This is the fifth in a series of blogs being written about (+) MORE, the Awana global documentary. (Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four.)
Throughout the filming, we traveled to eight global destinations to record just some of the amazing things our amazing God is doing throughout the world in and through the ministry of Awana.
One of the most surreal scenes we witnessed was what we saw in the coastal Filipino city of Tacloban.
In 2013, a portion of the Philippines was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan. Though a number of months has passed, the desolation left by the roaring sea was sobering to see. What were once thriving neighborhoods were now shantytowns of tin walls and tarp roofs. Huge ships were thrown inland and looked as if they were toys tossed about and left out by a giant toddler. The sounds of generators could still be heard in the dense, humid air as there were parts of the community without working power.
I want to take a moment here to say that this wasn’t the case everywhere.
Much of life in Tacloban seemed to have returned to normal. Streets were clogged with people shopping and moving about. Malls, banks, and shops were open and crowded. Much of life seemed to be as it had been before Haiyan invaded.
Yet everyone in Tacloban had a story about the typhoon.
Everyone seemed to have a family member or friend lost to the savage waves, wind, and water of Haiyan’s violent fury. Even the working buildings and structures in Tacloban seemed to have lost their sheen. They seemed to be like a woman who has returned from crying, trying to regain her composure though the trails of tears could still be seen down her face.
Perhaps even more surreal than witnessing the physical destruction caused by Haiyan was the sense of urgency it created among the Christians, especially in Zoilo, the director of Awana Philippines, and the Awana leaders of the area—leaders like Patrick and his wife Grace—both of whom are national missionaries.
For Zoilo and for all Filipinos living in costal regions, typhoons are a reality. Annually, 20–30 will blow across the hundreds of islands that make up the nation of the Philippines, not all will be as catastrophic.
As you may imagine, this sobering fact causes a sense of reality and urgency for the evangelism and discipleship of children and youth in the area. Death could blow in at any time, and these young lives need an assurance of their eternity.
According to Zolio, they need to know they need not fear death, but that’s only possible by placing their trust in the One who defeated death.
I have four kids of my own. As we talk about Jesus, about salvation, the subject of death almost inevitably always comes up, but it is an abstract concept.
Here in the Philippines, death could be in the next storm, behind the next cloudy sky. The believers here feel a real sense urgency that they need to get the good news of the Gospel to every child in their country because the next storm is on the horizon and their desire—the desire of Zolio, of Patrick, of Grace, and the thousands of other Awana leaders that serve here—is that none of the children of the Philippines should perish without knowing Christ as Savior.
Reflecting on this leaves me with several questions and reactions, but perhaps the most sobering is the questions if I have that type urgency to share the Gospel?
Do you?
I pray God stirs our hearts to be aware that we have been entrusted with the Gospel as well as aware of the fact that the gift of the Gospel grows more valuable and more incredible the more we share it.
See (+) MORE today at awana.org/more. Share what God is doing with your family and friends by sending them the link. Arrange a showing at your church or Awana club.
