In August 2013, Carlos & Josephine moved to the Philippines to continue the work of multiplying disciples. They had a wonderful and effective ministry in Tasmania, but God had called them to move to this new place. They started new groups and were making wonderful headway in just a few weeks, having baptised 12 people in October. But tragedy struck the central part of their country as Typhoon Haiyan wiped out their city on 7 November. The following is the first report from Carlos & Josephine concerning their ordeal (a version of this story appeared in the Mercury [Hobart, Tasmania] newspaper).
When the storm first hit there was an incredible down pouring of rain, really heavy that it sounded like a waterfall, then the storm started properly. There was thunder and lightning and then there came the wind. The wind was like nothing I have ever experienced; trees were snapped and travelled one hundred and two hundred meters through the air. A big tree went past our house and crashed through a concrete wall that separated our house and the one behind. It crashed through the reinforced concrete wall like it was made of Lego blocks. Our house was shaking. There were 18 people in our house that night because a family of four girls and another of two boys and a girl didn’t feel safe in their house which was right on the waterfront at San Jose. As it turned out, their house was destroyed; their father, uncle and grandfather were all killed.
Then right at the height of the storm, water started flooding into our house under the front and back doors. Within minutes the water rose to about ten or twelve feet. We managed to grab a bag of rice and some medicine, and we pushed everyone up into the roof space. Josephine and I stayed down in the water, and lucky we did, because our little 5-year-old grand-daughter leaned on a loose piece of ceiling and crashed through it into the water beside where Jo was standing. Jo pulled her out and pushed her back up into the roof. The water was rising and you could smell sewerage.
On every window there are iron bars, so in effect we were locked in once the water got to the top of the doors. Jo and I prayed to the living God to have mercy on us and spare our lives. We thought we were going to die. For another twenty minutes, the storm raged and then the water started to recede. We saw the water fall away and we were all crying for joy that we had survived. The water took about two hours to recede, and it was then that we realized that we had been hit with a tidal wave. I thought it was from the rain at first. When the water had left the house, we were left with about five inches of mud on the floors and mud was everywhere. When we went outside, we saw that everything was gone.
In San Jose, there were only about five houses that stood, and ours was one of them. It was difficult to comprehend, as the entire landscape had changed. I am amazed that our house stood firm. We didn’t even lose a sheet of iron off the roof. When we were inside, the water rose to around ten feet but I could see that the water outside was much higher and just for about twenty minutes we were preserved in an airspace between the water inside and the ceiling. If the windows had broken like I surely thought they would, I know we would have perished. Why we were saved, or how we were saved, God only knows.
We were fortunate to have a fresh water well in the yard, and with a bag of rice and well water we started to survive in a place where you could smell dead bodies. Body after body was being carried up from the waterfront. We lost count and then it started to dawn on us that the destruction was massive and widespread. We sent our boys out to look for food, and when they came back we couldn’t believe what they were telling us. Piles of bodies on main corner blocks, shops being looted, ATMs being ransacked.
We worked for two days on drying our bedding out and freeing the car from under a concrete wall which had fallen on it. We wanted to get the petrol out of it for motorbikes, because there were no cars as they were all destroyed, and the roads were all blocked. During the first two or three days, we were determined to stay–but it became increasingly obvious that things were going from bad to worse. It was very strange the first night after the storm as there was still intermittent rains and lightnings, and there were creakings and bangings and gunshots, but between it all there was deathly silence.
We decided to leave Tacloban Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday morning we set off to the airport in convoy. What we saw was like a war zone: there were bloated bodies everywhere. Some were popping open in the sun, the smell was really bad, and the whole place was just a tangled mess. At the airport there were thousands of people, and people were waiting for planes that were few and far between. Our family and church members gathered at the airport, and after waiting for six hours, a woman walked past me and said, “I’m from the American embassy, what nationality are you?” I said, “Australian.” She said, “We’ve got a plane leaving for Manila in one hour, you’re on it.”
Josephine and I went to where they were boarding, and Jo was crying about our grandchildren who we would have to leave behind. While we were waiting, Jo sent a message across to the other side of the airport to where the children were, and one by one she pulled them through a barrier and hid them in the crowd. We were able to escape to Manila with 7 young children: some ours, some not.
Now, we are in the process of trying to gather our family here in Manila to start again. At this time we have to cater for around 50 people, and we are relying on God to provide for us our provisions and needs. There is an elementary school at San Jose where there are around one thousand people trapped for lack of transport, and there is lawlessness going on in the streets.
Thank you, Carlos and Josephine Cruz
15 November, 2013
The most recent report from Carlos & Josephine is that they are doing well in their new location. They are getting back on track with TFT training and have a God-sized vision to reach many people by multiplying disciples. They wish to thank those who have supported them through prayer, encouragement, and financial gifts. We praise God that they have not only survived, but that they are passionate about moving forward for the Kingdom!
