The story of Tarco
Tarco is a Filipino coconut farmer. Tarco believes in God and trusts him. He lives with his wife and 5 children in the hilly hinterland of Dumaguete. They live in a small hut made of stone and bamboo. He is not rich but with his small coconut plantation he is able to provide for his family, or at least this was the case before the accident.
About 12 years ago, the following happened: One morning, Tarco set off with his nephew. They wanted to inspect the coconut trees to see how ripe the coconuts were. It was not yet harvest time, so it was safe to be around the coconut trees. Tarco asked his nephew to climb up the tall trunk of one of the trees to check exactly how ripe the nuts were. He effortlessly climbed up the steep trunk. Once at the top, the nephew looked at the coconuts. But suddenly something unexpected and terrible happened. Without warning, a coconut came loose and fell directly onto Tarco’s head as he stood under the coconut tree. He immediately fell to the ground as if struck by lightning and stopped moving. As quickly as he could, Tarco’s nephew climbed down the steep tree trunk to see how his uncle was doing. At first he thought Tarco was dead, but Tarco was still breathing. Tarco was alive – but from that moment on he was paraplegic.
We found out about Tarco’s fate some time after the accident had happened. We then began to visit him and support his family, since the small but regular income which Tarco was able to generate with the coconut trees, was not given anymore.
Tarco has a deep faith in God and – despite his condition – he is not angry with God. He trusts Him. We visit Tarco and his family every week. In addition to the groceries we bring, we also send his two youngest sons to school. Tarco is very grateful that we support him and his family. Every time we come by, he greets us with a cheerful “Maayong Buntag!”, which means “Good day” in his Visayan language. He enjoys the Worshipsongs we sing together. He is visibly pleased when we drink coffee together and have fellowship with him, his wife and the children. But what delights him most, is when we open the Bible with him, read a story from it and illustrate it with pictures. Tarco is often moved to tears when he hears the Word of God. He then expresses his thankfulness towards God and us by saying a simple but heartfelt “Daghan Salamat!” (thank you so much).
The story of Maffey
When we met Maffey, she was just 12 years old. She was a cheerful little girl. She lived with her father and two brothers in a small hut near the beach. The hut she lived in was made from materials that had been washed up by the sea.
We noticed that Maffey was always coughing and that her cough was getting worse. We took her to the doctor, who took an X-ray of her chest. When we sat in his office afterwards, he looked at us with a serious face. “Prepare this girl to die,” he said. We were shocked and asked why. He showed us the X-ray and explained that the dark spot that was visible was a fist-sized tumor pressing against the heart. The doctor said there was nothing he could do for her. “Maybe the doctors in Cebu City can do something,” he said. But it seemed unlikely to him. Maffey cried when we explained her the situation. Shortly afterwards, however, she said with a small smile, “Even though it makes me sad that I have to die soon, I know that I will be with Jesus then.“ Maffey had already opened her heart to Jesus and trusted him with her life.
During this time, we were visited by a friend from Germany who was a pastor. We visited Maffey and her family with him. We prayed together in the name of Jesus for Maffey to be healed, as we felt that only a miracle could help. Our pastor took the X-ray to Germany to show it to a German specialist. The German specialist had a similar diagnosis and had little hope for Maffey.
But somehow we were not ready to give up yet. We still wanted try to find a qualified doctor, who might be able to help us after all. Maybe we could find him in Cebu-City, a big city on the neighbor island.
After a few weeks, we travelled with Maffey to Cebu City. We hoped that the specialists there might have a solution for her condition after all. The specialist in Cebu who attended to us looked at the first X-ray and had a new one taken. He wanted to see how the tumor had developed.
When he looked at the 2nd X-ray, there was no more black mass there. He compared it several times with the first image and asked whether the first image was really Maffey’s. There was no doubt at all that the X-ray was Maffey’s. He compared the images several times again and examined Maffey thoroughly and ran some tests. The bulge formed by the tumor on Maffey’s back had really disappeared. The doctor was utterly amazed and said „I can’t explain that. There is no more tumor. A miracle must have taken place!“. Maffey was cured!
When we told Maffey what the result oft the examination was, she wept with joy. We were all very thankful and deeply touched by God’s intervention. This happened around Christmas. We were all so happy and said to Maffey: “Let’s celebrate. Let’s buy you a Christmas present. What would you like to have?” Maffey looked at us with a sweet smile while tears were running down her cheeks. She then simply said “I don’t need a present. Jesus has given me back my life and my health. That’s more than enough!”
Maffey was a part of our school program for many years. She successfully graduated from college as a Hotel and Restaurant manager. Today she has a stable life and is healthy.
The story of Estoy
At the beginning of January, we receive a text message early in the morning. Our employee Estoy had had a motorcycle accident during the night and was emergently taken to the local government hospital.
It turned out that Estoy had crashed his motorcycle into a woman who was also riding her motorcycle. She suddenly and completely unexpectedly turned left and Estoy, who was driving behind her, was unable to stop in time. He crashed into her sideways and lost his balance. He landed hard on the asphalt and suffered a double fracture in his right ankle when he fell, scraped his back and left arm and hit his head hard on the asphalt.
The doctor in charge informed us that Estoy has a large bruise on his forehead, which caused severe headaches and that he will certainly need surgery on his leg. He may even have to have implants to bring the bones back into the correct position. Estoy spent three weeks in the government hospital in Dumaguete. During this time, we visited him almost every day. We prayed for him and also told him about Jesus. “Jesus loves you Estoy. He has a good plan for your life, that’s why he kept you alive,” we told him. After a while Estoy suddenly said: “I know that Jesus has given me a second chance, otherwise I would be dead. I want to give my life to Jesus now and live for him. I know that he has forgiven my sins. He has saved me.” We were of course very happy about Estoy’s decision to follow Jesus. Estoy then began to read daily in the Bible we gave him. He wanted to learn more about Jesus, he said.
After 3 weeks in the hospital of Dumaguete we flew to Manila with Estoy and his sister Reza as his care taker. There Estoy was to be operated at the POC, Philippines Orthopedic Center. The POC is also a government hospital, but it specializes in bone fractures and orthopedic issues.
Once we arrived in Manila, however, we had to wait several weeks for the surgery date. One of the reasons was that Estoy still had an open wound on his fractured leg. The surgeon in charge wanted the wound to be closed before he would perform the surgery. The other reason was that there was an enormous demand and a limited capacity at the POC. Patients from all over the Philippines come to be treated at the POC. But in the end we got an appointment for the surgery. After 4 days, Estoy was able to leave the hospital. Everything went well. We then took the boat back to Dumaguete and arrived home safely.
Estoy can now walk again without crutches and put full weight on his foot. He has been having physiotherapy for several weeks and does daily exercises to improve the mobility of his foot. The movement sequence of his foot is almost back to normal. In a few weeks, Estoy will be able to work with us again. He is already looking forward to it.
Special events
In addition to the Services we offer on a weekly basis, such as the children’s program with meal distribution or family visits, we also hold special events such as Christmas events, movie screenings and much more.
There are numerous inspiring photos below. Just take a look!
Christmas events
Movie Showing
Krispina Garden Project
