By Bhante Y. Wimala

 The church is now in use and I am grateful to our sponsor Mr. Anura Perera for providing the needed funds. The official community hand-over ceremony will take place in July when I return to the Philippines to supervise our on-going typhoon relief projects.
 
In April 2014 I arrived in San Isidro, Barangay to distribute medical equipment to the health center. After the typhoon hundreds of dead bodies were collected in Tacloban city and brought to San Isidro. They were buried in mass graves around the health center.
 
The Church of San Isidro was among the many buildings badly damaged. When I got out of the car it was raining and I noticed some women and children sitting inside the damaged church holding umbrellas. Mrs. Eden Chua, the President of the Village Chiefs Association in Tacloban was with them. With her help I spoke with the Chief of the Village and several Church attendants. They explained to me that the people in this area were badly affected by the typhoon and hadn’t been able to raise the money needed to restore the Church. No one had offered any assistance and they asked if I would help. I accepted their request and began the work of assessing the needs and securing the funding for the project.

I contacted Mr. Perera, explained the situation and the reasons for choosing to rebuild the Church and he immediately agreed to sponsor the project. I offer my heart felt gratitude to him and his family. Jenny Ruth in Tacloban managed the construction and worked hard communicating with me almost daily until the project was completed. With a sense of joy I would say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”!  My blessings to everyone involved.