On December 16, 2021, Cyclone Odette swept across the Philippines with wind speeds of up to 260 km/h (160 mph), claiming more than 400 lives. According to the UN, 13 million people have been affected. For us, a family with three children, this storm was a disaster. It was much stronger than we had expected and destroyed thousands of houses, including ours.
I work with the relief organization “Merimna Ministries International Church Inc.” I do not receive a salary for this work, as a family we trust God to provide for us. The loss of our house due to Cyclone Odette was a big blow to us. Since our house had often been flooded during previous storms, before this storm hit we moved our most important belongings to a neighbor’s house which is situated in a better location. Never before had we experienced a storm like this. It tore off the roof and the masses of water destroyed the walls. It was just terrible. But we thank God that we survived as a family.
My wife uploaded the pictures of our devastated home on Facebook and asked for help. Pastor Delia saw the pictures and told us that she could help thanks to funds from Helimission in Switzerland. Now we can rebuild the walls of our house with cement so that it will give us shelter in future storms. My wife and I have been praying for a house like this for decades. The joy in our hearts at this gift from God knows no bounds!
Peter
