On September 30, two days after typhoon Milenyo (also known as Xangsane) devastated parts of the Philippines, fellow initiates arrived from Formosa to provide emergency relief. (For details, please refer to News #175 “Love in Action.”) In the aftermath, Master reminded us to address water shortages in local communities by providing equipment or any other form of assistance.

However, when Formosan initiates returned to the Philippines, all enquiries about water scarcity led to a dead end. “There must be a desperate need for water somewhere,” we thought. “The local people must have been praying sincerely to God, which is why Master has given such an instruction.” After a persistent search, we finally learned from the ABS-CBN television station that more than 100,000 people in Sorsogon, a remote area about 20 hours’ drive from Manila, were in urgent need of water and power supplies.

When Mayor Sally Lee of Sorsogon received our phone call, she was greatly moved. After repeatedly expressing her gratitude, she referred us to Sorsogon Provincial Governor Raul R. Lee. On the phone, Governor Lee invited us on a tour of the disaster area and said that power generators were urgently needed to get water pumps up and running.

Within 20 minutes of our arrival in Sorsogon, Governor Lee and related officials met us at the hotel. They said that beside the four generators, chlorine pumps were also needed for water disinfection. They invited us to visit the water pump station. Meanwhile, the governor wrote a sincere letter explaining the emergency needs (see Appendix). Division Manager Boy Lopes of the Water Department was moved and commented that he had previously sought help from five different organizations. Our timely appearance to meet the emergency needs of the Sorsogon people was a complete surprise, as they had no idea who we were and how we knew about their situation.

Returning to Manila on October 25, we immediately made the necessary purchases and went to Sorsogon again on October 31 with the generators. General Manager Ronaldo G. Barboño and Manager Lopes of the Water Department were waiting for us to arrive that evening at the provincial government office. When they saw that we had brought a truckload of chlorine powder for water disinfection, they were overjoyed. In the early morning of November 1, the four generators were installed at the local water pump stations. In the afternoon, accompanied by Mr. Barboño, Manager Lopes, and Water Department engineers, we went to some of these water pump stations to better understand the water disinfection process. We also recorded in detail the brands and models, and observed the working condition of each pump, as we were informed that four more chlorine pumps were needed.

As we prepared to depart for Manila that evening to make the purchase, Division Manager Lopes bid us farewell and expressed his amazement at how within ten short days, members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association had delivered both generators and chlorine powder to Sorsogon. He thought it was a miracle and wondered how we knew of their need. We offered him Master’s sample booklet and said, “We have come here according to the loving instruction of Supreme Master Ching Hai.” Upon hearing this, tears welled up in his eyes. He got to his feet, looked skyward, and said, trying to hold back his tears, “God, You truly know our needs!”

Division Manager Boy Lopes (2nd from left) and General Manager Ronaldo G. Barboño (3rd from left) of the Sorsogon Water Department accompany initiates on an inspection tour of the local water pump facilities.

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