“Here I am Lord send me”…..our team’s verse. (aka Team T for Tupi and Tulunan)

Our team was assigned to “Davao Area” which was “Tupi” and “Tulunan,”   a town about 6 hours from Davao which required travel through several 100% Muslim towns. When we heard the news from Pastor Terry there was fear amongst us but we were assured that “If God is for us, who can be against us.” We prayed and expected the worst and prepared ourselves for the battle. We were all at peace while we were traveling to our areas, the peace that only came from God.

“Expect the unexpected”…….either blessings or tragedy and we had blessings!!!.

We were met by Pastor Ulanday, my cousin’s assistant (Bishop Soriano of the United Methodist Church) and his secretary Hope, and their driver Pas. After arriving on the island by plane, the drive to Tupi was 4 hours long and some of the roads were rough, rugged terrain.  We were surprised at how scenic and beautiful the place was…even more beautiful than Hawaii. We witnessed the spectacular view of the mountain ranges and the horizon, Mount Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines, and several Papaya and Banana plantations, and the famous Dole Pineapple plantation. We also passed by several military checkpoints where abduction of foreigners and wealthy businessmen are common. We arrived at Barangay Poblacion at Tupi and we were welcomed by the Barangay Capt. Yabut and some town and barangay officials as well as CHE who had patiently waited for us from noon until our arrival. They   graciously provided us with dinner and tons of fresh fruits like papaya, watermelon, guava, guyabano, young coconut and the sweetest pineapple we had ever tasted! We had food everyday and enjoyed freshly picked fruits right from the tree! After few minutes of rest, Eric and JR demonstrated how to assemble the wheelchair despite poor lighting and our tired bodies.

Always be ready and be flexible!!!

We didn’t expect that there would be more than a hundred people who would come to this wheelchair event! At 8:00 Am, we went to the Municipal Hall for a courtesy call to their Mayor Mr. Valentin Mariano,Jr.  Adjacent to the municipal hall was the Multipurpose Hall where we conducted our lessons and distributed the wheelchairs. Fourteen barangay captains came to the event as part of the support group. When we arrived at the gymnasium and saw the disabled people and their families flock the place, tears started rolling down our cheeks. We cried because we couldn’t believe that there are a lot of people who are disabled and we were touched by the support of their family and friends in transporting them to this place.  They talked of how they had longed to have wheelchairs all their lives to have access to the community, for education, livelihood, and just to see the world outside their shacks.

We had to split the group into 2 for the 3 hour lessons. It was difficult at first esp with the different  dialects  (Visaya, Illongo, Kapampangan, Tagalog and Ilocano and some ethnic tribal dialects) but the Lord had helped us go through the lessons efficiently and to our surprise, God used the men who were trained to build the wheelchairs on the night we arrived to train other CHE and some family members and volunteers build the wheelchairs and they started building the wheelchairs simultaneously while we facilitated and  finished 30 wheelchairs almost at the same time we finished our lesson. The team didn’t even touch a tool that day! We were asked to talk several times that day but the Holy Spirit taught us what to say. We were able to distribute 26 wheelchairs that day.  Some children from Davao City entertained us with their songs and dances prior to the wheelchair distribution. These children blessed us because they traveled from Davao City at 2am that same day by bus to reach Tupi at 8 am!

 
We have so many stories to tell, but the stories of Primo and Reymark and Ritcher touched our hearts.

 
Primo is a 7 year old Muslim boy the size was of a 3 year old whose father died from an accident.  He is being raised by a single Muslim mother of the B’laan tribe in Tupi with 3 other siblings. His mother Thelma heard about the free wheelchair through a CHE(Community Health Educator) and the DSWD. He had an illness at 3 months of age which left him with atrophied and weak extremities . He never walked but desired to go to school. His mother had been praying for a wheelchair because she wanted him to go to school. She even voted for their barangay captain and planned on asking him a favor of providing Primo a free wheelchair but she was surprised that her prayer was answered even before she was able to ask him. In her testimony, she said that she was very thankful for the wheelchair and for HCDI and the donors of the wheelchair and added that she couldn’t believe that Christians care and help everyone, even a Muslim like her. She also said that she “was touched by the care we gave her, and that our God is a kind and loving God”. She then eventually opened her house for Bible study. I am so glad and equally blessed because God used the lesson and His words to reveal Himself to her especially on the topic on “God’s love for everyone, even those with disabilities”.

 
Reymark is a 13 y/o twin with CP, whose twin brother is already a high school student.   He is also interested in going to school, but only reached Grade 1 because his guardian aunt could no longer carry him to school. His aunt had been praying for a wheelchair for him to pursue his education.  She was in tears when she shared her testimony of how thankful she was that Reymark can now go to school because of the wheelchair.

 
Ritcher became ill of a viral illness 6 years ago and never recovered because there was no regular therapy given to him. He used to work at city hall and is very intelligent. He has been confined to his bed since then. He was unable to attend the event at the gymnasium because his father, who used to carry him around, sustained a stroke 2 weeks earlier that left him hemiplegic. When we arrived, there was hopelessness and sadness in his face and he refused to sit in the wheelchair. He was finally persuaded to try it.   We taught his mother some therapy exercises, and we could see the light in his face with the hope that he would be able to function again.  In the meantime the wheelchair will assist him with transportation and he can be part of the community again. We will also provide another wheelchair for his father. We prayed at the end of the visit and there was joy in their faces when we left the house.

 
We had a short tour of the CHE microenterprise (coconut candy,banana chips, and sweetened fried banana and mangosteen/pineapple/banana cider). For dinner, we were graced with fish and barbecue chicken by the barangay, which also meant more fresh fruits and some entertainment from the children’s ministry of one of the churches in town. In the midst of our fun fellowship, an unexpected thing happened that night when a team member’s camera was stolen. We witnessed the anguish in the community because of what happened.  They cried and prayed for the person who took it. Our team member on the other hand, was very calm and God had truly given him peace and a great attitude during this crisis.

 
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with us”…. Our prayer.

May 15 was critical because we had to pass by a 100% Muslim town where the most abductions and killings occur. We were escorted by the police until we reached Tulunan. There was a lot of praying and we sensed the peace that came from God. I thank God for all the other teams and our families and friends who prayed for our safe passage. The Muslim town‘s ambiance was different, there were Muslim police and army all over the place and we could sense the tension in the town.  Upon arrival we were greeted by the most kind and compassionate lady mayor, who left her position at the Presidents office as Arts and Culture director and chose to stay in this dangerous town. She was a former St. Theresian missionary herself and that explained her values and great service. We distributed 10 wheelchairs to the community and saw the joy in their faces. The mayor gave her speech and was thankful that HCDI chose her town even if it is not even seen in the map, and I responded that “we may not know their town but God knows them because He created them and He wants to share His love and blessings to His people even the disabled people through this mission in their town and He just led us to them”. Since our time with this town was very limited, we shared briefly about value formation, support groups, and the use of non-government and government agencies as resources. The most common benefits of the wheelchair were transport for education and work. Filipinos can transport 2-4 wheelchairs in a small tricycle and that’s amazing!

 
We left Tulunan with 5 big watermelons as a gift from the community!

 
On May 16, 2008, we flew back to Cebu City safely, full of excitement and stories of God’s faithfulness and greatness throughout our trip! The people’s smiles and tears of joy have captivated us, knowing that they can now be part of the community and enjoy equal dignity and hope.  Most importantly they were given the message that God loves them because they were created in His image.