(My name at ISOT, to our students, is "Ate" (pronounced Ah-tey). It is a Filipino word for older sister, and is a title of both respect and affection. I hear the word “Ate” a hundred times a day, as students drop by my office to share excitement (“Ate, guess what!”) or anxiety (“Ate, I’m scared!”) or joy (“Ate, God is so good!”). I have often toyed with the idea of writing a book, and if I do, I will call it The Ate Stories. But in the meantime, I have decided to share the stories with you, as they unfold, in my blog. So here goes, the first “Ate” story . . .
Yesterday morning I reached into my mailbox and pulled out a blue envelope. I opened it and saw a flowered “thank-you” card. As I read the card, tears filled my eyes.
Under the printed verses, it said, “Dear Ate, I still remember the day when we prayed together in your office for my studies. A few days from now I will graduate. THANK YOU! ... Rogie"
Why the tears? It goes back two years ago to the day mentioned in the card, “the day when we prayed together.”
Rogie was an ex-prisoner, and he was introduced to me on that day by Pastor Noel, another ex-prisoner who had recently graduated from ISOT. Both men were involved in ministering to drug addicts, street children, and prisoners by the thousands in the overcrowded prisons and jails in Metro Manila. Pastor Noel saw great potential in Rogie, and felt that ISOT training was just what he needed! He brought him to me that day to persuade me to find Rogie a scholarship so that he could study at ISOT.
Pastor Noel started things off. “Rogie, this is Ate. Tell her your story.” (Pastor Noel has an amazing story of his own, but I will save it for another day.) Rogie told a harrowing tale of being abused as a child by a drunken father, becoming a policeman and later a drug addict, losing his marriage and family, and finally killing someone during a drug deal gone wrong. He ended up in prison where he found the Lord, and was discipled by Pastor Noel and some other Christians. Eventually he was released from prison and incredibly, won back the love of his wife and children. He was now working as an assistant pastor in a church in the poorest part of Manila. He told me, “In the seven years I was in prison my wife did not visit or call or write even once. But now, we visit the prison together – every day.”
I promised to try to find a scholarship, and I offered to pray for Rogie before they left. At that moment my assistant stepped out of our
office, and as I bowed to pray, this thought popped into my head: “I am alone in this room with two convicted murderers!” But I reminded myself that they were no longer “hardened criminals” – they were my brothers. So I prayed and thanked God for all He had done in their lives and asked Him to help me find a scholarship for Rogie. After I finished, I looked up and saw both of my brothers with tears streaming down their faces. I realized that I was probably more “hardened” than they were. For them, the mercy of God is new every day and they never stop being awed by it. I could learn a thing or two from them.
God did provide a scholarship for Rogie, and he came to study at ISOT for two years. Every time I saw him in the hallway or classroom, I thanked God for the privilege of helping him be equipped for ministry. He already had a great passion for God, and it has been exciting to see him grow in his leadership skills and his effectiveness in ministry. And in a few more days, he will receive his Master of Arts in Christian Leadership and will be back in the field full time.
I've no doubt that it will only be a matter of months till Pastor Rogie shows up at my office with another ex-convict in tow, telling him, “This is Ate. Tell her your story.” I love my job!
Yesterday morning I reached into my mailbox and pulled out a blue envelope. I opened it and saw a flowered “thank-you” card. As I read the card, tears filled my eyes.
Under the printed verses, it said, “Dear Ate, I still remember the day when we prayed together in your office for my studies. A few days from now I will graduate. THANK YOU! ... Rogie"
Why the tears? It goes back two years ago to the day mentioned in the card, “the day when we prayed together.”
Rogie was an ex-prisoner, and he was introduced to me on that day by Pastor Noel, another ex-prisoner who had recently graduated from ISOT. Both men were involved in ministering to drug addicts, street children, and prisoners by the thousands in the overcrowded prisons and jails in Metro Manila. Pastor Noel saw great potential in Rogie, and felt that ISOT training was just what he needed! He brought him to me that day to persuade me to find Rogie a scholarship so that he could study at ISOT.
Pastor Noel started things off. “Rogie, this is Ate. Tell her your story.” (Pastor Noel has an amazing story of his own, but I will save it for another day.) Rogie told a harrowing tale of being abused as a child by a drunken father, becoming a policeman and later a drug addict, losing his marriage and family, and finally killing someone during a drug deal gone wrong. He ended up in prison where he found the Lord, and was discipled by Pastor Noel and some other Christians. Eventually he was released from prison and incredibly, won back the love of his wife and children. He was now working as an assistant pastor in a church in the poorest part of Manila. He told me, “In the seven years I was in prison my wife did not visit or call or write even once. But now, we visit the prison together – every day.”
I promised to try to find a scholarship, and I offered to pray for Rogie before they left. At that moment my assistant stepped out of our
office, and as I bowed to pray, this thought popped into my head: “I am alone in this room with two convicted murderers!” But I reminded myself that they were no longer “hardened criminals” – they were my brothers. So I prayed and thanked God for all He had done in their lives and asked Him to help me find a scholarship for Rogie. After I finished, I looked up and saw both of my brothers with tears streaming down their faces. I realized that I was probably more “hardened” than they were. For them, the mercy of God is new every day and they never stop being awed by it. I could learn a thing or two from them.God did provide a scholarship for Rogie, and he came to study at ISOT for two years. Every time I saw him in the hallway or classroom, I thanked God for the privilege of helping him be equipped for ministry. He already had a great passion for God, and it has been exciting to see him grow in his leadership skills and his effectiveness in ministry. And in a few more days, he will receive his Master of Arts in Christian Leadership and will be back in the field full time.
I've no doubt that it will only be a matter of months till Pastor Rogie shows up at my office with another ex-convict in tow, telling him, “This is Ate. Tell her your story.” I love my job!
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