Tag Archive | marriage

Near-shipwreck: The Testimony of Beloved Captain Ferdinand Estillore

Sep26
Beloved Captain Ferdinand Estillore testifying in the pulpit during Friday Overnight Worship Service at Amoranto Stadium, Quezon City, Sept. 2013.

Beloved Captain Ferdinand Estillore testifying in the pulpit during Friday Overnight Worship Service at Amoranto Stadium, Quezon City, Sept. 2013.

It’s a blessing to listen to beloved Captain Ferdinand Estillore testify in the pulpit (he rarely testifies for he is mostly at sea). His spiritual fervor after all these years of serving the Lord (not to mention his success in his profession and material blessings in abundance) has not waned.

He testifies that before he surrendered his life to the Lord in December of 1990, his personal life was in chaos. He and his beloved wife didn’t have peace in their marriage. It was beset with frequent fights triggered mostly by Capt. Estillore’s many vices. As a captain of an international shipping line, he was not immune to the worldly practices sailors are exposed to.

One night while he was at home on vacation, he happened upon the TV program of JESUS MIRACLE CRUSADE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY. He listened at the preaching and realized that he was the one targeted by the beloved Hon. Pastor Wilde E. Almeda’s words: his way of life as a seaman and the vices he was immersed in. The message of the Gospel hit home and Capt. Estillore began to cry. He and his wife decided to attend the worship service and receive the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation. Their whole household was saved and peace began to reign in their hearts and home.

Five years later, Capt. Estillore’s faith would be tested. Their ship was navigating the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean from Solomon Islands headed for Korea. But the northeast monsoon brought violent winds, and waves wreaked havoc upon the ship, causing a long gash (hole) along its side. The pressure of water coming into the ship was so strong that water was filling up the bodega of the ship so fast it tilted the huge vessel slightly to its side.

Capt. Estillore mobilized his men immediately, instructing them to pump out the water using all the submersible pumps found in the ship. But they could not control the water. Capt. Estillore cried out to the Lord, “Dearest Lord, you will not abandon me now!” (Before he boarded that ship, he was prayed over and laid hands on by the beloved Hon. Pastor Wilde Almeda). So, he trusted God that they will not perish and the ship will not sink.

They did everything they could to reduce the damage and Capt. Estillore sent messages to the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency and to the US Coast Guard in Guam informing them about their predicament, but he had not yet requested for rescue. He said it was the hardest decision he had to make. He went to his cabin and there, he sank to his knees and prayed and cried out to God, “My dearest Lord! You will not abandon me! Please give me wisdom on how to save this ship and my men!”

His men worked overnight pumping out water from the ship, but in the morning, the second engineer went to Capt. Estillore’s cabin and asked what time they were abandoning the ship. Instead of answering him, he ordered the second engineer to go help in pumping out water.

While Capt. Estillore was busy making various reports, the chief engineer and the electrician came to him and reported that the previous night while they worked to pump out water, they saw a big bird hovering above the starboard of the damaged bodega. They said that for 30 minutes the bird hovered above it and they marvelled at the sight.

Capt. Estillore hurried to his cabin and wept. He held his Bible and began to sing and worship. He sang just one song for an hour, Tell My People I love Them. He sang with all his heart and soul, worshiping God with all his being. Then he opened his Bible and he was brought to Psalm 91.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Ps. 91:11)

The ship’s owner radioed him and advised that they proceed to Guam, but the waves were so turbulent along that way that Capt. Estillore knew that if they went that way, they will sink after just an hour. So he cried to God again, asking for guidance. He moved the ship in such a way that it faced Surigao Strait. And so, they followed that way, navigating away from the rough seas, the strong waves and winds were behind them. The ship slowly straightened up from its tilting position and Capt. Estillore breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanksgiving.

When they finally docked in Cebu, Philippines safe and sound, some media men met them and interviewed Capt. Estillore. He boldly declared that he was a Christian serving the Lord in JESUS MIRACLE CRUSADE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY. While the ship was being repaired, Capt. Estillore flew to Manila to testify of God’s mighty deliverance.

Capt. Estillore and his family remained faithful to the Lord and continued to serve Him to this day. They have been continually reaping God’s promises and abundant blessings. His children are now successful professionals in their chosen fields.

Hallelujah! To God be ALL the glory!

~ Sis. Rina R. Peru

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God Raised Her Son

Feb23

Sis. Alona Giducos testifying at the pulpit during the JMCIM 36th Church Anniversary, Feb. 13, 2011

In 1995, Sis. Alona Giducos was desperate. She had separated from her husband and she and her husband had divided their four children equally between them. She didn’t want it to end up like that, but there wasn’t anything she could do to save their marriage. Her husband was a drug addict and a drunkard.

She was so unhappy with her life, terribly missing her two children that were with her husband. Together with her two children that were with her, she decided to go home to Olongapo City to her mother’s house.

There she learned that her mother had been saved. Her mother had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in her life and was faithfully serving Him. She shared the Gospel to Sis. Alona and invited her to the worship service of the JESUS MIRACLE CRUSADE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY.

Sis. Alona was desperately looking for peace in her life, she hoped that this would be the answer to her prayers. She accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in her life as her Lord and Savior and later on, was baptized in water in His name.

Immediately, Sis. Alona received the precious peace that she had been desiring. After a month of fervently attending worship services, she and her husband reconciled and their family was restored. Her husband’s life was changed completely and their whole family began to serve the Lord faithfully.

The following year, Sis. Alona conceived and gave birth to their fifth child, a son she named Isaac. She didn’t know then that God would use this child to show her His great miracles.

A month after baby Isaac turned one-year-old, he got sick of measles. Having had no vaccine, the baby suffered from the illness greatly. For three weeks he had fever and convulsions. Sis. Alona prayed hard everyday, laying her hands on him every after praise and prayer, but the child wasn’t getting better.

One day after prayer, Sis. Alona decided to bring her child to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. The doctors there acted quickly to save Isaac, for his eyes had rolled back in his head and he was unmoving. They tried hard to revive him, but he didn’t make any movement or showed any reaction.

Sis. Alona prayed and surendered everything to the Lord. She vowed that she would continue to serve Him faithfully no matter what happens to her son. It was then that her child made a movement and began to breathe normally.

Because of this, the doctors in the hospital, and even the janitors, called Isaac a “miracle baby”, for so he really was.

But after several neurological tests, the doctors found out that Isaac had sustained severe brain damage due to his prolonged fever. Because of this, he became blind (totally no vision), deaf (and mute because of this) and lame. He became a vegetable. He also forgot how to suck his milk bottle. He was fed in the hospital via a feeding tube.

Sis. Alona didn’t know what to do, she was crying in helplessness. (During all this time, her beloved husband and their other four grown children continued to serve the Lord, diligently attending services and praying and begging Him to heal Isaac).

Sis. Alona remembered all the teachings of the beloved Honorable Pastor, Evangelist Wilde E. Almeda, to have FULL FAITH in the Lord and never doubt. The following mid-week service, she attended service and brought with her a picture of Isaac. She approached the beloved Hon. Pastor Wilde E. Almeda and he prayed over Isaac’s picture.

The next day, while she was praying beside Isaac’s bed in the hospital, she heard a voice say, “Your sons’ brain damage has been healed.”

And so it was, that Isaac began to respond and to feed on his milk bottle. When they left the hospital, he was still blind, deaf and lame, but it didn’t take long and he gradually turned back to normal and fully recovered – his vision, speech, hearing and walking.

When Isaac was a little older, he joined the Children’s Choir and sang for the Lord for many years. Now he’s fifteen-years-old and has no traces of his childhood illness whatsoever.

Sis. Alona and her whole family continue to serve the Lord faithfully to this day.

Halleluia! To God be the glory!

– Sis. Rina R. Peru

Healing and Restoration

Feb16

Sis. Anna Marie de Luna at Amoranto Stadium, February 2011.

Sister Anna Marie de Luna had no other desire in life but to have a happy family. Hers was everything but. She married a man her loved ones were strongly against. Her husband, a few years her junior, was involved in many vices, two of which were drugs and women. In Sis. Anna’s words, “If one would drape a skirt around an electric post, he would chase it and desire it (the skirted post!).”

Indeed, Sis. Anna suffered greatly emotionally. Even when their first baby was born, her husband, Bro. Bob, didn’t change. He continued to indulge in his vices, taking drugs and chasing women, while Sis. Anna worked for a living. She tried hard to hide her situation from her parents, showing a facade that all was well.

During the days that Bro. Bob was out for long hours or many days, Sis. Anna would cry out to the Lord, asking Him why her life was so miserable. She would pray and cry and beg the Lord to change her husband and grant her a happy family.

But Sis. Anna’s problem wasn’t just her husband during those days. She was also suffering from diabetes. One day her leg was bitten by a mosquito. She scratched it and it became an open wound. The wound grew bigger until her leg became gangrened. It was so for many months. The doctor advised her that it might be amputated.

Sis. Anna became hopeless. Her husband with another woman and her leg to be amputated, she felt like the world was crumbling down on her.  She didn’t want her leg to be amputated, for then, she believed that her husband would leave her completely.

But one day, Bro. Bob came home and Sis. Anna noticed that he seemed quiet and in deep thought. He started playing a tape with the Tagalog Christian song “Tupang Ligaw” (Lost Sheep). He would listen to it intently everyday.

One day, Bro. Bob asked Sis. Anna to accompany him to the worship service of the JESUS MIRACLE CRUSADE INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY. (It turned out that Bro. Bob had met somebody, a born-again Christian, who had been diligently sharing to him the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ). Sis. Anna didn’t hesitate. She and Bro. Bob went to the worship service together.

When they arrived, Sis. Anna was amazed at the sight she saw – brethren decently dressed in mostly-white, intently and fervently worshiping the Lord. She wept. She felt like she was coming home – to the waiting arms of her Savior. Slowly, she felt the heaviness in her heart lifted. She prayed and made a vow, that she would serve the Lord all her life if only the Lord Jesus would change her husband and restore their marriage and family. She didn’t even ask to be healed of her diabetes and her gangrened leg.

Sis. Anna and Bro. Bob received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and were baptized in water in His name.

Miraculously, Bro. Bob’s life was changed instantly. He became a good, loving and faithful husband and a responsible father.

One day, he tried smoking dope, but it made him nauseous and he threw up. It was then that he proved that the Lord had removed it from him for good.

Gradually, Sis. Anna received healing of her leg and of her diabetes. It’s been over 20 years now that she is free from the disease.

She and Bro. Bob, together with their children, continue to serve the Lord faithfully to this day. Sis. Anna is a leader of Adults Choir, Bro. Bob is a preacher, while their children sing in different choirs. Ever since they came to know and serve the Lord, joy resided in their hearts and in their home.

Halleluia! To God be the glory!

– Sis. Rina Peru