In the wake of typhoon Yolanda bringing destruction to the Leyte city of Tacloban, Kix Javier felt a strong urge to take part in helping the fallen city.

“Even before I went there,” he says, “something was tugging at my heart.”

Five days after the storm hit, he flew to Tacloban from Manila. He was a few weeks shy of graduating from the Every Nation School of Campus Ministry, where he was training to be a campus missionary under Victory Tacloban.

Kix collaborated with Victory churches spearheading relief and rehabilitation efforts in the area, even sleeping at the airport to properly receive the goods being sent to church members affected by the typhoon. He also assisted Tacloban’s city government, offering aid to government employees who lost homes, possessions, and even loved ones.

“During the first few days,” he says, “they were also victims.”

The whole time Kix was in Tacloban post-Yolanda, mobility and transportation posed a challenge in accounting for church members and distributing relief goods. “Some of the roads weren’t clear (because of debris),” he explains. While some of Victory Tacloban’s church members sought refuge in Pastor Eugene Ramirez’s home, Kix chose to travel by motorcycle to visit and account for members who couldn’t leave their homes. All in all, the Victory Tacloban team was able to account for sixty-six church members, including Nessa Gardiola, another incoming campus missionary.

Kix flew back to Manila to attend his graduation from the School of Campus Ministry on November 28. He was chosen to deliver a speech during the commencement exercises.

“Loving God and loving others became more real in my life,” he shared of his Tacloban experience in his speech. “Christianity is not confined in the four corners of the church, but in the places where the gospel is needed.”

What’s next for Kix, and Tacloban? Kix has a stronger resolve to share the gospel in the campuses in Tacloban. “There is an even greater storm coming,” he says, “and that is the storm of the gospel.” To date, forty colleges and universities have been destroyed by Yolanda’s wrath, but there is no stopping Kix from being used by God to preach a message of faith, hope, and restoration in brokenness.