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Alma Villamar: I saw the dark clouds. That really [scared] me.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: And it was just getting closer and closer and you don’t know if you’re going to make it.
Cindy Lulu: There were many people who abandoned their cars to start walking. And…I pondered on that, I’m like, “Should we leave? Should we go? Should we just get out?” Because you could slightly hear some explosions in the back.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: And you could see the fire coming and getting closer. You know, you just take that moment to pray.
Cindy Lulu: And that’s immediately when I said, “We have to pray.”
Martin Castillo: We headed straight to the chapel…to seek refuge.
Renzo Corpuz: You don’t know what’s going to happen in situations like this.
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Lahaina Fires
Power of Prayer and Faith
A CEBSI 56th Anniversary Special
Renzo Corpuz: From here, you couldn’t even see the ocean, like you can see the ocean.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Oh, because of all of the houses?
Renzo Corpuz: Yeah. It’s like, there’s no houses. My first time home.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Going down here?
Renzo Corpuz: This side? Yeah. I never wanted to.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: It’s been more than a year since the fire. And the town of Lahaina in the island of Maui doesn’t look the same.
Renzo Corpuz (Lahaina Resident): Lahaina was pretty much gone. You know from a place that you grew up in, especially in a small community, in a small town, it really affects you because it’s kind of part of your life and of who you are and your identity. And for something like that to happen like a fire, it’s tough. I’m already like, starting to forget how some things were before the fire.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing (Stories of Faith Producer): But I remember what life was like before the fire. I was born and raised in Lahaina. As a producer for INC Media, I came back home to hear their stories of faith, how they survived, and how they’re doing a year later. Driving through these streets took me back to what it was like growing up here. I remember going to the beach with family or friends, for birthdays, celebrations, or just to hang out, buying shaved ice or snacks from the shaved ice van, and going to worship service with the brethren I grew up with. I consider these brethren my family. And our sister in the faith, Susie, has always been one of those you’ll see helping at the chapel.
Susie Lauricio (Lahaina Resident): So here on Maui, having brush fires is a normal part of our lives. Every summertime, we have brush fire[s] here and brush fire[s] there. Sometimes they would shut down the road; to make sure that nobody will be affected by the fire on the road.
Rene Cocson (Lahaina Resident): I can say life here is quite normal before the fire because we go to work, we go to [worship service], we perform our duties. And it’s basically really a normal life.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: This is my Auntie Lilian and like most Lahaina residents would tell you brush fires are more common than people think.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan (Lahaina Resident): The grasses get brown, that’s when we know there’s going to be fire somewhere and we’ve had many of them. I can’t even tell you how many in our area alone. Lahaina doesn’t really rain that much. So it’s really dry. So the fire just spreads out into the town affecting houses, a lot of houses. And this past one, this past year was the worst ever.
“Please God, Help Me”
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: What began as a normal Tuesday is now a day that is marked in American history.
Rene Cocson: August 8th, 2023 is really [an] unforgettable day for us.
Willem Alden Palacio: It was the first day for everybody to go to school.
Susie Lauricio: [On] Tuesday morning, I was up at 5 a.m. to get ready to work. I want to go early, but at that time there was no power already.
T.V. Reporter: …in Hawaii’s history…This is a special Sky news program, Hawaii Inferno…
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: My cousin Cindy’s family only had minutes to spare.
Cindy Lulu (Lahaina Resident): I told everyone to go ahead and get packing. That’s when my kids went upstairs and started packing. And then shortly after, my son, he was looking out the window and he was screaming, “Fire! Fire!”
Willem Alden Palacio (Lahaina Resident): The winds started picking up way more. I believe it was 100mph at the time.
T.V. Reporter: …look at the harbor…
Rene Cocson: And all of a sudden, a police patrol car came and warned us to immediately evacuate because the fire is there already. So I immediately went back to our house inside.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: For Cianita and Alma, both choir members, in the midst of possibly losing their homes, they only had one thing in mind.
Cianita Cocson (Lahaina Resident): And then the first thing I grabbed was still my toga and my hymnbook bag because it’s the day of our worship service, it’s Tuesday.
Alma Villamar (Lahaina Resident): All of us have to leave with nothing. We didn’t get anything except for our toga, our hymnbook, because we have to perform that day. It’s Tuesday. My husband even told me to take the other car, but I said, “No, no, we are not going to be separated. We’re all going together.”
Cindy Lulu: Everyone was trying to get out of Lahaina, and it was very, bumper-to-bumper. And we weren’t moving. There are many people who abandoned their cars to start walking and I pondered on that like, should we leave? Should we go? Should we just get out?
Willem Alden Palacio: Some of my family members started evacuating to our house, because our house was basically the family house. And I remember seeing them crying. I was devastated because their house literally burned down and I’d never heard of anyone’s house being burned down before, especially in Lahaina.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Everyone’s goal was just to get out of Lahaina. Alma and her family couldn’t figure out how to move since everyone was stuck and all they could see was the fire coming towards them.
Alma Villamar (Lahaina Resident): We’re on the road with a lot of people and, you know, and I looked back, I saw the dark clouds, you know, that really scared me. The smoke is coming towards us.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: But then a miracle.
Alma Villamar (Lahaina Resident): We waited and were able to get through it.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: For Lilian and her husband, Rey, who are both at home when it happened, they couldn’t find each other after evacuating.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan (Lahaina Resident): Rey, my husband, left first with the dog. And we had no communication because all of the electricity went down. And I didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know where I was.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: But then another miracle.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: When we found each other, we were, like, separate, like he was in one side of the road. He was in Walgreens and I was in Ross. I was in standstill for the longest time. And you could see the fire coming and getting closer. So it was getting kind of scary. But, you know, you just take that moment to pray, for His guidance and, you know, have the faith that He will take care of you and everybody else.
Renzo Corpuz (Lahaina Resident): All you could really get for reception was around the beach areas, like by the hotel in Kaanapali. That’s how I was able to communicate with a few of them to see what was going on. And that’s kind of when I knew, later on in the evening, that Lahaina was pretty much gone.
Cianita Cocson: We saw how it burned down Lahaina. And then it’s so sad because we thought our place, or our house were not burned down at the time. But everything was burned down.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: While Cindy and her family were able to get out of their home, getting out of Lahaina was another story.
Cindy Lulu: We were just stuck in traffic. And that’s immediately when I said, “We have to pray.” So I prayed. I closed my eyes and prayed. Prayed to God to help us get through this for safety.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: And then another miracle happened.
Cindy Lulu: And as soon as I opened my eyes, we started to move. And we never stopped. The traffic kept going and going. Although it was slow moving, still we never stopped. It just gave me hope that, He’s watching over us.
T.V. reporter: …evacuees from accessing the main road, leading uphill, from town to the southbound bypass. The mayor at 6:03 p.m., makes no mention that the fire had moved past the Lahaina bypass…
Cianita Cocson: And I cannot even talk because it’s really hard. I cannot think. My mind is…I do not know what I’m going to do. But when I was inside our car I was just praying. I’m praying hard to God that He will, God will save us and will give us the strength to carry on because it’s really hard at that time.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Working for the local cable company, Martin went to work to assess the damages.
Martin Castillo (Lahaina resident): There were telephone poles down. I had to make sure, well, I had to report back how many telephone poles were down, if any of our lines are damaged. Then [at] about 1:30, I was across the street of our main hub, we call it, at the First Hawaiian Bank. I noticed that the fire started again up in Lahainaluna. More roads are closed because the poles fell. Then at about 3:30, I saw the smoke getting thicker going towards my house or my home. So I went back, told my family to get out, and then, we headed straight to the chapel to seek refuge.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: With power lines and cell towers down, Renzo still couldn’t find his family.
Renzo Corpuz: My first thing was my mom and my sister, because they were at home. I didn’t know what to do because when I found out we couldn’t go back and enter, I just felt numb. I just left it in God’s hands.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: And in the midst of such tragic circumstances is when we see the kindness and love of the brotherhood in the Church Of Christ. The kindness of people like Susie, whose home became a place of refuge for so many.
Susie Lauricio (Lahaina Resident): One of the sisters texted me. She told me that there was a fire at the foot of the mountain and that they’re being evacuated. So I told her to just come to the house. The whole family, Sister Lindsay, Sister Relly, and the brother of sister Lindsay, they just came to the house.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Even though her office building burned, Susie’s home was in the Napili area, which is further west of Lahaina, away from the fires. She and her husband decided to show their gratitude to God by helping others.
Susie Lauricio (Lahaina resident): Early in the morning, before six o’clock, people are knocking on my door and they said they never had sleep. They never ate. So, we just let them in, and we started cooking breakfast for them. They had to use the bathroom, and they told us that there are also other brethren still in the parking lot at Kahana parking lot. So we bought food over there. And then my husband, he brought out his generator, brought out those cooking stuff outside, started cooking outside for everyone. Yeah. So, yeah, “Just look in the icebox (refrigerator). Whatever you see, we can cook.” That’s all we did. So we just let them stay as long as they needed to.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Meanwhile, Renzo was still in search for his mom and sister. And then another miracle.
Renzo Corpuz: We found out they were at KBH, Kaanapali Beach Hotel in Kahana. So that’s already making your way towards Lahaina. And once I finally got to see them, I hugged them, you know, kissed them. I told them I love them, you know. Thank God. They’re safe. And it was such a relief because you don’t know what’s going to happen in situations like this.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: While Renzo was finally connected to his mom and sister, Lilian and her husband, Rey were thought to be missing by their relatives because no one could get a hold of them. But they made a pact.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: My husband took one car and I took one car. He took the dog, and we left with whatever we had. We both told each other if ever anything happens that we and we were separated, we would meet each other at the chapel.
Renzo Corpuz: Then we finally passed the chapel and, you know, the chapel was still standing, so that was a beacon of hope.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan (Lahaina resident): We got towards Front Street. We couldn’t turn left because there’s more fire in Front Street. We could only turn right towards Kaanapali. Which I was glad, because that’s where the chapel was. And knowing what we always thought to always head to the chapel.
“Everything Gone”
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Once Lilian and Rey separated ways so they could save each of their cars, they had no idea how they would find each other again. But then another prayer answered.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: My husband got to the chapel first, when we got here, it was really nice to finally see each other, because you never know if you’ll ever see each other again.
Marcus John Palacio (Lahaina resident): Maybe around 12:00 in the afternoon, we saw smoke coming really close to where I lived. That’s when the panic kind of set in that this wasn’t a normal kind of fire. And we thought, yeah, we have to evacuate. We packed all our stuff, we left the house, we evacuated to Lahaina Civic Center. I was very scared at that point, and wasn’t even sure if our home would survive.
Alma Villamar (Lahaina Resident): I’m so confident that we’re going to be okay, that God is with us. He led the way. We were able to get to [the chapel] safely, so we waited there. But we’re hoping that the fire will be controlled and we can get back to our house again.
Cindy Lulu (Lahaina Resident): You could slightly hear some explosions in the back and that is what scared me.
Alma Villamar (Lahaina Resident): Boom, boom, boom, you know. It’s kind of like all the gas tanks, maybe, the cars blowing up. We don’t know what’s going on because we cannot see it. But you can see the dark smoke and it’s fiery already.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: And we could see the burning, the fire, the redness from afar. After a while, it started to get closer and closer towards Wahikuli [Road], which is where the chapel is. And so we decided to evacuate from [the chapel] and head down to Kahana.
Willem Alden Palacio (Lahaina Resident): That night, we were all told to evacuate that street because the fire was getting way too close. I wasn’t worried because I thought I would come back. I would go like, okay, everything would be alright, and everyone would be safe.
T.V. reporter: People were desperate for help. Families trapped at the water’s edge.
T.V. reporter: When people go back, they will see destruction like they have not ever seen in their lives.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: There were a lot of people just parked there. A lot of people were also parked at the beach. And so we spent the night there. Brother Martin had a company car, so we were able to plug in and have our battery recharged for our cell phones. Electricity was out. And so we had whatever gas we had. And so we just kind of stand by and stand guard overnight and stayed at the parking lot at Kahana.
T.V. reporter: This was a home.
Martin Castillo (Lahaina resident): About 8:00 a.m., I reported to work again. They told me to go and see if we [could] assess the [damages] of what had happened. Our main hub was totally destroyed. Right behind the main hub was my house, my home. I could see the house was gone. Many houses above it were gone.
Willem Alden Palacio: The very next day morning, Uncle Joey, he recorded at the post office near my street. He showed me the videos. And that’s when I saw everything just burned into ashes. Everything just all gone. I ran to my family and I showed them the video, and that’s when they all just started crying and we just couldn’t process it at the time, so it was just harsh for everybody.
Martin Castillo: It’s really not the things that I lost. It’s okay. As long as my family is safe.
“That’s Where We Need To Be”
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Brother Andre Gobrera is an evangelical worker who was assigned to Lahaina immediately after the fires. And the minute he got off the plane, he went straight to work.
Brother Andre Gobrera (Ministerial Worker): How can I help out the brethren here? I don’t know all of them by name. I don’t know all of them by face. So this is, it felt, almost like search and rescue. So, I was able to receive the master list of all of the brethren, by household and individual. And as soon as we landed here in Maui, we went straight to visitation. These weren’t normal visitations because of the circumstance. So we visited brethren that were in their hotels that were living with, their families. It was a very, very trying time for them. And all I could do was, all that I remembered was my assignment: check on them, strengthen them, pray for them.
Susie Lauricio: So we were just doing household worship services, but the Church Administration sent ministers to officiate, lead us in those household worship services. There were three sites. There’s another one at the hotel and there’s another one at Lahainaluna.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: We gathered twice a week in the garage. So, we would put up curtains so that we would have some privacy, and gather as much chairs as we could. So the brethren in Lahaina and Wahikuli area would be able to come and attend there.
Brother Andre Gobrera: And you could really feel it in those worship services with the brethren being early. You can hear their cries. You can hear their, and when we say crying, it wasn’t just tears of sadness but tears of joy that not one single member, not just of their family, but of the entire congregation, was harmed.
Renzo Corpuz: I remember the first worship service that we had at one of the households. I couldn’t think straight. It was more, if you could say like a prayer of, like, emotion because I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. But more so like, “Thank You.” The more worship services we had, you know, just keep praying and find the words to say, and singing as best as we could to keep us strong and try not to waver because, you know, it was a tough time.
Susie Lauricio: Since the chapel has already been barricaded, we cannot even go to the chapel, although it’s not burned down. But they barricaded all the roads by where the chapel is.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Despite their homes being gone or affected, the House of Worship is what brethren were very concerned about.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: If you look around this area, you have a lot of houses that’s been engulfed by the fire. It was so close, like next door neighbor. It’s just a wall that separates the houses and pastoral [house] was fine. Even the chapel, just the roof was, you know, needed some fixing. I mean, praises be to God. It’s still standing. It’s amazing. It is a miracle to still have our chapel standing.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Despite the Lahaina house of worship still standing, it wasn’t so easy to get back in.
Brother Andre Gobrera (Ministerial Worker): We would come here to the chapel, when we could because it was being blocked off by security guards. It was being blocked off by the County. It was being actually blocked off by soldiers, too.
Susie Lauricio (Lahaina Resident): So, we prayed hard that we would soon be allowed to come back to Lahaina. And our Resident Worker, Brother Andre, has been coordinating with the mayor’s office to allow us as soon as possible to come back, since our chapel didn’t burn down. They gave us a placard initially to get in for the brethren who are willing to come and help, we just shuttled them. Those cars that can bring brethren. We shuttle them to the chapel. We cleaned around. It was really a mess. We started fixing the roof of the chapel as fast we could, just to patch the areas that might leak when there’s water. And to make sure that the chapel is ready once they let us come back.
So we were able to come back in December before the Thanksgiving worship service, and we were so happy that out of those people who perished in the fire, none of brethren was included in those numbers. A lot of them, they may have lost their house, but they were still alive. We are still able to continue serving our Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and continue on in the performance of our duties.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: To be able to come back to their house of worship three months after the fires and just in time to hold the Year-End Thanksgiving. Their hearts were overjoyed with gratitude.
Renzo Corpuz: If I could say it in one word, joyful, for sure, because there’s a lot of emotions still going through everyone and myself included. But it was good to be back. It felt like home, a place of refuge, you know?
Susie Lauricio: And the brethren were able to, you know, express what their feeling to God. It’s so easy to be sidetracked. If they’re in the hotels, they’re like, they’re full of problems. But when we were gathered, we know that God is there and He’s going to listen to our prayers. And they were able to say all the problems that they’re going through and beg for help from God. We don’t know what’s going to happen next. He’s the only One, He can give us the answers. Though, we don’t know what He’s going to do. We just have to trust what He’s going to do. We just have to tell Him what we feel and what our problem is. And it’s up to God. It’s beyond our imagination. We just have to trust God. We just have to keep praying. We know the power of prayer. And God works miracles, whatever He would do. We don’t know. Sometimes the answer is already there. We just haven’t seen it. Or we just…He has a plan for all of us. Whatever it is, it will show up.
Brother Andre Gobrera (Ministerial Worker): When we ask the brethren in our household visitations, you know, kabagis, kapatid, brother, sister, what does your family need? The Church Administration is asking. We ask them this in our household visitation. And then they would tell us, in general, we need air purifiers because the air is not yet safe. Even though we live here in a hotel or even though we’re living with family. It’s not safe for our children. It’s not safe for my mom. It’s not safe for my grandparents. If there’s anything you can do? An air purifier would help us all. And then other things that we’re given were clothes because all of their clothes were destroyed in the fire. And not just clothes and also emergency lights, food, water, basic provisions, as well as propane tanks. So, that brethren would have materials to cook.
So within a short period of time, all of those materials came during our Care For Humanity. And it was not just the brethren who benefited here in Lahaina, in Napili, and in Wailuku and in Kahana. That’s how deep the love of the brotherhood is here inside the Church Of Christ. That’s how caring our Executive Minister is for the entirety of the Church. Not only did they receive constant admonition from the Church Administration, but they were also met with a great blessing last February. We were able to hold a special worship service, that was officiated by one of the primary helpers of our Executive Minister. And during that special worship service that was led by Brother Jojo De Guzman, all of the brethren were able to feel just how much our Executive Minister, Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, deeply cares for every member inside the Church Of Christ.
“He’s Always There For Us No Matter What”
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: It’s been over a year since the fires and the life lessons from something so tragic has given them the kind of wisdom that can only come from deep, unshakeable faith. They’ve all been changed, for good.
Rene Cocson (Lahaina Resident): Whenever trials come in our life, we must always cling to God. We must always trust in Him. We must always pray to Him. He will continue to answer our prayers as long as we fulfill His divine teachings, His commandments. So if ever we encounter trials like that, we should always trust in what our God can do for our life.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: Why are you getting emotional?
Rene Cocson: It’s a mixed emotion, happy and sad. If I remember those things that happened that day, it’s really hard for me because I’ve lost everything that I’ve been working for how many years. But as my brothers and sisters are telling me, God will change much more than what you have lost.
Cindy Lulu (Lahaina Resident): You know, I’m very open with my kids, and they knew I was always praying, and I would always encourage them to always do their prayers. Even as a family we would pray, but also do your individual prayer. Just any time that you would feel alone or things are getting hard, to always pray.
Renzo Corpuz (Lahaina Resident): And when you have God, everything will always be okay. It might not be now, or it might not be tomorrow, but somewhere down the road, He’s always there for us no matter what. No matter what. Even with a disaster like this, or if there’s a disaster somewhere else where other brethren were affected. God will take care of you after. Because He sees when you’re performing your duties or the activities. God sees that. He sees the work that you put in. I think whenever stuff like this happens, like disasters, you just know that He’s going to be there for you. And if I could say that’s a miracle in itself, I got out of the house, I could say that was, in my eyes, a miracle that He saved me.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: How has your faith changed?
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan (Lahaina Resident): It has been changed, I think. I think materially, it seems like it’s not as valuable, the expensive things that you have. I don’t shop as much anymore, trying to keep with the basics. I think I’ve gone to more food versus like material things and trying to just survive. Spiritually? There’s no one else when you’re by yourself. He’s the only One you can turn to, and you just have to believe and have faith that He will be there for you. And so many times He has. It makes your faith stronger to know that He is always there for you.
“God Works In Mysterious Ways”
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: For 15 year-old Alden, the change in him is so profound that even he is surprised. He recalls one instance after the fires when he realized just how much his faith had grown.
Willem Alden Palacio: I remember my parents coming back from getting supplies. I remember grabbing a book from the box. It was the Bible. I remember opening the Bible and seeing the book of Job. I remember seeing the verse where his wife was telling Job to say, why aren’t you cursing God? “You should be cursing God for what He’s doing. He removed everything.” But Job, he remained faithful and said, “Why would you question God for He’s the One who gave you everything.” And that’s when I just stopped. I was, “Oh wow.” Seeing that verse and rereading that book, especially from what I’ve heard in the lessons [in worship services]. I was just like, it’s just a coincidence? I remember closing the book [Bible] and I just started praying. I was crying too at that time. You know, we shouldn’t be questioning the things that God can do for us, for He’s the one who gave us everything in the first place. And God works in mysterious ways. You know, it taught me so much things after that. At [the house of worship], that’s when I started getting closer with God. I started actually expressing myself more. I started taking [the worship services] more seriously then. And that’s when I felt more peace. I felt more happier.
Susie Lauricio: We are so thankful and that’s just a manifestation that God is with us. No matter what happens, we have to believe in God and turn to Him. We always pray to Him. We know that He’s always going to be there to help us. We just have to rely on Him and depend on His guidance and protection through the Church Administration. They are instruments of our Lord God in guiding us on what’s best to do in times like this.
Willem Alden Palacio: Before I ever experienced what happened that night, I thought it was for nothing. The house burning down, it was for nothing. But then I realized after learning more and strengthening my faith more with God, and talking to Him on a day to day basis. My relationship with God at the time wasn’t really that good, so God actually gave more blessings in return after what has happened. Every day is not promised and every day is a new opportunity. People are so stuck and scared, they’re letting fear and failure control them and stopping them from doing what they’re capable of. Building the connection with God helped me get rid of all of those and telling me that things that you thought that were impossible is actually possible through Him.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: What is your faith and what’s your conviction?
Cindy Lulu: Despite all these losses, they’re just physical losses, materials. We always just look towards our faith in God. And the things that aren’t perishable, because truly it’s our faith that keeps us going. That gives us the strength that we need to continue our day, to continue to do the things that we do.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: For Cindy, Alden, Rene, Cianita, Alma, Susie, Renzo, and Lilian, the details of their experiences from the Lahaina fires may vary, but they all have one story of faith. A story of resilience, a story of trust, and a story of deep service to God no matter what tomorrow may bring.
Lilian Corpuz-Licudan: Never give up. Remain strong. Have faith in God. Don’t lose your way, whatever may come in our lives. This is just one way to see that He is always there for us. He may give us some trials in our life. We may not have the luxury in life, but we’re still alive and still have the capability to serve Him. And just remain in the Church.
Cindy Lulu: During this intense trial that He was there for me and my family, all the more that we are here and serving our Almighty God. Instilling it into our kids, the importance of going to the [worship] service, and the importance of praying to Him. Knowing that He is always there and will always be there guiding us. It has strengthened our faith even more. We can always look to Him and it won’t matter in any circumstances that we’re at, we can always find Him there beside us.
Liza Corpuz-Tiangsing: After hearing their stories, I walked away overwhelmed with mixed emotions. I felt heartbroken of what they experienced and lost during the fires. I felt guilty that I couldn’t be there with them during that tragic event and during their recovery. But above all, I walked away extremely thankful and inspired by their immense faith and resilience. Their stories have also helped to heal the loss of my hometown of Lahaina and draw strength from God that my family, the brethren, and the community of Lahaina will rebuild and grow stronger. I hope these stories of faith will serve to inspire people to have a closer relationship with God, to build that connection with Him, to experience that feeling that no matter what we may face in this life, He will always be there for us as long as we faithfully serve Him. And even though the road to recovery isn’t easy, their stories prove that God will always be with us and help us to overcome it all.
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Stories of Faith
[Credits]
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