Before I came to know the works of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST in this Church, I was a menace to society. My beloved brethren, while I was still very young—when I was only in Grade 1—I had already become a thief.
At the young age of seven, I was already stealing. Even at that age, I already had many vices. I drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and gambled.
Whenever I had no money to support my vices, I resorted to stealing. As time went on, I continued living that kind of life.
When I reached ten years old, I was caught stealing and was imprisoned. Even as a child, I had no peace. My life was full of confusion. My relatives, my grandparents, and even my own mother were already close to giving up on me.
They would ask me, “Why are you doing these things?”
But I had no strength to overcome the evil that had already taken hold of my life.
The devil continued to drag me deeper into wickedness.
I kept stealing from one place after another. I continued gambling. I continued smoking. I continued drinking. That was the life I lived.
My Life Became Even Worse
As I grew older and became a young man, I did not stop committing crimes. I became a hold-up robber. Even after I got married, I kept robbing. That became my livelihood.
Although I called upon god, there were three gods that I worshiped in our home. Yet despite all of that, I still had no peace. The devil continued dragging me deeper and deeper into a life of sin.
I would often say, “If there is really a god, I want to change.”But I never experienced that change. The three gods that I prayed to never answered any of my prayers.
My beloved brethren, after I got married, my sins became even worse. I was no longer just a robber. I was hired to become a hitman. I accepted money to kill people because all I wanted at that time was fast money. I indeed earned money very quickly during those years.
Whenever I received payment, I spent it on drinking sessions with my companions. My money had no good purpose.
My life revolved around robbery, murder, gambling, drinking, and every kind of wickedness.
I did not kill only men. Even women became my victims whenever there was money offered for their lives. That was the life I lived.
A politician protected me, but I never allowed myself to become closely associated with him. All I wanted was to complete the transaction, receive my payment, and collect any remaining balance.
The LORD Began to Call Me
Eventually, I reached a point where I could no longer bear the life I was living. I had become a thief, a robber, and a murderer. I could no longer endure the burden of my own life. Deep within me, I longed to know if there truly was a GOD who could change a person’s life.
At that time, when my life was filled with confusion and darkness, our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST used one of His children to reach me. My older sibling and mother had already come into this Church before I did.
When they learned that I had become a fugitive who was being pursued by the authorities, my sibling fasted and then traveled all the way to our province to find me. When my sibling found me, I was told, “Come with me to Manila so that you may be saved… so that your problems may be resolved… so that you may receive salvation and forgiveness from our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
At that time, I obeyed. In short, I went to Manila with my sibling.
Receiving Water Baptism
When I arrived in Manila, life was still very difficult. My sibling and my mother had no jobs. The house we were renting was about to be taken from us because we could not even pay the monthly rent of ₱250. That was our situation during those days.
After arriving in Manila, my sibling immediately brought me to attend the Church. In 1985, I received water baptism in the Name of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST. From that day forward, I obeyed. I continued attending Worship Services. I faithfully attended Church gatherings.
I never thought about the tiredness, the inconvenience, or the sacrifices. My only desire was to know our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST truly. But I later realized that our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST had an even greater purpose for my life.
As I faithfully continued attending Worship Services and listening to the preachings of our Beloved Honorable Pastor Evangelist Wilde Estrada Almeda, I heard testimonies of people with illnesses being healed.
I heard testimonies of wicked people whose lives had been transformed by GOD. I listened carefully to every preaching. I paid close attention to every testimony. As I continued listening, true faith slowly grew in my heart. Finally, I said to myself, “This is true.”
The First Prayer That the LORD Answered
Being a new believer, I prayed a very simple prayer to our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST. I prayed, “LORD, my mother and my sibling are only renting a house. We do not own a home. Please bless us with a house, even if it is only a small one, so that they will no longer have to rent.”
That was the very first prayer I offered after coming into the Church.
Our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST did not disappoint me, but He answered my prayer in a way I did not expect. Instead of immediately giving us a house, He first blessed me with money. At that time, we were living in the area around the SM Mall of Asia. Our lives gradually changed because our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST began pouring out His blessings upon us. He blessed me financially.
From that moment, I experienced how good our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST truly is. In the past, when I prayed to the three gods I worshipped, none of them ever answered me. Even when I cried before them, there was never any answer.
But after coming to know our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST, it only took a short time before He answered my very first prayer. For that reason, I continually thank our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST for His goodness.
My beloved brethren, I truly thought that our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST would no longer listen to me. I thought He had already rejected me because of the many sins I had committed. These very hands had been used to commit evil. These hands had taken the lives of many people. I had shed so much blood through the wicked deeds I had done.
But it was here in the Church that I discovered the mercy of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST. I learned that when a person wholeheartedly accepts our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST and faithfully serves Him, He can change that person’s life completely.
As I faithfully continued attending church services, my faith grew stronger. Then our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST tested my faith.
The Healing of My Child
One of my children became seriously ill. When my relatives and cousins learned about my child’s condition, they immediately told me, “Take your child to the hospital.”
But I answered them, “No.”
By then, I already had complete faith in everything I had been hearing through the preachings. Instead of taking my child to the hospital, I continued attending church services and fasting before our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.
By His mercy, my child, who had been seriously ill, was completely healed.
This became the second great miracle that our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST showed to me. Through that miracle, my faith became even stronger. I continued faithfully attending church services. My faith in our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST continued to grow because of the many miracles that He allowed me to witness personally.
The Resurrection of My Mother
My beloved brethren, there came a time when my mother died in my own arms. I remember it very clearly. It happened on December 23. She had already been dead for more than thirty minutes.
I cried out to our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST and prayed, “LORD, please have mercy on my mother. As my Christmas gift from You, please give my mother her life once again.”
Although she had already been dead for more than half an hour, our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST restored her life. He brought my mother back to life. That became another undeniable miracle that our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST performed before our family.
The LORD Saved My Wife from Poisoning
There was another time when my beloved wife was poisoned. At that time, I was not at home because I was attending Church services. My wife suddenly became very ill.
The neighbors wanted to rush her to the hospital. But my children said, “We will not bring our mother to the hospital because we know the GOD whom we serve.” My wife began vomiting repeatedly. She became extremely weak. Her vomit had already turned black. Everyone knows that when a poisoned person begins vomiting black substances, the situation is already very dangerous. The neighbors became even more alarmed.
Yet our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST intervened. He completely delivered my beloved wife from the poison. Our GOD is truly good. Our GOD is alive.
The LORD Delivered My Grandchildren from Poisoning
My beloved brethren, there was another occasion when two of my grandchildren were poisoned. They had eaten spaghetti.
One of my grandchildren was already in severe pain. The child came to me crying and called me, “Tatay.”
I asked, “What happened? What is wrong?”
The child answered, “My stomach hurts so much.”
When I learned that they had eaten spaghetti before the pain started, I immediately thought that they had been poisoned. I told them, “Kneel. Repent before our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
They both knelt. I told them again, “Repent.” My grandchild began crying while sincerely repenting before our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.
As I knelt in prayer, I remembered the teachings of our Beloved Honorable Pastor Evangelist Wilde Estrada Almeda. I laid my hands upon my grandchild and prayed, “Poison, leave my grandchild! In
he Name of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST, poison, leave!”
I continued praying in faith. After a little while, my grandchild fell asleep.
When the child woke up, the poison was completely gone. Our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST delivered my grandchild from the poison. That is another miracle that our family personally witnessed.
The LORD Healed My Child Without Surgery
My beloved brethren, only three months ago, another trial came into our family. One of my children was scheduled for surgery.
After an examination at the hospital, the doctor said that an operation was necessary. The doctor explained that my child had stones in the abdomen. My child was already in severe pain and could hardly endure the suffering. My child even began telling me what to do in case something happened during the operation.
Before my child was brought to the hospital, I called for an ordained worker so that they could receive approval and be prayed for. They were ministered to. Afterward, they promised our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST that they would return faithfully to Worship Services and continue attending Church.
At that time, I did not want to decide for my married child. I said, “Whatever decision you make, I will respect it. Let us continue trusting our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
My child was then taken to the hospital for the scheduled operation. However, the hospital refused to admit my child, so they returned home. Since the pain continued, they brought my child to another hospital. Again, admission was refused. They returned home once more.
Then my son-in-law said, “Let us bring your child to a private hospital.”
I answered, “That is your decision. I will continue praying.”
I reminded them once again, “You have already promised our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST. Continue serving Him faithfully.”
They then went to UniHealth, a private hospital. As everyone knows, treatment in a private hospital is very expensive. They brought approximately ten thousand pesos with them.
Yet even there, the doctors still refused to admit my child. Once again, they returned home.
For the fourth time, they went to the district hospital. I told my son-in-law, “Take your spouse there once again.”
This time, the district hospital accepted my child.
But before any surgery could take place, the miracle of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST happened. By the power of GOD, my child no longer needed the operation. Our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST completely healed my child.
That is how true and faithful our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST is. Whenever sickness or problems come into our lives, we do not put our hope in man. We place our complete trust in the living GOD.
The LORD Protected My Nephew from a Deadly Accident
Only recently, another miracle took place. One of my nephews, who lives in our subdivision, was riding his bicycle. As he was crossing the street, a Grab vehicle came speeding toward him.
My nephew was still young and small. The vehicle struck him with tremendous force. But the goodness of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST cannot be measured. Through the first prayers and sacrifices of the Prophet of GOD, together with Beloved Assistant Pastor Lina C. Almeda, the anointing of our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST was upon him.
As my nephew was being dragged by the vehicle for about three meters, something miraculous happened.
Later, when people asked him what had happened, my nephew testified that while he was being dragged, he saw our Beloved Honorable Pastor Evangelist Wilde Estrada Almeda.
That is why I firmly believe that our Beloved Honorable Pastor is truly the Prophet of GOD. Our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST honored His servant by allowing my nephew to see him during that terrible accident.
After the vehicle finally stopped, my nephew stood up. The bicycle had been completely wrecked.
The ride-hailing driver, who was a woman, did not even get out of the vehicle to check on him. Instead, she continued driving toward the subdivision gate. Her identification was taken at the gate before she was able to leave. Because of that, the incident became a hit-and-run case. The CCTV cameras captured both the vehicle and its license plate number.
Yet despite everything that happened, my nephew was unharmed. He underwent a CT scan and an X-ray. He suffered no broken bones. He sustained no serious injuries. Our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST completely protected him.
The LORD Truly Changes Lives
My beloved brethren, because of all these miracles, I can testify that there is no reason for anyone to become discouraged in serving our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Look at my life. I once lived with countless vices. I committed many terrible sins. I became a thief, a robber, a murderer, and a hired killer. Yet our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST still had mercy on me. He changed my life completely. Today I am serving Him.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, especially those who are new in the Church, never grow weary in serving our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST. Continue kneeling before Him. Continue trusting Him. Continue serving Him faithfully.
All the praise, honor, and glory belong to our Dearest LORD JESUS CHRIST alone.
