Just Ordinary People: From Trials to Triumphs

By Dr. Monica Doroteo-Espinosa

Just Ordinary PeopleFrom Trials to Triumphs is an inspirational book. This book is filled with true stories about Gods mighty hand moving in the lives of ordinary people. The stories compiled in this book are varied and colored by the unique experiences personally shared by the contributors (some from their relatives). They address the various experiences, emotions felt, and Gods moving in their lives in different ways and how their lives was never the same when they accepted Jesus as their personal Savior. It highlights the scriptures that made them strong and totally dependent on himstories reflecting the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, found in Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.

Are you going through a lot of problems lately, have you faced trials, persecutions and difficult phases in your life? Read on and be inspired . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jul 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503501522

Dr. Monica Doroteo-Espinosa

The author is a lover of books and writes poems and stories when she was young, and it was revived again after more than two decades of being busy with her family, ministry, work, and furthering her studies. She is a Papuri, singer, a piano and voice trainer, a choir directress, a dance choreographer, a worship and Bible study leader. She is married to Bishop Edgardo T. Espinosa, the senior pastor of the Solid Rock Baptist Church in the Philippines (SRBCP), and they are blessed with four kids, Ruth, Jan, David, and Hannah. Dr. Espinosa is a nurse educator, teaching at Woosong University, College of Health and Welfare, Department of Nursing, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. She is presently working on her second and third book entitled Lessons: Straight from the Heart of a Pastor’s Wife and Daily Dose: Words to live by.

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Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Monica Doroteo-Espinosa.

ISBN:       Softcover       978-1-5035-0151-5

                 eBook             978-1-5035-0152-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Rev. date: 10/27/2015

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

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698468

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

LOVE

A Father’s Love For His Son - Ptr. Librico T. Bayadog

The Lord Found Me - Jayfrey D. Domingo

A Life Centered On God’s Will - Ptr. John C. Vistan

Lessons I Have Learned In God’s Geometry

- Engr. Hadji C. Alegre

JOY

Reaching Farther For Jesus - Rev. Patricio L. Paller Jr.

A Living Testimony - Ali O. Delarmente

P-U-S-H (Pray Until Something Happens)

- Engr. Jerry and Josefina D. Salangsang

The Joy Of Knowing Jesus - Rev. Angelito G. Sese

PEACE

Leading Young Minds To Christ - Melita L. Padua

The Peace That Comes From God - Rev. Joselito M. Guevarra

Be Still And Know That I Am God - Marites D. Funelas

PATIENCE

Life’s A Climb - Kaye Langit-Luistro

Fulfilling God’s Plan - Rev. Persus D. Gadon

A Father’s Legacy - A Life that Ended Well in Christ

- Ma. Yvette Ramos Guison

Mountain Of The Lord - Grace S. Cayetano

KINDNESS

The Modern Zaccheus - Benjie Baclagon

My Heart Is In God’s Hand - The Lord’s Sheep

Through It All - Lilita R. Galo

GOODNESS

Renewed In Christ - Minerva F. Buzon

An Hour’s Ride Of Blessing - God’s Servant

A Life Blessed By The Lord - Mila C. Victoria

FAITHFULNESS

My Cup Overflows - Bernadette T. Yao

The Faith Of A Seven Year Old Boy

– A Mother’s Testimony - Consfelita D. Cruz

God’s Love Changed Me - Jeofy B. Agaran

Through The Years - Jimmy and Lita Anzures

GENTLENESS

The Tree And Its Fruits - Rosita T. Maglalang

Home At Last! - Maria Corrina Grace Cajigal Doroteo

SELF-CONTROL

The Heart Of A Servant - Ptr. Jaime G. Ariola

God’s Plan, God’s Will - Juancho F. Aldana

Final Encouragement

The Author

FOREWORD

I t is both a joy and an honor to be asked by my very good friend Dr. Monica Doroteo-Espinosa to do the foreword of her maiden venture to book writing. Monica and I shared many happy years working in Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). We were also dorm mates for most of our single years until the time we got married to our respective God’s best.

I have had the privilege of seeing a lot of Monica’s prayers answered and dreams fulfilled. I know that this book is one of them.

During the time when Monica served as company nurse of FEBC, her patients would always leave the clinic refreshed and feeling stronger not just because of the medical help she extends but also because of the stories she untiringly shares about the goodness of God.

In Just Ordinary People, Monica continues to narrate these stories that warm the heart and uplift the soul. This book is a collection of remarkable and inspiring testimonies of ordinary people who have experienced the extraordinary power of God in their daily journeys.

Whenever I give talks on excellence, I often say that to turn something ordinary to extra-ordinary, one simply has to add the extra. The stories and reflections in Just Ordinary People spell out what the EXTRA means.

An ordinary life can indeed be made extraordinary when we practice the following:

E xpectant prayer to a faithful and generous God

X ero hatred through a lifestyle of forgiveness

T hankfulness even in trials

R adical faith in obeying one’s calling

A biding in the Word of God

In Zechariah 4:6 God reminds His people that victory comes ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’. The same message echoes in this book. Dr. Monica encourages us to appreciate our being ordinary because out of the mundane, God works to accomplish something extraordinary that will keep us in awe of Him.

- Maloi Malibiran-Salumbides

Maloi Malibiran-Salumbides is a broadcaster, writer, motivational speaker and corporate trainer. She hosts a string of radio programs over 702 DZAS such as Pro Tips, Masayang Tahanan, and DAWN 2010. She is the author of the book, Pro Tips: Smart Steps for Everyday Workplace Success, which was sold out three months after its release and is now on its 3rd printing. She is also the author of Pro Tips for Confidents Living: Standing Tall through Tough Times, and many more.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication Major in Broadcasting from the University of the Philippines and her Master of Arts degree in Communication from Wheaton College in Illinois, U.S.A.

She is married to Atty. Aldwin Salumbides and they have two daughters – Bea and Blessie.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Lord, I offer my life to you, everything I’ve been through, use it for your glory!

F irst and foremost, I thank God – the One who called me out of the darkness into His marvelous light at the age of 10; for teaching me all His wonderful truths and making me the person He wants me to be, and whose desire is always to make me humble and dependent on Him for everything. He inspired me to write this book so that many Christians will be encouraged, touched, inspired and uplifted. His words from the Bible helped me realize that at every point in our Christian life, His promises are true. "… Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" Hebrews 13:5.

And that as we, "Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not in our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall make our paths straight, Proverbs 3:5-6.

And His promise, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future Jeremiah 29:11. These Biblical truths are my guiding principles in life.

My gratitude also goes to all the Christian brethren who entrusted and shared their life testimonies to me. Personally, their stories blessed, inspired and encouraged me. The stories that they’ve shared incredibly revealed the mighty hand of God moving and doing extraordinary things in their lives! As I listened, wrote and read their stories, I learned that even if we’ve reached rock bottom, God can turn it into the greatest adventure of our lives leading us to victory in our daily walk with Him. May you continue to serve the Lord with your life and testimony.

I am truly grateful to my very good friend, Maloi- Malibiran Salumbides for doing the foreword. Thank you very much for the kind words. I can’t help but reminisce our precious time together especially when we are both serving the Lord at Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) compound. I’m really so blessed to have a friend like you. Your friendship is like a precious stone that I will treasure and keep for a lifetime.

I thank Bishop Catalino A. Llana, Bishop Omar D. Vigilia, and Ms. Carmen Go-Vargas for endorsing my book. I appreciate your kind words. For this reason, I am even more inspired to write books that will glorify our Father in heaven.

I thank the editors who spent so much time editing the book. May God continue to bless you and use your talents for His glory.

My dad and mom, Atty. Arturo (Deceased) and Mrs. Natividad Doroteo, for being my inspiration in everything I do. I love you both with all my heart and I dedicate my first book to both of you.

My Ate Wilma, Ate Grace (Deceased), Ate Paulyn, Kuya Jerry, James, Dhane, and Arturo Jr., my nephews, Gabriel and Joshua and nieces, Faithe, Patricia, and Jeriel, I love you all. Let us all continue to serve the mighty and living God together.

My husband Bishop Edgardo T. Espinosa and our kids, Floreen Ruth, Jan Dormyl, David Reignlord and Hannah Adelphia, thank you all for loving me and being there for me. You’re all my joy and my crown.

PREFACE

J ust Ordinary People - Testimonies of Christian believers reflecting the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, are true stories about God’s mighty hand moving in the lives of ordinary people from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and abroad. Each story in this book is an inspiring story of individuals who came to know the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord. The incredible display of God’s power in their lives blessed my heart so much that I can’t help but praise and thank God for the opportunity to listen, write, and read the testimonies of His faithfulness in the lives of His children. Their testimonies anchored me even more to the loving arms of our Father in he aven.

By gathering the life testimonies of Christian believers and making them accessible to a wider audience, I personally hope to touch, encourage, uplift and inspire people who, now and then need reaffirmation and reassurance of God’s presence in their lives.

The stories compiled in this book are varied and colored by the unique experiences personally shared by the contributors (some from their relatives). They address the various experiences, emotions felt, and God’s moving in their lives in different ways and how their lives were never the same when they accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour. It highlights the scriptures that made them strong and totally dependent on Him. Stories reflecting the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control, found in Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.

Our former way of life was characterized by works of the flesh. There is a new life that God wants us to follow. This book tells us how to live in the Spirit and not in the power of the flesh. This is the first among the series of books that I’m writing for the Lord’s glory because I do believe that there are still a lot of ordinary people whose life testimony can be an encouragement to many people who are lost and who needs the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the verse in Psalm 73:28 says, But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. As I write this book, I have come to realize that the Lord’s calling is not dependent on knowing who we are, what our influences are, whom we know, or whether or not we are rich or famous. God chose us to be the sons and daughters He wants us to be for a purpose. And His purpose is for us to live our lives having a restored relationship with Him, living a holy life, set apart from this world, giving glory and honor to His name.

Are you going through a lot of problems lately? Have you faced trials, persecutions and difficult phases in your life? Read on and be inspired with the testimonies of ordinary men and women who became EXTRA ordinary because they chose to obey and follow a living God.

Love

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous,

it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others.

Love does not count up wrongs that have been done.

Love is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth.

Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always remains strong.

I Corinthians 13: 4 - 7 NCV

LOVE

A FATHER’S LOVE FOR HIS SON

Ptr. Librico T. Bayadog

I came to know the Lord sometime in 1987, when my wife Offie got sick. She was diagnosed with a heart problem. We were doing a business of buying Copra in the province of Eastern Samar before we went to Manila to have a thorough check up of her condition. It was a difficult decision but it paved the way for us to know the will of God for our lives. Because of her illness, almost all of our money was used up for hospital check – ups alone. When we transferred to Manila, we were looking for answers for my wife’s heart ailment. What we didn’t know was that God was designing His plan fo r us.

The Miracle of Healing

One day, my wife experienced difficulty of breathing and numbness all over her body. I was not around to help her. Our son Jerico who was only three years old then, witnessed his mother’s suffering so he asked for help from our neighbors. It so happened that one of our neighbors is a Christian, so she prayed for Offie. After praying for her, it was a miracle to say that she got well. We went to the hospital a few days after for a thorough check-up. Miraculously, there was no trace of the illness found in her laboratory results. We were truly amazed about what happened.

Since then, she started to go to church where our neighbor is attending. I was hesitant to join her because I have other beliefs that hindered me. But after 2 months of continuous prodding by my wife, I joined her in attending the church with the thought that, I should go with her or her sickness may come back again. I decided to know and learn about God in a deeper way. Years passed, the more I attended, the more I hungered for His word. I became a very active member in the church where we are attending. I became a church worker, then a leader, and soon after, I was named the associate pastor of Light of the World Christian Center in Fairview, Quezon City. The Lord is so faithful, amidst all trials and problems that we’ve experienced in our family, he called me to serve Him.

My Son’s Backslidden Heart

One big problem in the family led us to give our total dependence on God. It happened when our son Jerico turned his back from the Lord during his teenage years. My wife and I didn’t know that he was already backsliding. He started going out with friends who were bad influences to him when he was in third year high school. While he still managed to do his ministry in the church by playing the drums, we didn’t know that he was also playing instruments in resto-bars to earn.

We only noticed the changes in him when we saw him smoking and going out with friends who were not Christians. We even discovered that he was into drugs. It broke our hearts to see him ruining his life. We had a few encounters with him and he told us that he was pressured by the fact that he is a pastor’s kid and since we are living in the parsonage, he is expected to be always good and active in church. He said that, inside the church there are a lot of expectations from him but outside the church he is accepted as who he is, not pleasing anybody. Although we tried to talk it over with him and understand his situation, he seems to be very closed minded and he did not want to listen. We could not control him.

Pressures From Within

Although we see him in the house, we didn’t pressure him too much regarding the issue because he was so stubborn and he didn’t want to listen. My wife and I agreed that we will continue to pray for him. The church finally noticed the sudden change in Jerico’s life, so we asked for their prayers, understanding and support. Even during the time that I was preaching or holding a Bible study, Jerico was in my mind and I was asking God, How can I do this when my son is not living a life worthy of His calling? I thought that my son is only into vices but worst of all, he even got to the point where he became one of the masterminds of a taxi robbery- hold up gang operating