Helpless but not Hopeless!

Sunday Service was over, PEPSOL is over for this Sunday, Birthday celebration of almost September celebrants was over, and I we begin to take a rest for the whole day till night activities, I come to think what had transpired and what I heard from the testimonies of everyone that told their own stories during and after the onslaught of "Ondoy'":::>
According to report, there are 12 who died here in Angono and still 2 are missing.

"Its the peace of God that I experienced" one sister who first stood up and begin to tell her stories. Their house was neckdeep at the heights of Ondoy in Golden City Taytay, Rizal. She added that in some part according to their neighbors, the floodwater reached up to the roof of the subdivision. When the flood subsided, the mud that was left inside their house was "below the knee deep"[Binti]. All their appliances  were in dissarrayed and all destroyed. But you can see in her face and in her voice the peace of God that passess all understanding, {mas naiyak pa nga ako dahil sa aking nakitang strenght sa kanya}. She said that as she grows up, they get to used of flooding and rising of water from Laguna lake, but they are not get used to mudflows...She said all those material things are temporal... One thing that blessed me was, her testimonies that all her cell members came to the rescue and help them cleaned all the mess the Ondoy had left. Another thing was her journal did not get wet, and when she reviewed it she find strength. "Iba talaga ang may Cell Group at may journal" she concluded.

Another brother gave his stories when he was stranded in LifeHomes in Rosario,Pasig City. He said he spend overnight wet and chilling together with all other in the same ordeal. I still remembered her mother asked to prayed for him because he was not able to go home during the storm Ondoy. Her mother only got peace when she saw her son in the news on TV. 

"We saw the water rising in the creek, as we are eating our breakfast" one sister from Angono testified. Lets go out of our house her husband shouted and they all got out form the house when the water was still "binti deep" when they passed thru the street, it was breast deep. She said when the flood recided, their neighbor died of exhaustion of the whole day cleaning and taking out of the mud. "Ahh! Grabe talaga yon!, Namatay sa pagod kakalinis at sa kawalang pagasa" She said though we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with flood, the good thing was we are all fine together with our 3 children.

Lastly, the testimony of another brother who has a little store in Angono Public Market. He said he saw the quick rise of the water inside the market with matching current, and he said he dont know where the water is coming from. He said the Lord is good because he spared some of their merchandise. When he  was wading on the flood to go home and check his wife and daugther he sep on a manhole that want to suck him in but there was a bypasser that help him get out of that manhole.... He said "if Im not lucky I can not celebrated my birthday last September 26"

We are helpless when this kind of calamity strikes and when we are unprepared, but we are not hopeless because our God is our present help in time of troubles...there are many stories after Ondoy onslaught and it reminds us that as God is no respector of person in His saving Grace, calamities like flood is also no respector of persons, though its the less fortunate are always the one who suffers most and longer. During this calamity, I saw the best and the worst in our kababayans. There are those in spite that they are too experienced flooding themselves, but still they want to extends their hands for help,  and the worst was that, there are people who loots those houses that were flooded. Even some politicians want to make some "papogi" at the expense of the floods victims...Some politicians "sabotage" the situation so those who are in leadership looks "mahina" to his or her kababayans kasi malapit na elections......Ahh! truly our hopes is not in our poloticos but in Jesus alone!

I still remember the prayers we use to teach to our "two sons of whom I am well please" when they were still a kids and when we are still in the "island" now we are in mainland as we used to say! the prayer goes like this: its an old kinder prayer:
                               Before I lay me down to sleep,
                               I pray the Lord my soul to keep, 
                               And if I died, before I wake
                               I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Its hope and its peace that only comes from the Lord of all comfort who comforted us in all our afflictions. Don't lose hope, just hang in there, Keep it safe and keep it dry! GBU