House or No House the Good News Spreads

Contributed by Rosanna Javier, Operation Blessing Volunteer

LA LIBERTAD, NEGROS ORIENTAL - Winning souls one house at a time - this was how Pastor Severino Fuentes and his wife Leonora worked for the Lord’s vineyard in La Libertad, Negros Oriental for the last twenty eight years. Pastor Severino and his son were laying hollow blocks for another church building when sea  waves displaced by the 6.9 earthquake hit the coastal baranggay of North Poblacion, La Libertad last February 6. 

In an instant, Pastor Severino dropped all his building tools to rush back to their house-church that was just thirty meters away from the sea. All that were left of his two-storey house were a wooden bed, a dislodged door and nothing else but rubble everywhere. Leonora, his adoptive daughter, his granddaughter and his oldest son were nowhere in sight.  

Leonora was reportedly wearing a badly torn shirt and little else as she wandered aimlessly. She eventually ended up in the house of her friend Marlyn. Leonora had wounds, scratches and bruises all over and was in a state of shock. 

When Operation Blessing found her in one of the temporary shelters in their community, Leonora was already ready to talk about her earthquake experience. She said she was washing laundry in their bathroom when she heard a loud roaring sound. Next thing she knew water had thrown and twisted her around as trees and building parts pounded at her, the bodily pains from which she still feels to this day.

Leonora would shed tears and stare blankly ahead as Pastor Severino shared what happened to the rest of their family.  His adopted daughter Vilma, who was caught in between bamboo trees, is just as wounded as Leonora.  Vilma’s three year old daughter could have died if not for her husband Leo who seized her legs as she floated. Oliver, the pastor’s oldest son, sustained a six-inch cut across his lower leg that needed hospital confinement. For several days after the quake, the hospital became the temporary shelter of the Fuenteses. 

 After losing their house, church and family in different states of woundedness, the Severino couple never lost sight of their mission. The night after the quake, they were at another house conducting Bible Studies. It was still a go for their regular Saturday and Sunday services even if they had to be in different houses.

Operation Blessing came back to Libertad to distribute food packs of rice, sardines and noodles.  Leonora profusely thanked the OB team “Ngayon lang talaga na madami ang natanggap namin. Ang Diyos talaga ginagamit ang OB.” Having always been on the giving end, Leonora said she was very shy at receiving stuff but the tragedy taught her how to receive. She looked really happy while looking at the three mats the three Fuentes families received from OB.  

“Glory to God! There is nothing to really worry about.” Pastor Severino Fuentes said, fully confident that no quake nor tribulation will  hamper their ministry to spread the Good News to the families in La Libertad. 

On top of the 315 food packs that Operation Blessing gave to North Poblacion La Libertad residents, twenty mats were given to La Libertad families whose houses were completely washed out and destroyed by the February 6 earthquake.