My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines. Before I left for church today, I read about the disaster in the Philippines this weekend as a deadly Typhoon Fengshen unleashed strong winds and heavy rains that caused great destruction, leaving tens of thousands stranded on rooftops. The death toll is high and the the fate of the passengers on the ferry that capsized remains unknown.I received a text message yesterday from my friend and client, Pastor David Sumrall or the Cathedral of Praise telling me that they had been without power for the past 14 hours. Water in the streets is many feet deep.

I have grown attached to the people of Manila as I had the opportunity to serve them last year as I delivered an eProductivity conference. The people I met are resiliant and have a strong sense of community and service, even in the midst of trials and storms. (Seems like we are all in storms these days... How's your faith?). In all, I know that God is in charge and our faith remains unshaken even though the storms rage around us. Life is precious and we do not know how long our time on earth will last.

My prayers go out to the people of the Philippines and the COP community and those affected by this Typhoon. I'm sure that as things stabilize, Pastor Sumrall and his staff will organize opportunities to minister to those in need and I pray, too, that this will be a time of great testimony as people experience God's love through the service of the COP community.

Discussion/Comments (4):

Disaster in the Philippines; life is precious

I find it somewhat ironic that a typhoon in the Philippines which kills a few hundred people would warrant a comment while the much more devistating typhoon that struck Burmah on May 2nd, which killed over 22,000 people and has left 2.4 million people homeless doesn't even get a mention. I hope this has nothing to do with the fact that about 85% of the Philippines is Christian and 89% of the Burmese population is Buddhist.

Posted at 06/22/2008 23:31:58 by Ian Randall


re: Disaster in the Philippines; life is precious

Thank you for your comment, Ian. You raise a valid point. Both are tragic events and both are worthy of blog posts. I have not blogged about the recent weather disasters in my home country either. The only reason this one came up for me is that I had a recent experience in the Philippines and I was in the process of working with COP this past week -- so the connection is more real than a country I have not yet had the opportunity to visit. The tragic loss of home and life is great in both countries (or even here in the United States, for that matter). Religion had nothing to do with the post, other than as expressed as an opportunity to serve. All of the people affected are precious in God's eyes.

Posted at 06/22/2008 23:45:38 by Eric Mack


My Two Cents

Ian, I'd like to throw my two cents into the ring. As you may have read in previous blogs, Eric hasn't been visiting news websites for some time. While I do, and often mention events to him, the Philippine tragedy was real to him, as he was unable to communicate with clients he had just been speaking with the day prior. Thus, he learned about the tragedy from people who were living through it. He had recently visited the country and could visualize what was being described to him. I'm not quite sure how you could jump to the conclusion that religion is a factor here. In fact, we have supported relief agencies who are helping those suffering from the May typhoon. We did not ask the religious affiliation of the victims prior to doing so. So, there are the two cents from a wife protecting her husband's integrity - which is quite high and off the charts.

Posted at 06/23/2008 23:03:10 by Kathy mack


Disaster in the Philippines; life is precious

Hi Ian, you just don't understand Eric's relationship with the people here in Manila (specifically with the COP people). Don't be quick to judge...He is just expressing his concern to the people whom he had the opportunity to minister last year. He is a very good friend and he has been a great blessing to us here...This is not about religion, its about relationship...

Hi eric/kathy, thanks for your prayers. God is a faithful God. He will restore two-fold what has been destroyed. God bless your family always....

Posted at 07/21/2008 7:53:27 by jo



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