We praise God for the 1,558 precious souls baptized for His kingdom in September.
From Pastor Arnie Roa (It took 7 years for him to get ordained)
“Me and my wife serve the Lord faithfully with a sincere heart and a strong desire to see people brought closer to God. But in the midst of my ministry, my family entered a difficult season. I was assigned in several places. I worked as a layman then a district pastor. But my wish was to one day become ordained.
During my wife’s pregnancy we did not expect for things to happen. Serious health complications required her to be confined in the hospital. The condition became critical, affecting both my wife and the newborn baby. (Read Mom Reva’s description about Baby Keziah and their picture below)
As the days continued in the hospital, the medical expenses increased. I faced a painful struggle, I wanted to continue the ministry, but I had a responsibility to care for my wife and the newborn baby. Eventually, the financial and family circumstances became too heavy and I was forced to step away from active ministry. We decided to go back at Mindanao and looked for another job to sustain our daily needs. My wife and I joined the SULADS missionaries for a few years. However, the desire to serve God as a Pastor was still ringing in my ears and never completely left my heart.
When my child got older, I became more eager to go back to the ministry. My uncle, a pastor, encouraged me to apply again as layman in our place in Bukidnon. So, I wrote a letter to the ministerial department. After a couple of weeks, I received a call and I was assigned at Impalambong SDA church. That’s the beginning of my journey in the pastoral ministry. I served for one year as an assistant church pastor under the leadership of Pastor Sabio, my senior pastor. Then a call came again to be a district pastor. I served the ministry, not as someone who had never suffered, but as someone who experienced God’s sustaining Grace through suffering.
I continued serving faithfully for years, enduring new challenges with greater faith and perseverance. Year after year, I struggled a lot. Longing for the Lord to sustain my ministry. And recently, after a long journey of service, sacrifice, waiting, I was ordained to the gospel ministry last September 23, 2026. Now I am a full fledged pastor in our church, serving God with all my heart with my family.
My ordination became more than a recognition of service – it became a testimony. The hospital room did not end my calling. The financial struggle did not earase God’s purpose. The years away from the ministry did not mean God had abandoned me. God was preparing me through every chapter of my journey.
Today, I stand before the church as an ordained minister, carrying not only the responsibility of the ministry but a testimony of God’s faithfulness. The road was difficult, the waiting was long, but the God who called me has remained faithful.
I was under Adopt a Minister for 15 years. I thank God for His sustaining grace through this ministry and all the sponsors who are used by God to make a difference in the lives of His humble workers, like me, as we continue to share the everlasting gospel.”
Baby Keziah was born at 27 weeks of gestation. She weighed only 1.65 pounds (750 grams). As expected, Baby Keziah’s organs were not fully developed. She required treatment with oxygen, surfactant and mechanical assistance to help her breathe. She was too immature to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, so she was fed through a vein (intravenously). She couldn’t cry (or you cannot hear her due to the tube in her throat) and she slept most of the day. She had little muscle tone and moved very little. She was also given blood transfusions because her bone marrow was unable to produce blood cells.
Today, Keziah is in 12th Grade. She is very good in art and music. She can play the guitar, ukulele, piano.
(We thank our “Help the Needy” sponsors for their help with Keziah.)
