It was a regular Wednesday morning; his son was out at work, his wife was doing the laundry, and he was preparing to go to the farm to work, when suddenly, the ground violently shook.
“We were shocked. We prayed for God to save us. The earthquake was really strong,” said Leo Pataray, describing the morning the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit their town in Abra.
Still dazed, Leo immediately checked on his family. He was thankful they were all safe even after pieces of glasses scattered from windows all around.
However, when Leo saw the damage the tremors caused to his son’s house, his heart was shattered.
Leo built the house of his son, Richie, little by little for 4 years while Richie was still working as forester in Africa. But last year, Richie had to return home when the COVID-19 pandemic affected his work abroad.
Richie showed the Operation Blessing Team the cracks inside their house. Strong aftershocks worsened each of them. The family set up a tent outside their house and live there for the meantime.
Leo’s family is among the other 15 families from Brgy. Nagtipulan in Laganilang, Abra with the same predicament. They all camped out, traumatized to stay in their damaged houses.
In response to the families’ need for daily supplies, OB delivered food bags good for 2 weeks consumption, solar lights, and New Testament Bibles for the families. Goods were distributed to all the 90 families in Sitio Daya with the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 4th Infantry Wildcat Battalion.
OB’s church partner, Heart of God Fellowship, also ministered to the families to help them get through with the traumatic experience.
The families are grateful for the help they are receiving. Their prayer is that God will also help them recover from the impact of the strong earthquake.