Street Stories - A Ringside Seat To Over 4 Decades Of Taking Jesus To The Streets Of The World

Suddenly, I heard, “Hello? Is this Pastor Bobby?” It was Gerson Deita on the other end of the phone, greeting me and assuring me that they were there outside the airport waiting to pick us up and begin our disaster relief ministry in Tacloban. What a relief to actually connect with Gerson and his evangelism team who had come from Kabasalan to join forces with us. Hallelujah! Brother Bill, Pastor Kelly, Garth, Brian, Roy, and I all piled into a waiting van and quickly exited the airport. We met Bishop Eddie Deita, Gerson’s Dad, and a whole group of Pastors and ministers who served as leadership in several other King Jesus Christian Fellowship churches down south in Mindanao. Such a precious group of humble men of God, all who were anxious to get to Tacloban and minister to the hurting families, many left behind as their loved ones had been killed in the storm. We headed directly to a family-style hotel in Manilla, the Shalom Center. This was such a welcoming place for us to rest and prepare for the upcoming trip to Tacloban City. The rooms had as many as 8 beds in one room. And the prices and hospitality were worth mentioning. Gerson wanted to bless us, so Brother Bill and I had a small room to ourselves with two twin beds. (Maybe our reputation for snoring in the night had preceded us and they wanted to be sure everyone else got some sleep. Ha.) Even though we were jet-lagged and beyond tired, Gerson had planned a street outreach for us to go minister and pass out tracts in a nearby park in Manila. As I have heard said, “the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak,” as bad as I wanted to go to the park and minister, I laid down on the bed in our room and that

295