FAITH AMID ADVERSITY. Devotees pray the rosary before the image of the Our Lady of Light in a temporary structure put up beside the ruins of the church in Loon town, Bohol. (CDN Photo/Lito Tecson)
Loon, Bohol—“Adtong higayona, wa mi kasabot sa among gibati, sa among mga nakit-an sa dalan (It was the longest walk in my entire life, people covered in mud, some bloodied emerging from rubbles and motorcycles with unconscious people being rushed to hospitals).”
As 47-year-old Jerry Evangelista recalled the scenes on the day of the quake, he considered himself fortunate that he and others recovered from the biggest challenge their town had to face in their lives.
There’s no secret to Evangelista’s fortitude; he said he’s thankful that despite the difficulties, he still remains standing while others suffered worse than what he and his fellow Boholanos had experienced.
Evangelista was with some nuns to help out in the blessing ceremony for the new rooms they built when the ground shook at 8:12 a.m.
While people panicked, Evangelista and another staff ran outside the building located near the boundary of the nearby town of Maribojoc, four kilometers away from the town’s central district.
As Evangelista ran towards his house in Cogon Norte village in Loon town, he wondered whether his wife was safe.
Badly damaged
He recalled seeing people crying, lying on the ground, and children with their parents covered in mud.
There was even a motorcycle rider who offered him a ride which he declined.
The motorcycle driver then brought an unconscious person to the hospital in Tagbilaran City, the province’s urban capital.
Evangelista was busy preparing for the memorial activities in Loon town, one of the badly damaged towns in last year’s earthquake, when Cebu Daily News caught up with him yesterday afternoon.
Survive
He heads the maintenance of the Church of the Our Lady of Light until it was destroyed by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
Evangelista told Cebu Daily News that it took him almost two hours to reach his home and find out that his wife was safe even if their house was destroyed.
The church where he worked for more than 10 years was damaged.
Everyone’s eyes were on the 300-year-old structure as people camped out in front of it while aftershocks came by the minute.
Now, Evangelista heads the construction of an adoration chapel adjacent to the church rubble.
Religious fervor
The century-old church cannot be rebuilt yet since it is being protected by the National Museum as a heritage site, he said.
Like most people in Loon town, Evangelista said the church and some damaged homes were the only reminders of what they experienced on that fateful day.
A devotee of the Our Lady of Light, Evangelista said the quake didn’t dampen the town’s religious fervor.
In fact, he said the fiesta last Sept. 8 was even well attended than before and that it had a special meaning in the wake of the tragedy.
Evangelista said he didn’t undergo counseling because he felt he needed to move on like the rest of the residents for the sake of their children.
“Kami ra gud pud ang naghuna-huna nga kami mobarog ug balik (We decided that we will stand up again),” he said.