Hope For The Island

Category: Weather

  • Typhoon Ruby Outreach

    From Derek:
    Thank you all for keeping the Philippines in prayer with the latest super typhoon hitting our shores! We have learned our lesson to prepare for the worst because these weather systems can shift unexpectedly.

    Thankfully we did not encounter any damage at Hope for the Island because we are just south of where it made landfall. The wind barriers held up well at the farm and only a few plants were lost. At our main compound 40 foot waves were breaking along the reefs. On the high tide, swell surged over the reef and came up into the property approximately 25 meters to the volleyball court but there was no damage.

    Sadly, this was not the case in a village 20 minutes north of us. Four tsunami type waves surged into this village causing extensive damage and completely wiping out 30 homes together with all of their personal belongings.

    The ocean surges carried boats all the way to the national road 300 meters from the beach. Thankfully, most people heeded the warning to evacuate so there was no loss of life! Those that did stay in their homes almost drowned but were able to swim with the current and made it safely to high ground.

    Yesterday we went into the village to spend time loving on the kids and listening to the stories of the people. We brought 3 boxes of clothing and dehydrated vegetables to give to those households most affected. It was incredible to see everyone in the community working together to clean up the debris. They were trying to salvage pieces of wood and any scraps that could be used to rebuild a shelter. A Pastor friend that serves in this community accompanied us. His church is housing many families who lost everything. (more…)

  • Typhoon Consequences

    Typhoon Consequences

    For many weeks now, our staff have been unable to travel to remote areas because of the weather. This hindered our essential weekly follow up visits to the malnourished children we feed. Thankfully we were able to provide ample food to them before the storms rolled in.

    During our latest visit we were saddened to hear the extent of what many families had endured. Boats used by their community for fishing were destroyed and many areas are still impassable by motorcycle because of landslides.

    We learned that the daily meal we provide for one of the children had to be rationed by all. Most of those we feed did not show any progress in overall health or weight as a result. Under normal circumstances, we are firm that the food is designated strictly for the child in need. This was an exception; we affirmed their decision to share provisions.  Replenishing the daily food supply for these kids was timely.  (more…)

  • Once Again

     

    With over a week of no communication, we here in Canada suspected that yet another storm had hit Hope for the Island. We received this update from Derek.

    Although not getting the international media attention of a super typhoon, we just experienced more than three weeks of very strong winds and non- stop torrential rains. We were unable to communicate because electrical lines and the tower used for cell phones and Internet was down.

    Tropical Depression “Agaton” moved very slow and covered a large area spanning the entire Visayas and Mindanao regions. Winds were steady and directly hit us at 65 km/hr. from the north. Rainy season is generally hard, but nearly a month of that weather felt unbearable at times.

    Absolutely everything was wet! Even the walls inside our buildings looked like we threw buckets of water on them. We had to mop floors in our home every hour to prevent flooding. All trees were stripped of leaves and branches. Roofs and walls of simple structures were damaged.   Before we were able to finish all the repairs at our farm, we were again facing flooding and wind damage estimated to be around $600 USD. Neighboring rice farms have extensive damage with most losing their entire rice crop due to flooding.
     (more…)

  • Typhoon Haiyan

      We ask you to continue to remember those in the Philippines who are trying to rebuild their lives. We are thankful we were able to serve them and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

     

     

  • A Christmas to Remember

    As many of you know, we in the Philippines have just endured one of the strongest typhoons to date. Typhoon Bopha (locally known as Pablo) was on track to wipe out our island. This category 4 typhoon came with 220+ km/hr. winds and rain with huge ocean surges.

    (more…)