haiyan

Even in storm-ravaged Tacloban, discipleship does not stop.

A few months after typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) hit the Visayas region, leaders and members from our church in Ortigas visited Tacloban to give running shoes away to students from Eastern Visayas State University. They also conducted running and basketball clinics for these university students.

Ehgie attended the basketball clinic, where he met Kix, the lone campus minister serving full-time in Victory Tacloban. Ehgie was EVSU’s soccer team captain. He, like many others, was one of those affected by the typhoon that ravaged their city.

Kix engaged Ehgie over a game of Monopoly Deal and invited him to a Victory group. Ehgie brought two of his teammates along, and the three of them are now being discipled in a small group setting.

Ehgie is now going through the ONE 2 ONE booklet with Kix. “He’s decided to follow Jesus for the rest of his life,” Kix shares. “I also encouraged Ehgie that he can do ONE 2 ONE with his teammates, too.” True enough, Ehgie is now doing ONE 2 ONE with the two friends he’s invited to Victory group!

Ehgie (right) is excited about his ONE 2 ONE session! Photo by Kix Javier

Ehgie’s decision to follow Jesus for the rest of his life is not only impacting his life, and that of his family’s. It is a decision that will affect his campus and his city, and eventually the nation and the world.

Truly, discipleship is not just about us, or the circumstances surrounding us. It’s about advancing God’s kingdom, one person at a time.

Victory would like to thank all our cash donors who gave to our Typhoon Yolanda (international code name: Haiyan) relief efforts. Your support will go a long way in rehabilitating communities affected by the typhoon.

You’re giving to rebuild homes. Last January 14, we donated PHP 3,000,000 to the #Rebuild campaign of relief organization Habitat for Humanity. These funds will be used for Shelter Repair Kits, which will be equally distributed between Tacloban and northern Cebu, two areas hard-hit by typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

(L-R) Victory Fort Bonifacio Executive Pastor Paolo Punzalan, Victory Philippines Bishop Juray Mora, Habitat for Humanity Philippines CEO & Managing Director Charlie Ayco, and Bong Recio, Chair of Habitat for Humanity Philippines Board of Trustees, sign the Memorandum of Agreement between Victory and Habitat for Humanity Philippines.

You’re giving to rebuild campuses. Victory also donated another PHP 600,000 to the University of the Philippines – Tacloban. These funds, which donors gave during the church’s Christmas Eve service, will go to the construction of student dorm housing. Tim Fischer, a German architecture designer who attends our church, will design the new dorm facilities. We have also allotted funds for the purchase of computers for UP – Tacloban.

You’re giving to rebuild educations. More than 50 Tacloban students who study at the University of the Philippines’ Tacloban and Iloilo campuses lost homes and belongings during the typhoon. We have extended them help, and partnered with Alphacrest Foundation to support 24 of these students’ academic and living needs for the rest of the school year.

You’re giving to rebuild lives. The Asian Theological Seminary’s trauma counseling program trains and sends counselors to trauma victims to help them process their experience. We have deployed 200 counselors through this program to typhoon-affected areas to counsel victims struggling emotionally with their experience. These counselors work in a gospel component, so that counselees leave with a stronger understanding of and faith in God.

You’re giving to rebuild families. Over the past few months, members of our church in Tacloban received funds to help rebuild their homes. Several are students whose families have not joined them at our Tacloban church services. Your gifts have helped open doors for these students to invite their families to church, and today, many of them now attend our Tacloban church services. Discipleship efforts are now starting to take place.

On behalf of Victory Philippines, thank you for responding to the urgent need of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. May He bless you immensely!

Going Forward: Discipleship in Tacloban

[Yolanda Update] Thank you for helping #Rebuild