What's In Store for the Philippines After Yolly

Looking back to my November posts, they're all about super typhoon Yolanda.  Oh, Yolly, why had you left so much infliction to mankind?! That is a very big question to all of us until now that already three weeks had passed.  But do you ever know that this widespread devastation comes with a great purpose?  Now let me share to you this short vid telling us that God had given us warning before He allowed such natural calamity to happen in our country.

                       

It is so frightening, right?  I know you have goosebumps in there!  Some of you may believe and some of you may not believe this.  But the bottom line is, God is calling us to turn back to Him again!  As what was written in the book of Hosea chapter two,

1 "Say of your brothers, 'My people,' and of your sisters, 'My loved one.'

2 "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. 3Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst. 4 I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery. 5 Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.' 6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. 7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first,for then I was better off than now.' 8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-- which they used for Baal.9 "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness. 10 So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands. 11 I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts. 12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. 13 I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the LORD. 14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. 16 "In that day," declares the LORD, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master. ' 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. 18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. 19 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. 20 I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. 21 "In that day I will respond," declares the LORD-- "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; 22 and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. 23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

the "she" or "her" that is referred to in the above chapter of Hosea is Israel.  To refresh you with some history, Israel was the chosen nation to be God's people.  But do you ever know that that doesn't literally mean that only Israel will be saved?  Now take the "she" or "her" as our country, the Philippines and read the above Bible chapter again.  Can you have any inkling of what I'm trying to convey here? 

First and foremost, God is angry to our country!  Why?  It's because, we had turned away from Him.  We had became adulterous in the sense that we had loved other things aside from Him.  And these other things are in the form of our jobs, our businesses, and our studies that take up much of our time.  These other things are in the form of our love for money, love for fame, and love for power that make us forget to have a heart.  These other things are the very precise things that are keeping us away from God! 

And the reason why God permitted the earthquakes and the storm to happen in our country?  That is to serve as a wake up call to us!  God is a jealous god.  He doesn't want a competitor.  He doesn't want a counterpart.  What He wants is the wholeness of our hearts, minds, and entire being.  He doesn't want us to be adulterous so He stripped us away with all that we have - our material belongings, our earthly pleasure, and unfortunately our loved ones.  Our country had indeed experienced God's wrath for us to be left empty-handed.  For with this, God can make His way to us. 

Now be surprised with this!  God has a magnificent plan for our country!  He allowed such trials to take place because He wants us to rise up as one people.  He wants us to turn back to Him and make Him our beloved.  Him and only Him.  Nothing more, nothing less.  He wants us to seek Him and give our lives to Him.  In this regard, we can be His people.  We can find favor in His eyes.  We can be His beloved!

Now for the third time, read the Bible passage again and take the "she" or "her" as you.  Truly in our lives, we tend to be very busy about the world and forget that there is that Divine Creator who is the greatest above all other things.  I am not saying that we should be a priest, a nun, a minister, or a pastor here.  All I'm trying to say is, let us be reminded of what God wants us to be.  God only wants us to turn back to Him.  If one by one we will do this, then God will surely heal our land.  Do you ever wonder what the symbolism of the geographical structure of the Philippines is?  Look closely.

Luzon is the head, Visayas is the body, and Mindanao are the feet.  Now take a look at Palawan.  It is a weapon.  Meaning, the Philippines is a warrior!  A great warrior of God!  If we turn back to Him, the Philippines will rise up into a mighty army of God!  If we turn back to Him, we can be His people again!  But this cannot be an "if" only because this can definitely happen!  As it is written, we had already been betrothed to be God's bride!  In Jesus name!  Amen!

   

Related Posts:

One Country, One Nation, One Hope! Bangon Pilipinas!
Oplan Damayan Yolanda
#TabangGikanSaMindanao
From Mindanao with Love

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From Mindanao with Love

After a week of our #TabangGikanSaMindanao campaign, the Formula for Help had finally sailed to Northern Cebu last Sunday, November 17!  This is again, for the goal of coming to an aid to super typhoon Yolanda survivors.  For a week, #TGSM had raised a total of 673 packs of the Formula for Help for Visayas!  

Isn't it great to experience how God works?  For #TGSM is not an organization nor a political pursuit but it is a collaborative effort of the young professionals in Misamis Occidental!  We are all volunteers who are acting upon a call to help.  Now here are some photos of our packing and loading at Suico's residence for the first wave of TGSM's distribution of relief goods:

Packing with the Cool Mom of Suico brothers

Packing with the Corbos, Ma'am Sherile, and Seance 

Filipino Bayanihan Spirit

Strategic Planning for the First Wave of Distribution

#TGSM Team Leader

The Best Volunteer - My Papa

So last Monday, November 18, #TabangGikanSaMindanao had reached Medellin, Northern Cebu.  These were what the team had spotted when they arrived - the tragic aftermath of typhoon Yolanda:   

Photos by Rio de Barras @tazdb143 via Instagram

Then the team #TGSM distributed the Formula for Help.  We hope (as everybody does) that through this, the Yolanda survivors can feel that everybody cares for them.  In this time, there ain't no Luzon, Visayas, nor Mindanao for we are one Philippines!  We are one country in trial and altogether, we will be one country to rise up!

Photos by Rio de Barras @tazdb143 via Instagram

And to all of you who had made this movement possible, thank you once again!  Thank you so much to everybody who had supported, donated and volunteered!  Thank you so much for sending your love to Visayas and that love had finally reached them through the first wave of #TGSM's relief operation.  Thank you to all of us! :)

Kudos to Team #TGSM!

LIKE #TabangGikanSaMindanao on Facebook for more photos!

#TabangGikanSaMindanao is on its way to its second wave of relief operation for there are still people who made pahabol of their help.  Additionally, a concert for a cause is cookin' up so stay tuned in 100.7 Cool Radio for more info.  

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Monday Matters: Oplan Damayan Yolanda

Monday Matters is dedicated to all things that matter.

November 8, 2013 - Philippines was hit by the super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), one of the strongest typhoons in history that ever made landfall on planet earth!  Heavily devastated areas were the islands of Visayas namely Samar, Leyte, Northern Cebu, Iloilo, and Capiz.  

If we're going to look back, a war erupted in Zamboanga, Mindanao last September of this year.  A month later, a destructive earthquake hit Visayas particularly Bohol and Cebu.  Then this month, the super typhoon Yolanda.  As a destitute country, do we deserve to experience such calamities?   Can we still survive this testing of time?  But I do believe that everything happens for a reason.  I do believe that God has a purpose for all of these plagues happening to us nowadays.     

As an individual, what can we do in order for us to help?  Of course, we can pray!  That will be our direct answer!  We can pray for all the victims of these war, earthquake, and typhoon.  We can ask God for Him to provide food, clothing, and shelter to those who were afflicted.  But as what I had said in my Oplan Kaagapay (Bagyong Sendong Relief Operation) post, "Prayers can move mountains and it is much better to push forward through actions.  For actions speak louder than words!", I am again appealing to you, my dear blog readers to extend your help for the typhoon Yolanda victims.

In partnership with JCI Manila, we are now accepting donations from local donors.  For cash donations, you may deposit any amount to the following bank details:

Banco de Oro (BDO) U.N. Avenue Branch

Account #:  000560289081

Account Name:  Junior Chamber International of Manila, Inc.

Kindly message JCI Manila Oplan Damayan Facebook fan page here a copy of the deposit slip, with your name indicated on it if you wish to be acknowledged.  

For those who want to donate in kind within Metro Manila area, you may drop-in canned goods, instant noodles, rice, bottled water, blankets, toiletries, medicines, mosquito nets, and outdoor tents to:

JCI Manila Clubhouse

Arquiza cor. Grey Streets, Ermita

Metro Manila

Telephone #: (02) 525-6792

Look for:  Ms. Lisa 

And for those who are within Ozamis City and wish to donate in kind, you may drop-in your donations at 

Fascino (across Kinny's Bakeshop, beside Mom's Sweet Delight)

Gomez St., Ozamis City

Look for:  Ms. Mae (yours truly)

However, donations from Ozamis donors won't be cared of through JCI but through La Salle University instead.   In anyhow, the carrier doesn't matter as long as your donations are in good hands and would surely reach those who are affected by the storm.

I am fervently praying that the Filipino bayanihan spirit lives on.  Let us continue to be one, one country, one people, one for Visayas!  Help Oplan Damayan Yolanda now!

Related Posts:

Oplan Kaagapay (Bagyong Sendong Relief Operation)    

#TabangGikanSaMindanao

From Mindanao with Love

One Country, One Nation, One Hope! Bangon Pilipinas!

What's In Store for the Philippines After Yolly

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