I don't know quite where to start but Nov. 8th - Nov. 11th had to be the most difficult trying days I have ever been through. My brother Justin is serving a mission in the Tacloban Philippines Mission. He has been out for about 9 months. On Thursday morning we found out that a Typhoon was going to be hitting Leyte (the island he was on). At first we didn't know much more than that, but as news developed we learned this was going to be a Super Typhoon, in fact, the biggest ever recorded storm ever to make landfall. The more we learned the more concerned and scared we all became. It was comparable to a category five tornado/hurricane with wind speeds over 250 mph. Justin was serving in an area called Abuyog. It was about 30 miles south of Tacloban and was right on the coast. In fact, this town was projected to be where the eye of the storm would hit. Thursday I watched a satellite picture that updated every 30 minutes. I watched as the eye of the storm went over his city. During that time my parents were at the best place they could be for him...at the Temple. They had a reassuring feeling that everything was ok...little did they know they would need to remember that feeling for the next 3-4 days. It would prove to be a trying time for our family.
Friday night and Saturday were awful, just waiting to find out any information at all. I am not sure the time-line of events after that, but basically we had heard that almost all missionaries were accounted for except the Tacloban mission. That was hard to hear, but worse was when we heard all missionaries were accounted for except 72, Justin being one of them. They were trying everything possible to make contact with his area. They eventually informed my mom they were flying in helicopters. Sunday was awful, all of us were in tears and so upset about not knowing if he was alive or okay or hurt. We have never prayed so much before and we fasted Sunday. Finally Sunday at midnight my mom got a call saying that Justin was accounted for and safe. It was relief, but not enough.
Monday morning my brother called my parents. My mom called me and my sister shortly after and in tears she recounted to us his story. It was awful and so sad. He had been through so much. We all cried to hear all that had happened. Basically they had had to hold their door shut from the wind, it was starting to tear it off the hinges. They lost almost everything because they had to leave. They headed towards Tacloban a few days after the storm realizing they couldn't stay there, and no one was coming. By a miracle they made it on an American helicopter. A soldier who was Mormon took care of all of them and they made it out. His story is incredible and you can read the whole thing that he wrote in an email. Me and my family have never been so grateful in our lives to hear such good news. I had the chance to talk to him on Tuesday evening. He sounded a little better and it was so good to hear his voice. He has been reassigned to the Cebu mission as Tacloban is unlivable right now. We are so eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father who protected him and all the missionaries. The devastation there is horrific and it is so sad to see all the people suffering and that died. They have lost everything. It truly humbles you and we continue to pray for the people over there. We are so grateful this awful event is over and ready to move on with life.
Phillippines before the Typhoon
After:
The soldier who was these missionaries miracle.
We love you Justin!
No comments:
Post a Comment