A Story of Faith

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God.

These were the lines from a song that gave resilience and peace, saving a 67-year old woman on top of her old roof in Geneva St. Provident Village, Marikina, during the rampage of tropical storm Ondoy in Luzon.

Married to a retired general, Mary Yoro, more fondly known as “Manang Mary” in her household and to her friends, was still mourning for her son whom her family just buried  before Ondoy. Still struck with grief when floodwaters started to creep inside her big home very fast and caused a commotion among her helpers over the furniture, carpet, and other expensive things the family owned for many years. Manang Mary didn’t worry much for the things and told her three helpers, “Mga gamit lang ‘yan. Umakyat na tayo sa itaas (Those are just things. Let’s all go up already),” leaving everything behind in the flood.

With floodwaters running after them up to the second floor, the boy-helper with them hurriedly removed the aircon in their room and through the hole they all went up to the roof. Hearing the screams and cries of her neighbors, Manang Mary realized that all of her neighbors were already on the roof and they were the last ones to climb.

“Mommy, paano tayo makakababa rito at kaillan tayo ma-sa-save? (Mommy, how are we going to go down and when are we going to be saved?)”

“Wala pang gatas yung apo ko (My grandchild does not have milk yet).”

“Ang lamig-lamig (It is so cold).”

The atmosphere was all fear and panic as everyone saw the water rising up to 20 feet and the storm still raging.

“Be still”

She asked God to give them physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to survive the storm. Standing on top of her roof, she was thanking God that even the storm was His creation and prayed that the same God would protect them. She remembered a melody and a song came into mind, “Hide me now under your wings…When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with You above the storm.” Manang Mary suddenly felt very happy so she kept singing these lines. ‘Dun ako sa thanksgiving’ (I focused on thanksgiving ).

” With the song still playing in her mind, Manang Mary felt very peaceful. “Parang bigla akong nanahimik, naging mapayapa. ‘Di ko pinapansin yung cellphone ko. (I suddenly became quiet and at peace. I was not minding my cell phone.) I just relished the thought ‘be still,’ there is a God period. Wala na maraming iisipin. (No more thinking too much.) There was peace that surpasses all understanding. I was very peaceful, I totally forgot about my son’s death.”

Manang Mary found peace in trusting God over her circumstances in the past and in the present. She even thought that if rescuers would come she might not want to be rescued first but would tell the rescuers to help the little children, the older women, and those with infants first. “It would be so selfish kung ako pa ang unang sasakay (It would be so selfish if I was the first one to be saved).”

Blessed in the flood

At around 2AM, the rain stopped and Manang Mary and her helpers fell asleep. For 14 hours they were just on the roof. “I still feel that we’re very blessed,” Manang Mary said with all smiles. When light was already coming, she saw that the rescuers already came. When she got off the boat, she did not go to the evacuation center but decided to walk to her relatives to Katipunan, a 2 km walk from Marikina. “Hindi ako sinisipon, inuubo, nanghihina o nilalamig. I’m 67. Nakakapagtaka kasi I felt so energetic. Ang bilis ko lumakad at ang saya-saya with all my grasa clothes at naka-paa lang. I thought, parang hindi yata magka-match yung energy level ko sa circumstances ko. Parang dapat yata lugmok ako at depressed, pero hindi eh. Yun siguro yung FAITH. (I did not have a runny nose catch colds or cough, nor did I feel weak or cold. I’m 67. It is such a wonder because I felt so energetic. I walked briskly and I was so joyful with all my greasy clothes and no footwear. I thought, my energy level does not match my dire circumstances. Maybe I should be depressed but I’m not. Maybe this is FAITH.) Something was telling me to just trust God.”

After the flood, Manang Mary and her husband visited their son’s tomb. She knew she was healed of the grief because she was no longer crying. But her other son was still recovering. “Di pa naka-recover. Close na close sila kaya talagang hagulgol siya. Naiyak lang ako kasi naawa ako sa kanya hindi dahil namatay yung kapatid niya. (He has not recovered yet. They were so close that’s why he wept so hard. I only cried because I felt sympathy for him and not because my son died.) ” Wiping her tears, Manang Mary continued, “Buti nga ang Kuya mo may bahay na, tayo nga, homeless…(Your brother now has a home, while we are homeless…) ‘wag ka na umiyak (I just said, don’t cry anymore),” Manang Mary cheerfully said.

“Beautiful talaga yung experience (The experience was really beautiful).”

Life-lessons from the flood

After that circumstance, Manang Mary shared important life-lessons she received.

“First, you should take your faith seriously.”

Manang Mary said that the Filipinos are very careless in their faith, that we always pray but we also cheat and lie. She reflected on her being a mother to her children and examined herself if she guided them well or not, if she lacked anything as a parent. “Kaya ngayon as a mother, dapat pala ituro talaga sa mga anak which way to go (That’s why as a mother now, it’s so important to teach children which way to go.).  It’s not enough you believe in God. Dapat araw-araw malinis kang haharap sa Diyos. Pagkatapos ng bagyo, na-realize ko talagang dapat naka-ready ka. (You must face God everyday unblemished. After the storm, I realized that I need to be ready.) ” She lost her son and then now her home, but Manang Mary said that her path and her life is now much more clear because of the flood.

“Secondly, I will share these to my children and grandchildren. I will teach them to be serious in their faith and always be ready to face our Creator.”

Manang Mary now realizes that the best gift and legacy she could leave her children and grandchildren are not the expensive things at home–that’s why God took them away in the flood–but the faith and devotion to follow God’s path for them no matter what.

When asked about how she thinks of their future, Manang Mary gladly answered that she’s not worried about the future. “In fact, ang daming blessings na dumating pagkatapos ng bagyo (In fact, so many blessings came after the storm). Looks like we’re having more now than even before. Grabe ang Diyos (God is great). Somebody called my husband and said that they’re looking for a house for us already. Nothing to worry.”

Message to Flood Victims

Her message to Ondoy flood victims, “Change your FOCUS. Don’t look at the things that were destroyed by the flood, those are only material things. Focus on the things that the eye cannot see, focus only on God.”

Manang Mary left the room with her husband full of cheer, very happy and thanking God for the flood. Ondoy may have taken away their house, but the storm also took away her grief leaving with her a newfound joy and confidence for her family’s future because she found a stronger foundation to build a home.

The light in the flood