Twice to thrice a week, Ptr. Andres and a company had to frequently go to the village to work on the construction when fund is available. At times they would have a company of 4 to 6 when heavy tasks are to be accomplished.

Every labor manually done, they had been working on cutting and bending steel bars, and carrying bags of cements, gravel and sand from the unloading point to the church building which is a few meters walk away.

Sealing of windows and doors with cement was also done. Ptr. Andres had layout and embedded electricity wiring hose to all wall outlets as well.

Lately for weeks, they’d been working on the beam ‘steel and wooden form’. Using materials available, half was done.

July 7, 2010 – with the church informed after Sunday service, some of the brethren came on Wednesday for the scheduled cementing of the beam.

At 8 a.m., we had departed from the mission house. We arrived in Balluay at 9 a.m. with some brethren  waiting for us. Some of the women were there too to assist and in charge of cooking.

Work had to start immediately upon arrival. Mixing of cement, gravel, and sand is done by some while others had to seal the holes and gaps of the wooden forms to avoid cement leakage. When everything’s ready, we had to line up in passing buckets of mixed cement to and fro.

At lunch, we had to take shade because of heavy rain. The newly cemented part of the beam had to be covered with sacks though. Work continued after rain stopped.

At the end of the day, with 11 men and 4 women, half of the beam prepared for concreting was successfully accomplished.

After concrete beam is dried up in a few days, the wooden forms will be detached to be used  for the remaining half of the unfinished beam.

We anticipate the concreting of the beam be finished before the end of August to hold the Balluay fellowship’s 2nd anniversary. With it, a tent may be temporarily used to shade the venue.

The Lord has been faithful in providing financially and in using various people to meet the needs of the ongoing construction. To date, an estimate of at least $3,000 was used to what the church building stands now.

After the concreting of the beam and slab is accomplished, the next task would be the floor cement. We are praying for at least $2,000 to finish off the floor cement and to furnish the first storey.

Once the first storey is furnished, Sunday services will be moved to the new building.

Please pray for God’s leading on how you can be a part of this ongoing mission project. May you also include in your prayers continuous travel protection, preserved good health, and guidance of all volunteer workers who often physically labor and sacrificed their work hours for the ongoing construction.

For support of any kind, please let us know by emailing info[at]shelteringrockministries.org

For online giving options, please click here.

Celebrating the 5th anniversary bearing the theme “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, members from the mission outposts came to attend. Brethren from Balluay and Asin village were fetched by the church jeepney at around 7 a.m. Brethren from Bahong village came to attend as well.

Visitors from Banaue, Ifugao arrived at the mission house at around 6 a.m. from an 8-hour trip on jeepney. An hour later Ptr. Orlan Tid-ong, the guest speaker, arrived from Banaue too on passenger bus.

The church service started past 9 a.m.

After the singing of praises and worship songs, each representative from different places shared some encouragements followed by presentations from the children ministry.

Then the preaching of the Gospel came next. Interestingly, Ptr. Orlan was gifted with humor that had kept the audience awakened and glued on every Word the Lord is channelling through him.

A surprise number from the youth ministry came after. Appreciation to the elders and ministers touched each one as the presentation goes.

During lunch time, the people were  surprised as their name were drawn for surprise gifts!

The people enjoyed having lunch fellowship until some of the brethren had to travel back to Banaue a few hours after lunch.

With people counting to at least 150, indeed the Lord has been faithful for the last 5 years in enfolding the poor and the lonely into a community and in making ways that every believer be equipped through different people and circumstances.

Working on the construction site is done once a week as volunteer workers agree on a schedule of sacrificing their work time. Though this is the case, the construction is going smoothly and fast.

On the 22nd of February, the youth team had joined hands to sacrifice one day of their time to be at the construction site too. They’d been carrying bags of cements and bricks to and from the road where the construction materials were unloaded. They also experienced bending steel bars and forming pillar steel structures!

Click on the below button to view photos of youth in action!

Coming up next would be cementing of the foundation. However, water had always been a problem in the village so the water piping had yet to be done. Plastic drum containers had been bought for water storage though.

Climbing up the mountain to bring loads of construction materials to and fro had always been perilous: with an unconditioned jeepney with seldom repair on the road; passing through cracked paths; curving through sharp bending trails, and one-way unfenced roads with hundred-meter high cliffs on its side…

However, the setting had always been a testimony of His unending protection and shielding.

Be a part! Click Here

Click on the below button to view photos of latest construction progress!

With some volunteers, the jeepney set off at around 9 a.m. from town. We arrived at the village after 40 minutes climbing through bending one-way roads trailing the mountains.

After a few meters walk from where we parked the jeepney, we reached the bare ground where soon to be a 2-storey church building will stand up. With a bolo, tape measure, and nylon strings Ptr. Andres started the layout for the building foundation.

Around an hour, 10 spots have been marked for digging. A few minutes later, some of the brethren arrived with rakes, shovels, mattocks, and hoes. The clearing of the ground started. Followed by the manual digging of 2 meters deep and 1 meter wide hole.

Throughout the day, all holes were finished.

At around 5.30 p.m., we departed with the brethren in the village. It’s already dark in town when we were back at the mission house. All physically drained out,  it’s been a fulfilling day to be a part of a great work for His glory!

BUILDING PLAN: The donated church lot has an area of  100 sq. meters. The entire lot will be occupied by the church building which will stand 2-storey high. The first floor will be the church hall. The second floor will house ministers assigned to preach in the village on weekends. It will also serve as a dwelling place for missionaries and youth groups when outreach is done in the village and the neighboring barrio. At the same time it will also hold Children Sunday Schools.

At present, church Sunday services is held at a brethren’s home; youth groups and ministers are lodged at the same house too on overnight outreach activities.

The building is currently 30% financed to result to 80% of the first storey of the church. However, we believe by faith that He will bring the construction to the finish line in using people like you.

Please pray to be a part of this mission in Benguet, Philippines, please Click Here…

We finished our dinner when people started to fill in the house we dwell for the night. We didn’t expect to see even the old folks that had helped themselves for the Bible Study that dark night.

Ptr. Andres had shared the Gospel after the worship singing. The message had been positively received by the folks after which Ptr. Andres led a prayer for them.

After the sharing, some families whom we didn’t catch up when we brought the relief goods to their temporary home relocation came to express their gratitude. An old woman even stood up in the midst of us with tears running over her face and speechless of her gratitude. Knowing what she’d like to express, Ptr. Andres had prayed over her.

With the Bible Study time over, the folks enjoyed staying though it’s past 9 p.m.  So we continued to sing songs of praise and conversations of encouragement continues. Half an hour later, each began to light a wooden torch and headed home.

At dawn at exactly 5 a.m., we woke up and prepared to leave avoiding the heat of the sun’s rays as we climb back the mountain to the end of the road where we parked the jeepney.

On the higher elevation (shot at the left), Bagong still carries its magnificent and breathtaking view.

With the village not entirely damaged and that villagers were able to escape the rushing flashflood of gravel and boulders, praise be to Him that His mercy endures forever…

We parked the jeepney in an open space and minutes later, some villagers came to fetch the relief goods we just brought that are intended for the 13 families who were severely affected -losing homes, fields, and literally every belonging from the flash floods and land slides.

After a few minutes of walk, we were astonished to stand before a vast expanse overviewing a tiny footpath we had to climb to cross the mountain. This expanse had used to be a mountain edge which is trailed by vehicles. But now, this very mountain we were standing before at has been literally washed out!

Trickling down the narrow slippery steps with wood branches to hold on and climbing tiny footpaths over sand left by the landfall, we managed to cross the expanse.

A few meters away, what used to be a cemented road lay huge-sized rocks and stones rolled across the path. Landslides were everywhere that we were climbing rocks just to pass through.

Nearly an hour, fed up with the damage the storm has brought along the road, we arrived at the village at a scene that left us speechless for moments.

What used to be a scenic view of ricefields and village homes has now been literally erased. Boulders, gravel, and building-sized rocks rolled over the middle of the village crushing homes and fields and burying nearby houses. Once a 2-meter wide creek, now became a 40-meter wide rushing river with huge rocks rolling over that very night of October.

We managed to cross the open space and reached the home we are to lodge in the evening. With a few minutes of rest, we started to pack the relief goods to be distributed. Some of the families came to fetch their goods with a trace of unspeakable gratitude and inexplainable tears of joy. We also carried and brought some of the relief goods for the families who were unable to come due to injury.

Up to the present, villagers were left with an unanswered question of where would the huge rocks and stones had been unburied from. It was their first time to stand before such piled boulders; and the damage has been a history for them since their forefathers hundred years past.

In the long run, only He can give answers to their question. Overall, the villager’s positive response on the their situation is admirable… words of gratitude that no life was taken that night is on every mouth of folks…

Aiming to train the church youth to socialize with the fellow youth outsiders and strengthen bonds between each of them, the youth leadership has initiated an outdoor fellowship through various sports.

Just this October 18th, the youth team counting 22 had their outdoor fun with volleyball.

With the values continually learnt in application, the youth team will be more equipped in evangelizing and sharing the Word on upcoming to-be-scheduled youth outreaches in Balluay village.

The youth team is aiming to witness to all fellow teens and out-of-school youth in Balluay using the medium of sports since teenagers in the village are known to be avid in sports activities.

Multiple ways can be used in sharing the Gospel to the unreached and making a difference to the lives of people especially the influential youth of this generation.

With God’s provision, the youth ministry has been sponsored with two volleyballs and two volleyball nets. Help us make the youth more equipped through trainings and outdoor exposures to be able to effectively reach out to more teenagers with your support.

After the entire road leading to Asin village has been cleared from mudslides and vehicles are now able to pass through, we continued to check on the road going to Balluay village.

We continued to the foot of the mountain to check on the landslide. Just passed Asin village and about to climb Balluay, a portion of the road has been carried out by the river current.

A few meters more, the huge landslide we had viewed from afar stood before us. Boulders of rocks piled up devastating the road resulting to Balluay being inaccessible by vehicles.

A few minutes later, we chanced on some volunteers climbing through the landslide to bring relief goods to Balluay. From the landslide point, people have to hike around one hour to reach the village.

Click Here To View Photos Taken of the Landslide →

Bagong Village

Inorder to reach Bagong village, vehicles has to pass the same route and past Balluay. However, news had reached us that multiple landslides has cut the road several times and people had to walk around an hour from Balluay to reach Bagong.

Twelve families were left homeless due to landslides and overflowed creek from the mountains with no belongings saved. Almost half of the villagers had their fields washed out too resulting to no harvest this November 2009 season. With rice planting done twice a year, most families with rice fields washed out would have little to bare food to eat until next planting season on March 2010.

Relief Operation

Hand-in-hand we can let the victims feel the love of God and put smiles on their faces with your support on the distribution of food, clothing, and school supplies we will be bringing on November 7th to affected families of Bagong.

Your financial support and donations in kind is very much appreciated to give the utmost support to affected villagers on the upcoming relief operation. With your kind act, though physically not present, you are with us carrying the goods and hiking the off-road mountain tracks to Bagong.

However, driving after 15 minutes and halfway, we are in dead end with a landslide being cleared. A huge rock is being blasted as bulldozers cannot clear it out of the path.

A few minutes later, a passenger jeepney arrived. Commuters have to stop at that point and walk 45 minutes to reach Asin village with their luggage and purchased food supplies from town.

After being informed that the clearing will be finished by evening, we went back to mission house and be checking back the day after.

Oct 17 UPDATE: Saturday -The road to Asin has been cleared.

Oct 18 UPDATE: Sunday – After worship service at the center, Ptr. Andres and company drove to Asin for bible study. The residents were almost flooded by the nearby river but with God’s protection, no one was harmed. A bit of landslide nearby the house the bible study is held had washed out only the house’s bonfire kitchen.

At around 8am of October 9th, we rushed to the neighborhood when we were notified of a huge landslide a few meters away from the mission house. The rain was very strong that night that we even haven’t heard any signs of the landslide. Now what stood before us is a massive mudslide wrecking at least 5 houses into pieces of debris and cutting road access to town.

Without any tools in hand, wearing jackets with hood and shorts, with no boots, with no waterproof coats; We from the mission house joined the rescue team in digging muds and passing stones, rocks, and debris out of the site.

With the thought that we are actually digging people buried hoping of their survival, shivers from cold, hunger, heavy rain and strong winds did not stop us from helping in the rescue.

Danger has not stopped us neither. Just above our digging site, a hanging house is feared to fall down. Every time we hear crackling sounds, we’re rushing out of the site and back again after a few minutes.

Three victims were recovered so far but were all lifeless. Further, what left us speechless and weakened is to discover that around 20 people are still buried and was said that there’s no hope of survival anymore.

Past lunch, we went back to the mission house. Though none of us were harmed, Ptr. Andres had a cut in his hand from the iron sheet passed onto him.

First time on such labor… Danger… Heart condition… Any limit is surpassed when love for neighbor moves.

Click Here to View Photos Taken at the Buyagan Tragedy →
Click Here To View Photos Taken At Flooded Strawberry Farm →