So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts chapter 16 verse 31 NKJV
For almost 12 years of praying, I am now seeing this verse coming to pass. As the first member of the family to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior, I have been praying for the salvation of my loved ones ever since.
And now, I am overjoyed to see God's hand moving in their lives, bringing them closer to Him with each passing day. However, the way things unfolded was beyond my wildest imagination
How things unfolded
My mom messaged me one day telling me that my dad needs to be questioned at the precinct. He was accused of something and was facing criminal charges against him. I was devastated after hearing this news; I fell quiet for almost 2 hours. Not knowing what to do, I began to cry helplessly.
I have always looked up to him as the standard of a man I wanted to marry. He is selfless and sweet, a man of few words. He only gets talkative whenever he is drunk. So I could not believe such accusation against him.
He was taken into custody for almost 5 days. We tried to bring him out on bail but the office is closed on holidays and weekends. We were left with no choice but to wait. During this time I asked the Lord: Why did God allow these things to happen?
My dad is already old, suffering from diabetes type 2. He is the only one working for the studies of my two younger brothers. There were times that he would call me and tell me he is tired driving already but he had no choice but to work to earn and survive. As much as we wanted to help them, we living by faith also have limited resources in our hand and can only give a little to help them as well. I knew all his hard work and it pained me to see him undergo such a draining process of questioning and ridicule from the people around him.
They managed to pay the bail and bring him home so I asked him what happened. He looked thin as we video called. He was so downcast, he kept asking for forgiveness for dragging us in the situation and he could not hold back his tears. My heart shattered as I witnessed him in his weakness. But I had to be firm and not show any weakness for him to be encouraged.
My bros encounter
Thursday afternoon my brother second to the oldest called me to testify. He says that before the incident happened, he and his girlfriend attended a church, and he said he had never felt that feeling before. It was different and it brought him to his knees asking God for repentance. That same day he surrendered his life to our Lord Jesus Christ.
The next day in the evening he sent me a message asking if I can join them in prayer. He gathered all of them who are staying in the house so we can lift the situation to God. We prayed, I cried having mixed emotions inside me.
I was broken by the current situation of my family, since because of the complaint, my dad no longer had work to go back to, yet my heart is rejoicing because the same situation brought my whole family together on their knees, praying for God’s grace over our family.
It was on the 21st of July, when I called them to pray. That same day they decided to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. They started to attend the church service regularly even though the church is 2 hours away from the house, and they needed to spend 1,500.00 php ($30.00) for their transportation alone every Sunday, considering that they are at the moment living by faith and by the grace of God.
Their lack of finances didn’t stop them to seek and experience Christ. They are even undergoing an 8 week discipleship program right now with just one Bible for the four of them to use.
God knows
Indeed we cannot measure the depth of the plan of God in our lives. He moves in ways we cannot imagine. Even in times that we thought He is not doing anything, the circumstances He allows to happen is really for our own good.
Sometimes we wanted to be in control of what is happening, but when we acknowledge that He is in full control and He knows better than us, we begin to learn not just to put our trust but also put our confidence in Him.
Monica Las Duce is a missionary currently residing in “A” country with her husband and her daughter. She lost her second baby in 2021 but God have been so faithful to them and blessed them with another. While helping her husband in the ministry, she is also working as a primary school teacher to sustain their needs and the ministry. They have been serving for almost three years now.