I am Jeffrey, and I’m grateful for a chance to share my life story with you all. I am a Filipino, born and raised in Hong Kong. In my family, I have an elder sister, a younger sister, and a brother. We were raised in the Catholic faith, and I was considered the most independent person in the family. I liked to explore things and take risks, and I used to fight with my elder sister as we grew up.
I heard about the ICOC when I was studying on campus because I saw my elder sister hanging around with those “strange people” who carried big Bibles, dressed tidily, and had well-combed hair.
I like to smile, encourage and help people. In the past, I liked helping my mom cook as well. I used to work in some of the top hotels and high-end restaurants in many parts of Asia.
Despite having positive energy, there were a lot of ups and downs, failures and pain in my life. I had a relationship when I was on campus. Even after I graduated, my parents didn’t approve of my relationship. Afterwards, I found out my mother had cancer, and we were all worried. During this time, I broke up with my partner because she cheated on me. After that, my elder sister encouraged me to study the Bible, and I got baptized after six months. I then transferred to the church in Manila, where I’d found a job. However, the good times didn’t last.
I got back with my partner who cheated on me, and afterwards she got baptized, but she fell away immediately because she did not really love God. I was heartbroken again, and around the same time, my mom’s condition worsened. At the same time, my younger sister had four small kids, and her husband left her. Moreover, my younger brother found out that he, too, had cancer. When my mother finally passed away, I was devastated but needed to be strong because my younger sister needed help, and my younger brother was sick. I stayed in the church hoping for some miracles, but my faith was getting weaker, and my heart was far away from God. After a few years, I fell away from God because I questioned him and wanted to run away from him. Sometime later, my father found out he had cancer, too, and passed away suddenly after three months.
I did not want to face all of this, and when a company offered me the opportunity to work in Thailand, I immediately said yes. I went to work in Thailand and Cambodia, and traveled to different places in Asia and had a great career.
During that period in Thailand, I kept encountering a Christian. His name is Sokun, and I met him three times in some hotels. When I once mentioned to him that I used to be part of ICOC, he then told me that he was one of the 17 disciples on the mission team in the Hong Kong church a long time ago. I was speechless because I told myself to run away from God, but it seemed that I could not. When the news of COVID broke, the Thai government terminated all the contracts of foreigners, so I lost my job. Then the airport closed, and I could not fly out. In my room, I cried and felt helpless and hopeless, and I prayed to God. I finally called my elder sister, Joanne, and apologized to her.
I attended the Bangkok church and saw Sokun there, and asked him if he could help me get restored. I finally wanted to truly repent because I understood that God still loved me. I got restored in the Bangkok church, and three months later, I decided to go back to Hong Kong. That was five years ago.
The Bible tells us, “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,‘he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” – Mark 14:32-36 (NIV).
My solution to my problems was to reject God and run away from him. Jesus, however, faced his troubles by going to God. Today, I’m grateful I have learned, and I turned back to God to be his servant. I have served in the international ministry, and I’m now a teen worker and just got married to an amazing sister in Christ, Joyce. Though my younger brother passed away two years ago, I just helped his son, James, become a disciple in Christ two months ago. I pray that I will keep my faith in Jesus and will never turn away from God.
