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Healing Andap
The Typhoon Pablo Mission
Saturday, January 12, 13

The Road to Andap

It was a cloudy Sunday morning when the mission left Davao City, two days before Christmas (December 23, 2012). There were three priests, eight nuns and several lay volunteers who joined. Their destination was Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Compostela Valley.

Saturday, January 12, 13

Rampaging Waters
On the way to Andap, the streams and rivers by the wayside looked erce. The mission was about to be called off due to possible ash oods but the group decided to proceed. An overcast sky hovered over Andap that day. Just last night, the people said, there was another debris ow that brought a new pile of boulders and stones.

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Scenic Andap Valley

Barangay Andap is located in New Bataan in Compostela Valley province. Surrounded with mountain ranges, Andap lies in a scenic valley with a forest. Mayo river ows from the mountain of Andap which is also known for its white peak. Amazing Earth calls it as one of the best trekking sites of the Philippines.

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Mindanao, Philippines

Compostela Valley is a province of the Davao region, located in the east coast of Mindanao in the south of the Philippines. Unlike the rest of the country, the region had been known as typhoon free. Majority of the people do not have any idea what a typhoon really is until very recently. Due to climate change, typhoons are now making their way to Mindanao and causing wide-scale devastation.

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Devastation
In the early hours of December 4, torrential rains brought about by typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha) triggered a massive debris ow from the mountains of Andap. The rampaging waters destroyed everything on its path. The death toll in New Bataan alone reached more than 400. The typhoon also struck Davao Oriental, another province in the Davao region.

From: Situation Report No. 13 (as of January 3, 2013) by the United Nations Ofce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Source: http://reliefweb.int/disaster/tc-2012-000197-phl

Enhanced infrared satellite images showing the storm at peak intensity and making landfall in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao (Source: Wikipedia, 2012). Source: http:// epsg4253.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/typhoon-pablo-bophamap-sources/

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In the barangay center of Andap, not a single structure was left standing in Purok 1 when the typhoon was over. The gym, school, barangay hall, and houses were all gone in an instant. Not even a trace of the famed Bamboo Resort is visible. Known for its cold springs, the resort had three swimming pools, cottages, a seminar hall, and many amenities. Now, only boulders of rocks and stones are strewn all over where the resort and many houses once stood. A new river is now running through what was once the center.

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Only this chapel is left standing. . .

Saturday, January 12, 13

A view of the devastation seen from a crack inside the San Roque chapel

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Amid the ruins stand a Crucifix and a statue of the Blessed Mother. . .

Inside the chapel, the altar has remained intact. There, in the middle of a wall, is a Crucix. Below it is a portrait of the Mother of the Perpetual Help. On the altars right side stands a statue of the Blessed Mother. The morning after the storm, the statue was discovered lying on the muddied oor. The right hand, though, of the Blessed Mother is nowhere to be found.

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A woman brought this statue of San Roque (St. Roch), the barangays patron saint, during the mass. The statue, too, survived. His image is also painted on the chapels wall.

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Survivors light candles during the mass for the souls of the dead

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A Hole in a Ceiling

Six families sought refuge inside this chapel on December 4. When the waters rose, they ripped open a portion of the wooden ceiling and hid underneath the roof. All were miraculously saved. Villagers said the chapel was spared because of a balcony that collapsed at the height of the typhoon. Made out of stone, it blocked the ood waters from entering the chapel.

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A Christmas Tree in the Rubble

This Christmas tree was found lying on top of a pile of debris, washed away with the oods.

Saturday, January 12, 13

Celebrating Mass

Fr. Chris Ganzon (left) and Fr. Lionel R. Mechavez (middle), both of the Society of Mary, and Fr. Gene Gilos (right) of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate celebrated mass inside the San Roque Chapel on December 23, 2012.

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There is this emptiness. .

Joseph Requinto, 34, a lector and Purok 1 leader, read a passage from the Book of Micah. He could barely hold back his tears. There is this haw-ang (emptiness) that I felt, he later said. The chapel used to be full on a Sunday mass like this. Now, there are only a few of us. The oods took the lives of half of the number of GKK ofcials. GKK stands for Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban which means Basic Ecclesiastical Communities.

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Giving Solace

During the mass, mufed sobs could be heard. Almost everyone in Andap lost several family members. They listed down names of loved ones to be read during the mass: mother, father, sons, daughters, grandchildren, nephews, nieces. A woman wailed in grief. She lost both her parents. She was comforted by her husband, who lost both his parents as well. Later, she leaned on the shoulder of Sr. Jeanne Facultad, OND.

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Fr. Chris Ganzon, SM, (left) and Sr. Luz Pepito (right) of the Missionary Sisters for the Love of Christ (SMAC) comfort parishioners.

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Sr. Kalala Taufa, a Marist sister from Tonga, hugs a survivor

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All of them are gone. But I keep coming back because I miss them.

Erly Ablando, 22, an army soldier, was in his headquarters in South Cotabato when 15 members of his family perished during the oods: his parents, grandparents, four siblings, seven nephews and nieces. Only two young brothers, ages 9 and 13, survived.

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I just built a house for them, he said. The money came from a loan he got worth P150,000. He pointed towards the direction where his house once stood. Now, there are only boulders. There is nothing left from them. Only memories.

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Seeking Refuge in Faith

We may never understand the depths of your sorrow and pain, said Fr. Chris Ganzon, SM in his homily.

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Yes, what happened was a tragedy, Fr. Ganzon added. But let us not forget that God is with us. He never abandons us whatever is the circumstance, in times of joy or adversity. Let us keep praying. . .

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The Joy that Comes from Serving Others

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The children beamed after receiving their bags of toys and goodies.

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Priests and nuns from the Society of Mary (SM) and lay volunteers

Saturday, January 12, 13

Priests and nuns from the Society of Mary (SM) and lay volunteers

Saturday, January 12, 13

Sisters from the Oblate of Notre Dame (OND), Mary of Immaculate Conception (MIC) and a Carmelite missionary shared their post-activity reections. Mission organizer, Peter Sia Su, (far right in photo above) vowed to continue the mission. Let our help be not only in material ways but also spiritually, he said.

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Saturday, January 12, 13

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Who are the people for whom I have to go out of my way and help?*

*Fr. Lionel Mechavez, SM

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Give the Gift of Life and Hope

OUR MISSION CONTINUES
FOR YOUR CASH DONATION: Deposit to Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) Account Number: 2086953187 Account Name: Fr. Lionel R. Mechavez, SM (Society of Mary) Swift Code BOPIPHMM BPI Email: www.facebook.com/lionel.mechavez FOR GOODS DONATION: Contact: Sr. Jeanne Facultad, OND (Oblates of Notre Dame) +63-2863940 Sr. Luz Pepito SMAC (Sorelle Missionarie dell'Amore di Cristo) 082-2861266 mobile +639486945116

Offer prayers for the eternal repose of the souls of the dead and for survivors that they may be able to rebuild their lives through Gods mercy

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Photo Credits

Aaron Alcalde Fr. Lionel Mechavez, SM Cha Sia Su Peter Sia Su Charina Sanz

Photos on Andap White Peak: http://www.myamazingearth.com/2012/07/white-peak-in-newbataan-compostela-valley/

Music: Huwag Kang Mangamba by Arnel Aquino, S.J.

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Mission Partners of Mary

January 2013 - Davao City, Philippines

Saturday, January 12, 13