I was born and raised in the Philippines. I grew up in a Catholic family. My dad had a stable job and our family was doing fine. Everything seemed right and I thought life will be just that. But one day, my dad got robbed in his work and he got fired. Starting from that point, my dad began going with friends who were bad influence to him. His drinking habits became worse and every time he came home, he got into fights with my mom. One night, my mom prepared supper early. My dad came home and took the food and brought it to his friend’s place to eat while they drank. He came home that night very drunk and started looking for food. He forgot he took it all. He got so angry when he couldn’t find any and beat up my mom so badly he almost killed her. That night my mom decided to leave. She took my two sisters with her but left me with my dad. After a few weeks, I heard that she left the country and worked abroad illegally. I cried every night worried about my mom.

I just wanted to die to end all of my problems. I kept thinking, “Is this it? Is this life?” It was really hard because I was the eldest in my family and I got to see all the problems but can’t do anything. It was painful having a broken family. I was only a teenager and I had to suffer alone. Because of that, I became so bitter in life, I let the world influence me and I started going with the wrong people. I started drinking and smoking, and I knew my life was ruined.

One day, I decided to visit my grandmother who is a Christian. She knows about our family problems. She tried to comfort me and showed concern for me, and I really appreciated that. My cousins were there and because of their fellowship. I visited them more often after that. I never knew what a “Christian” was and I never heard the Gospel so my cousins always invited me to church with them. One time, their church held a youth camp and my cousins convinced me to attend for a week. I agreed and went with them. I thought we will only do camping activities like Boy Scouts but I was surprised that there was also preaching of the Word of God. I was not familiar with those kinds of meetings so I didn’t pay much attention with the preaching until the last night with the last preaching. The preacher mentioned the word “love” and it caught my attention because I was thinking about my mom and my sisters. The preacher said that Jesus Christ came down from Heaven, suffered on the cross of Calvary, and died for my sins because of His love for me. Who would ever thought of doing that for love? He did it for me when I am not even worthy of His love?

I went forward to the altar and prayed to God and said, “Lord, you know my situation, and I don’t need anything but you, Lord. Thank you for dying on the cross of Calvary just to save me. Lord, I need you.”  I opened my heart to the Lord and I finally felt the love I was looking for. That night of December 30, 2008, I trusted and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I felt loved again and the questions in my mind when my parents got separated was answered. After that, I began to regularly attended church and I stopped going with my unsaved friends but I prayed for them to get saved too. I thank God for His love and mercy for me that I never felt when I was a child and giving me a grandmother who had a concern for me. As we always sing, “To God be the glory, great things He hath done.”

I thank the Lord for not only saving me but also for calling me to preach His word. I committed and surrendered my life when I was fifteen years old. I ask the Lord to use me to preach His Gospel to my family and to the lost and dying. I started serving God’s ministry through volunteering in cleaning our church sanctuary, restrooms, and the parking lot. I didn’t know a lot about the Bible back then, so I just helped in preparing food and drinks for the kids’ ministry. It was a privilege for me to be used by God in small things. He let me serve in humble ways and those experiences taught me many things. As I grew in faith and knowledge of the Bible, I was able to teach kids in different areas in Tarlac City, Philippines where my home church is at.

In 2010, after I graduated High School, I enrolled in Fundamental Baptist College for Asians (FBCA) in Tarlac City, Philippines to be trained and learn more about the Word of God. In 2012, I was given the opportunity and privilege to further my studies and training at Marietta Bible College (MBC) in Marietta, Ohio under the leadership of Dr. Myron Guiler.

As a church volunteer and while studying in Bible college, I thank the Lord for the opportunities He has given me to serve Him. I was able to serve the Lord through teaching children, conducting several Bible studies, winning souls, distributing tracts, and through our feeding ministry. It is really a big privilege to share the Word of God to those children, teenagers and adults.

By God’s grace, I was able to help a pastor to open a village mission work near our area in Santa Maria, Bulacan. God gave us families to share the Word of God. Later on, we were able to conduct a service every Thursday night and bring them to my home church every Sunday Morning.

In 2011, while I was in the Bible College, I got to serve in another church to help a new missionary to start a mission in the place called Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines. It was the first time for me to go out of my comfort zone but God is always good in my life. God saved families through that ministry. We also conducted three different children centers with 20-30 kids each. We taught the Bible stories and fed them through the help of churches that support the ministry.

It is really my joy to see people get saved and be a part of the body of Christ. Seeing even one person accept Christ as their personal Savior is already a wonderful blessing for us. To God be the glory, great things He hath done.