibly moved emotionally. One woman I saw broke down when her name was called to come and get a kit.  These were the most humbling moments when you were handing something to another family that they gave them so much hope and could offer a reminder that God loves them and is providing for them. It was moving and I was honored to be able to just be present in some of these moments.

It was hard work in the heat and humidity assembling all the kits, but handing them out made you forget all about the weather and work.  Over the course of 2 days, our team with a church we partnered with made it to ALL 16 districts or Barangays in Mayorga to deliver relief kits to either households or children while praying for people and in several locations being able to give the message of hope in Christ and the gospel.

I appreciated the way people were ministering in that it was very respectful and honoring of these people and what they have gone through.  We got to partner with great people including some Campus Crusade for Christ mission teams comprised of doctors and health professionals and other medical and relief organizations (see picture below).

It really would be true that the Military ministered to us just as much, if not more, than we ministered to them.  Under Col. Bahao’s leadership they hosted us for a couple nights and provided several meals and lodging. They also provided security and more relief manpower as we were traveling all around Mayorga to different districts doing relief work and ministering among the communities. An amazing blessing.

Col. Bahao came to know the Lord almost 30 years ago as a cadet through IGSL’s president Tom Roxas who you have seen pictures of.  We were able to be a part of a promotion ceremony for 4 of his men, and more so – we even participated in different ways!  Kuya Tom gave a brief message that was powerful on the issues of forgiveness and grace, but the most powerful part was another member of our team Gerri (below in blue) who gave his testimony.

I’ll have to dedicate another update to Gerri’s story because it’s amazing and so powerful, but the short of it is he was a Captain in the Philippine Army and he helped lead an attempted coup of the government about 10 years ago. He was sentenced to live in prison and served 5 years before the President pardoned him after he surrendered to the Lord and showed evidence of being a changed person. Now he’s part of the IGSL faculty helping lead our ministry to the military and government sectors of society! Incredible witness to the love and power of God – and extra powerful to these soldiers because they all know who he is because he is that well known.

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I had the privilege of praying a blessing over the battalion and it was a joy to do because this group endured the typhoon and has been on the ground since day 1 serving the people in so many ways.  And they blessed us so much. But they are tired and are not often thanked.  It was a blessing to encourage them as they were also serving us.

Two weeks after, my friend and colleague Neil (pictured below in the grey) began mobilizing relief efforts from IGSL to Mayorga and another city in Eastern Samar. Through an IGSL graduate who now works in the humanitarian/relief sector of the government and who is now involved in leading some of the relief efforts in the Visayas region of the Philippines, it was decided to pick a hard hit area by the Typhoon, but an area that was not getting a lot of media hype or immediate international aid.

Within 2 weeks of Yolanda we sent several thousand relief kits of primarily food and water for Yolanda survivors. When Neil and the team arrived, things were desperate as no international aid yet reached Mayorga so IGSL’s relief made a significant impact in that it provided for basic survival needs at a time where that was what was needed.  But meeting basic needs wasn’t the only result of our timely delivery of relief goods!

Significant partnerships were started with great trust and freedom.

Pictured with Neil below, behind the desk, is the Mayor of Mayorga. Through his leadership only 4 out of 16,000 died in Yolanda – and the four that died resisted the mandatory evacuation that the Mayor called for.  Now the Mayor is leading towards mobilizing various organizations from different sectors of society to join together to “Buhat Mayorga” or “Lift Mayorga.”

The first morning we were in Mayorga, we attended and our President of IGSL Tom Roxas participated in an official partnership signing ceremony along with a Philippines Senator, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, the local Colonel of the Philippine Army battalion stationed nearby (more on him later) and several businesses and ngo’s and relief organizations. (See picture below)   It actually is pretty incredible the way some of these organizations have come together.

During the ceremony, our President Tom Roxas addressed the crowd and gave a message of hope (see below). But most notably he quoted Psalms 127:1 in the context of the rebuilding effort that “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” It was a powerful word with great perspective as so much energy is starting to move towards re-building.

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After the ceremony, the Senator asked who Tom was and mentioned that this is the kind of leadership needed to help lead a community in rebuilding both the structures and buildings in addition to their overall lives. She mentioned the need for leadership focused on the external issues (houses, food, jobs), but that much leadership is needed that is focused on the hearts and souls of the people.

At the ceremony, the Mayor himself testified that the typhoon was the scariest event of their lives and they wondered if they would survive. It declared that they all have been given second lives and that the community needs to turn back again to God and take the opportunity to rebuild Mayorga not just structurally, but as a God dependent community. It was powerful.  Our prayer has been that God would use IGSL leadership to encourage and empower the Mayor and that there would continue to be open doors to serve the community well both physically and spiritually.

 One of the parts of the partnership ceremony most touching was that they had representatives of the communities coconut farmers. The government made a commitment to providing coconut seedlings and other supplies to help them rebuild their economy and their livelihoods.  The devastation is going to impact this community for a while, but as they get to work, in a few years God willing they will begin to see the fruit of their labor.

 There is a wonderful spirit of unity among the organizations working in this part of Leyte to minister to the people and help rebuild the city. Please continue to pray for all the leadership involved and that, indeed, the Lord builds the house!

It’s hard to capture first impressions of Leyte after Typhoon Yolanda.  I’m still looking for words, because words and even pictures don’t do the situation justice.  I and my IGSL teammates flew into Tacloban City airport at about 7am in the morning on the 16th and you can’t help but start to notice the impact and devastation of the Typhoon.

In some ways any description I would offer of life in the Yolanda ravaged areas of Leyte mirror the airport – totally ravaged and destroyed, yet somehow it’s working and things are slowly, very slowly, getting restored.  The picture below is of the Tacloban City airport – it’s now boarded up, but it’s technology free.  Baggage claim is pretty much guys bringing in a truck and holding up bags and asking, “Who’s is this?”  And ticketing is all done manually too.

Driving through Tacloban on the way to Mayorga was a bit of a shock.  It felt worse than CNN and other coverage because in every direction the devastation was the same, extending as far as the eye could see.  Half the coconut trees were snapped in half or completely uprooted and I would say close to 90% of structures had their roofs completely destroyed or significantly damaged.

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 Really through the experience, I was constantly trying to wrap my mind around the scope of the destruction. Mile after mile, house after house – the same images.

The contrast came to my mind the first day of what it means to walk by faith versus walk by sight.  My sight during these days made me despair and tempted me to lose hope and be crushed in spirit. For simply, I had never seen anything like it and it’s hard to imagine fully restored communities.  Yet my two days were a great reminder of what it means to walk by faith in the midst of despair and struggle. God is at work in some powerful ways and I was blessed to experience some of that and be reminded how Christ is the hope of the world.

I’ll be posted on some of the highlights of the trip to Mayorga, a municipality of 16 districts (Barangays) about an hour and a half south of Tacloban City.  If you were praying for our trip – thank you!

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Brian & Christine