60 – 70% of Manila Flooded!
“Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!” We know this is not what you are praying for in the US where you have been gripped with drought conditions for some time now. But this has been our cry for almost two weeks now. We have had over 12 days of rain during which 70+ people have died from drowning, electrocution and mud slides. Torrential monsoon rains have flooded more than half of Manila. We are all safe and dry on high ground here at Dunamis, but our hearts go out to all those being affected by the storms. Several hundred thousand are displaced and almost everyone has been affected in some way.
The city has been at a standstill with more than half of Manila underwater. Power was turned off in some parts of the city as a precautionary measure with the waters seeping into electrical facilities. Schools and offices were shut down as key roadways were submerged by waters that in some areas reached over head level. Many people had to retreat to their roofs to await rescue or huddle in crowded evacuation shelters. The head of the Philippines’ disaster agency said, “It’s like a water world!”
Some of our former students, pastors in Bataan have been affected but have yet to be able to return to their homes and churches to see the extent of the damage. We expect to hear from many others who have been hard hit. We are asking for anything you can spare so we can help them and their members with food and necessities in the coming days as the water recedes and they work at clean-up and disinfecting their surroundings. We count it a blessing from the Lord that our Mission Center is out of the flood zones, we wake up every day with the reality that there are so many people that are now homeless because of the floods. We cannot just sit here and do nothing.
We are dedicating this newsletter to the flood victims all over Manila and the surrounding cities that have been affected by this enormous monsoon. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life time which is quite a while if you know what I mean. There are so many pastors and their families that have been wiped out by the flood. We can’t possibly help them all, but I do believe that all of us can do something to help. It is heart wrenching hearing their stories of dismay and calamity that we can’t even imagine. Most Americans have some sort of insurance for such things. These pastors don’t have money to purchase insurance; most of them are below the poverty level on income and can’t afford the monthly payments for it. So they are stuck with losing everything they have in the world and trying to pick up the pieces and continue on. These pastors live in very humble dwellings that most of you couldn’t imagine living in, yet they survive and preach the word of God throughout their lives. They need help! Will you please pray earnestly about sending something to help them? And please pray that the rains will stop and give them a reprieve, it is pouring down again now as I am writing this.
We are attaching many photo’s just to give you and idea of the seriousness of this situation. Manila is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and it is prone to calamity. This is an opportunity to help the men and women of God who are faithfully serving the Lord here in this city and country. We are praying for the Lord to guide us to those He would have us help. Praise God for this wonderful opportunity. Let’s lay some of our lives down for our brothers and sisters, Amen?
You can go on line to our website and give using your credit card or send your gifts marked “Monsoon Victims” to our U.S. address: Revival Fire Ministries, PO Box 30487, Amarillo, TX 79120, all donations are tax deductible, just make out your check to Revival Fire Ministries International or RFMI.
Again, thank you so much for listening to the Lord,
Tony and Calli Poole
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Batch 57 July 10-13, Seated on second row from left Pstra. Sonia,
Ptr. Tony, Ptr. Steve, and Pstra Elaine
Next Class will be Aug. 21-24
We have 21 pastors signed up for the next class beginning on the 21st of August. Last month we trained 35 pastors before the monsoon hit. The two previous classes, batches 57 and 58, won more than 1,600 people to the Lord. We have a lot of good testimonies from them and will share some of them in our next newsletter.
Pastora Sonia and Pastora Elaine (pictured above) will be accompanying Ptr.Tony to Mindanao Island on September 5th -9th for a mobile training seminar for 30 pastors in Iligan City. It’s right on the border of Muslim territory, so be lifting them up in prayer. Bishop Stephen Villaester, pastor of All Nations Christian Church, Intl. is hosting the Stealth Evangelism Training. They are extremely excited about having Dunamis come and help ignite a fire of evangelism in their churches in Iligan. Bishop Stephen and his church are a part of the Anglican Church. Praise the Lord! We feel so privileged to bring this fire of evangelism to the Anglican churches here in the Philippines.
We really need your support to do these mobile seminars. We have so many opportunities, we could do a mobile seminar every month to different Islands, lighting fires from Island to Island, please pray about being God’s financial instrument in helping us help these pastors all over the Philippines bring salvation to so many thousands of people.
We love you! Tony, Calli and the staff at Dunamis