Being a winner as a breadwinner... DOLE Contest (Department of Labor and Employment)

"Luke 6:38 - Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that we meet with all, it shall be measured to you again".


Spiritually, this bible verse is the best quote that I can describe to my family! My father is a Born-Again Christian Church Minister (Pastor), while my mother is a Bible woman. Being the parents of 7 children, they still managed to serve people by giving them moral, spiritual & sometimes financial support anytime people asked for help! Helping people, spreading the Lord's Gospel is our main concern, apart from giving advice to people on how God's blessings may flow unto our home freely and explaining to people the very secret of receiving God's blessings - IS GIVING & SHARING THE BLESSINGS that God has given us, as He will bless us more. Also, they conduct Bible studies, spending time to talk to people, hearing their problems, and they all try to extend their help to anyone who needs help.

SOCIALLY:

My both parents are both members of our local money-savings type of group, an insurance company, and not all insurers are church members. One way or another, this helps them save money for future use and at the same time insurers may receive P50,000 if one of the immediate family members die. At the moment, the total members are almost 70% of the total Island population, Island of Hingotanan in Bohol. The main reason for having this is that, HELPING PEOPLE FINANCIALLY & SPIRITUALLY, as all the members are required to attend weekly Bible study which is being handled by my parents, alternatively...

ECONOMICALLY:

My mother is buying any empty shells which basically, encourage people in the Island not to throw all the empty shells anywhere, which results to dirty environment. They collect them together instead, making money & saving the environment at the same time!

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAMILY TO WIN THE AWARD - DOLE CONTEST!

Both my parents were studying in Zion Bible School in Davao, way back late 1970's & early 1980's, while having me as their first child by the age of middle 18! My father got the degree & was ordered from the head to be assigned in any churches in Bohol Islands. In short, we went back to the Island where they came from (Nocnocan Bohol) & headed straight to Hingotanan Island, where they stayed as our 2^nd home since then. As a full time pastor in a small island, not much to expect, they've managed to bring our small family into a happy one living together serving the Lord. Many many years later, we became bigger & bigger until they both blessed with a total of 7 children, though difficulties & struggles of feeding, clothing, giving education, sending us to school & giving quality lives were their main concern during those times, they still managed to brought us into lives where people see as an "encouragement & inspiration" to everyone, DESPITE OF TRIALS... Needless to say, that all their children are honor students in their local schools & while they also continue receiving awards as the "Most Outstanding Parents" for couple of years.

Since they didn't have money to send me to college, they had to ask one of my auntie to support me, and what a blessing from God that she offered him even before he asked for it. An answered prayer! Ms. Prescilda Basalo, who is now Mrs. Prescilada Custard was a great blessing for the family. I managed to finish college at the Philippine Christian University, and I just finished at that time when a huge problem came into our life, that my mother had to come to Manila, had to leave my little sisters behind only to get a job, first to support the family & second, to pay their debts (more than P100,000 - capital + interest) resulting from the money they were in-trusted to finance a seaweed farming. God didn't allow it to grow & work, so all the seaweeds were flashed by huge waves during the super typhoon way back 1994! In short, they lost everything! The lender, who was a family friend, a relative (but quite far) & my mother’s ex-boss when she was still single, who happened to become one of their good friends, turned into a bad nightmare into their lives. She (the lender) sued my father, she despised our family & she insisted them to pay the whole amount! So, since there was no way for them to pay that huge amount, she hired a kidnapper to kidnap my father, in fact, he was gone for almost a week during that time, and what did we do instead? Nothing but to cry & continue praying that God would help them to resolve the problem. He was then released after realizing of not getting any ransom or payment at all!

I myself also did manage to get a job locally while my mother and other sisters (Geraldine & Jovelyn) who finished high school, had to sacrifice not to enroll to college, only to get a job in Manila to help paying their debts. But all our income still wasn't enough, and every time my mother visits the Lender's house in Manila to pay, she gets words that hurt her feelings & what else can she do? Nothing but to cry & pray... Plus a feeling of a mother, who was away from her small children in Bohol, learning every now & then those they were sick and need money for their foods & medicines. It was the biggest trial that my family had ever encountered. But despite of all of these, we didn't lose hope, yet we still continue serving the Lord hoping to get the reward in the end! We struggled for almost 2 years, and my mother decided to go back home to sort my little sisters out while she missed them so much as a mother. But not long after that, after a year that I worked locally as an Accounting Clerk, I got a job in Angola, in a diamond mine company; imagine I was still 21 at that time, I applied for that job I saw in Sunday issue of Manila Bulletin. I thought that this might be the Lord's answer of family prayers, though I was under qualified to get that job! In short, after securing all the requirements, interviews, which I passed thru and waiting for not even 6 months, I left Philippines for Angola, West Africa at the age of 22! Even before I left, but was sure of departing, I advised my sisters to enroll to universities and after that, I was happy & full of blessings while leaving Philippines to get the reward that God has promised to anyone who stays in Him and continue trusting the Lord in the midst of trials!

It was then the start of living an abundant life...... My two sisters, Geraldine & Jovelyn have finished their studies already; in fact, Geraldine is in Taiwan at the moment, a graduate of BS Computer Engineering course from Adamson University, while Jovelyn is a graduate of BS Commerce Major in Management from TIP, who is now working in Metrobank Head Office in Makati. I managed to give a beautiful house to my parents in Hingotanan Island in Bohol, of course with the help of her other sisters as well, plus a House & Lot in Laguna (In-House Financing) - installment basis until now, while she still has another 3 sisters in college, 1 a Nursing student (3rd year), a Civil Engineer student plus a freshman’s Medical Technology. Guess what? I is still in Angola until now, for more than 7 years now!

My both parents are still continuing serving the Lord with the same titles in life, more than any bachelor's degree in this world, helping people knowing the true God and living as a "Model" / "Encouragement" / "Inspiration" to everyone! If you continue living in the Lord, He'll be there forever.... One thing I’ve learned in life is that, we should hang on up to Him despite of all the difficulties we are facing right now, and "there's should always a rainbow comes out after the rain".

God bless you all, and hope this serves as a blessing to anyone who comes to read my story.