SALVATION TESTIMONIES V

Repented of My Sins

My mother brought my sister Vanessa, my youngest brother and me to a Christian church when we were young. We used to go to church every Sunday. I remember I was very active in children’s Sunday school especially in memorizing Bible verses.

We were active in the church until I was 20 years old. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I ended up being a single mother. I repented of my sins before God. I accepted the consequences and considered my child as a blessing from God. I asked for His forgiveness for all the sins I have committed. It was really difficult for me to face that situation while serving the Lord. I knew how my own family and the people around me saw my condition. But I knew Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” I continued to serve the Lord. There was even a time that my pastor gave me the opportunity to teach the children in Sunday school. It was not easy for me because I was still guilty of my sins. I knew I was not a good example to them. I only prayed to God that He gave me the authority and courage to share His Word to the children. God knows what my purpose was and what was in my heart. It was to serve, praise, glorify and honour Him.

In the year 2012, I went to the Middle East (Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) to work as a domestic helper for 4 years. These countries have really different beliefs because they are Islamic. But I was still blessed because they are kind and good-hearted people. I thought they are holy because they are very religious. They pray 5 times a day and follow what is written in the Qur’an (sacred book of Islam). They always tried to convince me to convert. Being there for a long time and without God’s Word, I became confused. After 4 years of continuous convincing and sharing with me their deeds and their sacred book, I decided to convert to Islam, thinking that there was only one God and He was the same God. I fasted throughout the month of Ramadan, I prayed 5 times a day and say words that I memorized without understanding their meaning because they were in their own language.

But then I realized that good deeds were not enough to save me. Only through Jesus Christ can I be saved. I regretted my wrong decision and repented of my sins. I believed and received Jesus Christ again as my personal Lord and Saviour. Glory to God! Glory to Jesus Christ! He loves me and He does not want me to depart from Him. He uses people to open up my eyes and return to Him. I am so grateful to be part of FilBF. Torre G.

God Answered My Prayers

I was raised in Roman Catholic belief. I became interested in the Gospel after graduation from Secondary school. I had the opportunity to serve God, although through a charismatic church in Manila. My faith in God grew stronger.

For five years in Manila, I had many opportunities. One of these was to proceed with my studies in one of the colleges in the capital city. However, I rejected it and instead decided to go home to Mindanao to pursue my studies there. But the influence of my friends caused my faith in Him to become weaker and weaker. Then, my brother stopped sending money to me for my studies. I was very upset and decided to stop schooling, and desired to work abroad.

I first went to Kuwait and worked there 5 years ago, but I had traumatic experiences. Twice my employer attempted to rape me, but thank God he failed. God is great! He protected me!

After my contract in Kuwait ended, I went to Dubai (UAE) because my sister was there. However, my life there was not easy as I thought it would be. I had lots of problems especially with my co-workers. Every night I asked God to help me and comfort me. I asked Him to prolong my patience because there were times I wanted to blow up but I did not want to hurt anyone. Suddenly, I remembered a verse from the Bible that made me stronger, Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Indeed, God answered my prayers after 6 months of working there, my employer finally allowed me to go home.

When I was back home, I felt bored without work. So I decided to go back to work abroad. I applied for Singapore and upon arriving here, spent 5 days in the house of my agents. They are Christians and religious. I prayed to God to give me a good Christian employer like them. I promised to God that I would always be near to Him. God answered my prayers for He gave me good Christian employers (Mr & Mrs Ian Goh). I am so blessed that God is always with me and I know He loves me. In fact, the first thing that I received from my employer was a Bible. I am grateful because they give me the privilege of going to church and attending the Filipino Bible Fellowship every Sunday, to learn more about Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Saviour. Garzon M.

I Came to Know the Truth

During my childhood days, I used to attend Bible studies at my school. I did not really understand the Word of God then. I also attended churches of different denominations in the Philippines like “Born-again” Christian (Charismatic), Iglesia ni Kristo, and Roman Catholic. I even tried to study the holy book of Islam (Qur’an). Before, I did not really know who God is and who Jesus Christ is because my family and I were Roman Catholics who believed in saints and images of Christ. We were blinded from the truth.

It was in 2013, I was one of the victims of that strong typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). I think it was the worst thing that happened to me and my children. When the storm struck we just hid at the corner of the house. When the roofs, windows and doors were broken and washed out, I was scared. I saw my 2 year-old youngest son who was very weak and became pale due to heavy rains and strong winds. I tried not to panic. I prayed to God and I surrendered our lives to the Lord because I knew no one could save us except Him. I was so glad God heard my prayers and never left us. We were all safe. After that tragedy, I decided to work abroad (Saudi Arabia) to start a new beginning because all of our properties were gone due to the typhoon. I wanted to find a job in order to support my three children.

When I was in Saudi Arabia, it was not so easy for me. My life was very miserable. I was terribly depressed and sometimes I asked myself why I had to face these kinds of trials in my life. My employers treated me like an animal. There was a time when I wanted to end my life. I wanted to jump from the rooftop (4^th floor). But when I tried to do so, something in my conscience convicted me not to do so because of my children and family who were waiting for me. I went downstairs and entered my room. I prayed to God to give me the strength and guidance if I should stay or go to the Philippine embassy there. After a while my employer’s daughter knocked on my door and she apologized for her parents’ fault. I was so grateful that God always heard my prayers.

Now here in Singapore, I am so grateful to God that He gives me the opportunity to meet people who can teach me His Word. Through this I came to know the truth and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. There is nothing impossible with God! We just need to have faith in Him. Pray with a sincere heart and He will always hear our prayers. He will never leave us nor forsake us! Menqullio R.

God Wants What Is Best for Me

I grew up in a “sometimes” Roman Catholic family. It is because “sometimes” we went to church—but often, we did not. I grew up feeling lonely and unloved. There was always a feeling of emptiness inside me. When I was 14, my mother died of cardiac arrest and that was the time when my loneliness took a heavy toll on me. I felt like I was all alone, empty and abandoned. I started to question God’s existence. I started to hate God for taking my mother’s life. I blamed my Dad for not taking care of my Mom and for having an affair with another woman while my mother was still alive. I became rebellious and hard-headed. Nobody loved and cared for me and that was when I started looking for “love” outside the family. I got into a relationship and committed fornication. I got pregnant at 20, and then married the father of my son at 21. So many problems came into my life that I attempted suicide twice.

During my 12 years here in Singapore, I considered myself an empty shell. I tend to keep things to myself and suffer alone. On September of 2017, one of my friends on Facebook, a distant relative, invited me and my sister to attend their Bible study at Gilstead Road. I was hesitant. I was not ready to face God. I thought I have always been a bad child. But after a month of thinking it through, we attended. It was October 8, 2017 and I felt a sense of peace overflowing within me when I listened to the Scriptures.

It was on December 31, 2017 that I confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, witnessed by brother Jose and my distant relative—“cousin” Jude. I came to realize how foolish I was to hate God. I felt ashamed of myself. I am a sinner and was separated from God and deserved to be eternally condemned by God. This is what the Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God,” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life though Jesus Christ our Lord.” I also came to understand that God loves me so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins (and the sins of the whole world) so that I could be forgiven and have everlasting life. This is also written in the Scriptures (Rom 5:6; John 3:16). There is a great sense of relief in knowing that I am forgiven and that God is on my side and wants and still wants what is best for me. He has redeemed me from three major burdens of my life—Anger, Resentment and Loneliness. He fills the emptiness of my heart.

There may be more trials and tribulation that may come my way. But, I know I can surpass them all because God is always there to strengthen me. As it is stated in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Ga M.

Praise Item from Filipino Bible Fellowship at Easter Service