The Book of Ecclesiastes (9:11) in part says, “…time and chance happen to them all.” This chance happening occurred to Raul Villacote, elder of the Tacloban City congregation, together with Leyte local leaders Jose Campos and Vicente Noriega. They were on their way home from Pagadian City when they encountered a holdup last July 23, 2006 at around 4 p.m. at Tangub City, Misamis Occidental.

Thirty minutes after they left Pagadian, three passengers boarded the same bus they were on and later declared a holdup. They revealed they were armed with a 45 caliber pistol and a hand grenade. After a 10-minute operation, mobile phones and other valuables were taken by the holduppers, leaving most of the passengers empty-handed. A student passenger was accidentally shot in the arm during the incident.

This encounter caused some delay in their travel home, but most importantly, it reminded them of the greatness of God’s love and protection, and how powerfully prayers could help. They happily and safely arrived home to their families still feeling blessed!

—Reported by Jose Campos, Tacloban/Leyte