My life was changed when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior in 2007. From then on, I invested my life in knowing Him, worshipping Him, and serving Him. The Lord made His calling clear to me through Genesis 12:1-3, “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Since then, I knew that God is calling me to a life of faith and obedience. I knew that He wanted me to step out on faith- to trust who God is and what He promised me through His Word. I knew that God had been preparing me for missions since that time.
In 2013, God called me to preach the gospel and make disciples in the Cordilleras. In 2018, He called me back to my province in Aurora to minister to my family and to my community. This year, the Lord called me to minister to the people of Myanmar and Thailand. Every time the Lord calls me to go to a place, I know that He wants me to step out in faith, follow Him, and see for myself how He will reveal Himself to be the faithful God.
THE LORD IS FAITHFUL TO THOSE HE CALLED.
Through this mission trip, the Lord has proven Himself to be faithful to those He called. I was sick two days before we traveled to Manila. During our travel, I was so dizzy and weak. But the Lord sustained me and made me well. The Lord provided for me. I went abroad several times but this was the first time that I encountered a very strict immigration officer. The Lord delivered me and He let me be a part of this mission trip. I had fears but the Lord promised to be my hiding place.
THE COVENANT-KEEPING GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISE THAT ALL GENERATIONS WILL WORSHIP JESUS.
During our 1st day in Myanmar where we went to a village with no electricity and internet, I saw the children worshiping the Lord. I was amazed at how God had answered my prayer. I was also reminded of what I learned during the Heart for Asia Conference. People were scattered but the Lord wanted the gospel to be preached to all the nations. The Lord made me see that He is the covenant-keeping God. When I saw the children genuinely worshiping God, I saw the reality of the Lord’s promise that generation after generation will declare the love of God, and will worship Jesus. The children were trained on how to do their devotion, read their bibles, and worship the Lord. They wake up before 5 in the morning to worship Jesus. I believe that these children will also teach their children to practice the things that they are practicing now. Their next generations will also know the Lord and worship Jesus.
When I saw the food of the children, papayang may sabaw, sili na may sabaw, green vegetable, my heart broke. I thought that they deserved proper food. But they never complained. They are grateful for what they have and they trust their Father to provide for them. Eighty – three children are staying in the school but only 2 house parents. The volunteers don’t receive anything or if they receive something, it is just that little. Their commitment to help the children and train them to be followers of Christ is very outstanding. Their hearts to serve the Lord by teaching and taking care of these children is inspiring. They have given up their dreams because of the calling of God and the joy that they experience from seeing the lives of the children changed is priceless.
I am compelled to continue giving tangible expressions of the gospel after seeing the situation of the children there. I will continue to make the business live out its vision to be a channel of God’s provision not only to my family but also to the communities around me like this village. I will continue to live out my calling in Genesis 12:1-3.
My 8 years of exposure to missions when I was in college and after graduation was used by God to cultivate in me the desire and conviction that for people to understand God’s love, there has to be a tangible expression of it. I remember buying noodles, sardines, and coffee from my remaining allowance during an outreach mission in Abra to give to one of the families that I was leading In Bible Studies upon hearing their story that they usually put salt and water on rice and that’s already a meal for them.
I knew that God wanted me to be the channel of His love through tangible things like providing food or help to others. Because of this calling, when God brought me back to Aurora, He gave me a vision. He wanted me to be a channel of God’s provision to the family and the community. He gave me the desire to help in providing the needs of the family, employment to others, support the youth, missions, and those in need. For this reason, I started a business in 2018, that is Ecura’s Delicacies. My vision and mission became the vision and mission of Ecura. For more than 5 years, we have been doing community projects as a means to make the love of Jesus known to our community.
I will keep on dreaming for these children.
I talked to Teacher Rachel and I found out that the children there were not encouraged to study. The parents thought that education was not so important. Also, in Myanmar, the Karen are always left behind and they already accept that. If the children do not study, it just becomes a cycle. Because the teachers do not want the students to stay that way, the teachers push them to study and dream. I can relate to the teachers. I also want to dream for the children. I am a believer that education can elevate the status of families. Some people also believe in this that is why I became their scholar and was able to finish college. To pay it forward, we also have 2 scholars now. The children that we taught in Sangkhla Buri, Thailand are all Burmese and they are from different villages and all of them are studying there. As the teachers there are making a way for the students to study and reach their dreams, my hope is when these children reach their dreams, they will be an inspiration to the younger ones and be of support to their villages when they become successful. These children deserve proper food and education. They deserve the fullness of life that the Lord has promised. And I want to be an instrument for that to happen.
I will keep on dreaming for Ecura to prosper and live out its vision to be the channel of God’s provision to my family and communities. I will start casting a vision for the youth and start investing in the children in our church. I will talk to our Pastor about the mission opportunity in that place and provide avenues for community development. I
My purpose in serving God was challenged in a way that He made me see that He will not only use me in Aurora, or the Philippines but in other nations. God’s gift and calling for me is irrevocable. He called me to be blessed to be a blessing to the nations and that all families on earth will be blessed through me.