Bodies in life jackets washed up on islands and drifted at sea Wednesday as more than 100 divers investigated deeper inside the ferry boat that capsized during a powerful typhoon. More than 800 people are still missing since the tragic incident on Saturday, June 21st when the 7th-story ferry boat hit ground and capsized. I wish I could continue to pretend that my sister Maribeth is not a passenger in this boat, but I could no longer deny it. The cries of my 15-year old nephew Jan Karl seems to be permanently tattooed in my mind and in my heart. I could no longer hide my feeling of despair and anguish as I anxiously wait for news- any news from the Philippines that my sister Maribeth is alive and well or if not her lifeless body is washed ashore somewhere in the many islets nearby. I can feel my insides in knots, twisted in different directions. For the past four days every time I open my eyes from a forced sleep, I see my sister grasping for air above water her legs struggling to kick, her hands outstretched, trying to hold on to me, asking for help. I could not help but scream with anguish- I should have been there helping my little sister swim for her life. I should have been there cheering her on, encouraging her not to give up and to continue to swim for shore. She can swim. I know that she is a good swimmer.
The poem "In the Arms of God" was the result of that tragic news:
No more despair, no more cries
No more darkness
No more night, no more night!
No more despair, no more cries
No more sadness
No more wailing, no more wailing!
Only joy and light, joy and light
Lift your eyes to the hills
What do you see?
You see the dawn
You see beautiful mercy
In the arms of God!
Go in peace God be with you
Go in peace be at rest
Laugh with the saints and the angels
Now you are free
Go in peace
Touch His robe of white, purest white
Go and feast at His table
With the bread of life, bread of life
Sing with the angels
For you are home
Home in the arms of God!
My sister is on dry land. At this time, I know that God’s grace is working in me, because of the strength I have to persevere. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God releases into me His supernatural power so I might endure. This is founded from Acts 1:8 that clearly states that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us, and we will be God’s witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. A spirit of confidence in Him is ignited within me. God revealed to me – His grace has awakened my heart and mind to believe that the Lord will turn my troubles into something beneficial. The passage in Roman 8:28 penetrated into my heart and became a rhema to me: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This unexpected tragedy was at first an unknown – and now has been revealed to us, to me- which brings great pain to me and to my family, and specially to my niece Ryn-ryn and my nephew Jan Karl. The feeling of pain is not physical. It is the pain of a knotted feeling inside twisted in many directions. This pain will subside, in God’s time. I believe that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. I feel in my heart of service, that God has special plans for me to do something for the better good of others.
According to several accounts of news reports, MV Princess of the Stars, the flagship of the Sulpicio Lines fleet left the port of Manila on June 21, 2008 on its way to Cebu City. The number of passengers is variously reported between 700 and 800, but according to the passengers’ manifest, published in the official Sulpicio Lines website [www.sulpiciolines.com], there are 724 manifested passengers, 112 crew members, and 27 contracted employees. My sister was traveling under her maiden name, Constancia Gevero. She is listed as the number 208th passenger. The seven-story ferry boat sent a distress signal late on June 21, 2008 at around 11:30 a.m. when its engine stalled in strenuous waters near Sibuyan Island. Mayor Nanette Tansingco, Mayor of San Fernando, Romblon sent a speed boat to the site, and confirmed that the ferry boat had a hole in the hull, partially submerged and that several bodies had been found nearby. ABS-CBN’s account of the submersion location, the ferry boat is partially sitting on a lodge sixty-feet below water. The plan was to dig a hole to sip out crude oil, to avoid oil leak but they did not continue the process because there is a possibility that the boat will lost its balance and once crude oil is emptied, the boat will fall to the ocean ravine 120 feet below. The sketch of the capsized boat showed passengers in the economy section which is now barely resting on a lodge under water is the location of piled bodies. My sister might be one of these piled bodies.
News/Video of the Tragedy
Two years and six months ago, I was tested and churned by my God. I knew then, that the only way I could drink from every cup passed unto me by Him, I have to put my complete trust in Him - I learned to walk in integrity and trust in the Lord without wavering - that day I committed to live a life in abundance! My sister Maribeth now lives an abundant life!
