Saralee and I arrived in Cebu 4 days ago and hit the ground running! Along with sourcing and purchasing the items needed for the relief, we’ve been gathering information as to the hardest hit areas, how many families affected, etc.

It was a regular Tuesday night when the ground shook beneath McDonald’s in Bogo City. Ronnel Cabatingan, a 22-year-old working student and church volunteer, was cleaning tables when the 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit. Within seconds, the building began to collapse. The power went out. In the darkness and chaos, Ronnel dove under a table—just in time.

One of the most fulfilling things in the work we do in the Philippines is the ripple effect of changed lives. When we moved to the Philippines more than 30 years ago, and were holding Bible study in one of the jails, a young man named Ruben came to Christ.