(Note: written on March 25, 2026)
I usually write a “thank you” message for my birthday. So, before the month of March ends, I’d like to say…
Thank you, Jesus, for another year. Thank you for all the blessings You have graciously bestowed upon me. Thank you for the “answered” prayers. Thank you for the “not yet answered” prayers. Although sometimes it may seem like You are out of reach; yet I know that You hear my every petition. You know what best for me and You will answer every one of them in Your own time and Your own ways!
Thank you to all of you, our dear sponsors, for your continued support and generosity. It’s because of your commitment to share the great news that the adopted ministers can tell others about Jesus, His love and His gift of salvation.
I thank God for all the Pastors, Elders and congregation of the churches I’ve been to this past year and every year since I started giving concerts. God has been good. Everyone I’ve met has been a blessing to me. It’s my prayer everyday that God will continue to use me for His honor and glory. I pray that whenever I’m up on the stage to play the piano or share my testimony, people will see Jesus, not me; and that His name will be magnified. My life and all that it entails is not about me. It’s about Him!
I spent my birthday with Burnt Mills SDA church congregation in Maryland. That was the first time my birthday fell on a Sabbath and I gave a concert. I didn’t share with the brethren that it was my birthday until I was in the middle of my concert 🙂 They sang a birthday song for me and prayed over me! That was special and the best birthday present I had received. I breathe, live and thrive in prayers so each time there is a chance I get to be prayed for, I am profoundly grateful!
I think the most special thing that occurred within the year was when all our adopted ministers in Negros Occidental Conference visited my aging and ailing grandma (back home in the Philippines.)
As you know, she is very important to me. God used her from the very beginning to encourage me to pursue playing the piano despite the difficulties and rejections and to serve Him. I remember when I was 6 years old until teenage years, she’d take me to my piano lessons every Sunday at 6 am. She and grandpa believed in me when no one else would.
She just turned 98 years old last December. She has dementia now, but right around Christmas of last year when I called and FaceTimed with her while she was in her hospital bed, she remembered everything – the piano lesson runs, my first time to play for church, my first solo recital, etc. I prayed for that. I asked God that even just for one more time, I wanted grandma to remember those important years so she can “celebrate” and praise God with me. After that brief moment, I’d try to reminisce with her every now and then when I talk to her but she’s gone back into her own sad world with no recollection of the events that happened in the past. However, one thing she never forgets about: her Savior and her love for Him. Which to me is more important than anything else!
I don’t know how long she’s going to be with us still, but I thank God for giving me a chance to show her how He answered her prayers for me. When the adopted ministers of Negros Occidental Conference visited her and anointed her, it was like a full circle moment.
I was able to thank her and show her that I’m doing what she had hoped for me to do. That through Mom Reva and family and all of you our sponsors…I’m making music for God and through sharing my God-given gift, people come to know about Adopt a Minister International. This is God’s answer to many heartfelt prayers and tears…both of my grandma’s and mine.
I love y’all! Thank you for letting God use you for His work and to partner with Adopt a Minister International. Thank you for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity to be of service to Him through your support and prayers of my music ministry and Adopt a Minister International.
Thank you for sharing AMI with your family and friends. The more we share about Adopt a Minister International, the more we reach other people; the more we share Jesus to them, the more we hasten His return!
May you continue to help us make Jesus famous and bring more souls at His feet along the way, until that day when we see Him face to face and live with Him through all eternity!
The best is yet to come!
Mary Grace