Extraordinary — Ellaine’s Story

More often than not, when talking about sharing testimonies, we think na hindi ka-share share ang testimony natin because hindi naman grabe ‘yung mga pinag-daanan natin prior to coming to Christ. But we fail to realize that silent testimonies are just as powerful as the MMK-level ones, because God is the author of our lives.

Like Ellaine who grew up in a religious family — nothing dramatic happened to her before having relationship with Jesus. She never got into wrong relationships nor did she have any addictions. She went to church every Sunday, attended religious activities, and followed the customs and traditions of her religion.

“I only prayed to God as if He was someone who grants wishes, like a genie in a bottle. I was insecure, worrier, and self-centered.” — Ellaine.

Despite the religious customs na ginawa niya, alam ni Ellaine na wala siyang personal relationship with God. Little did she know na things will start changing sa household nila. When she reached high school, naging Christian ang dalawa niyang kapatid pero hindi maganda ang pag-tanggap niya doon.

“I was very angry at that time because while they attended the church services and gatherings, I was left home doing the household chores. And because of my anger I even told them na, ‘Na-dedemonyo na kayo, may sarili naman tayong relihiyon tayo bakit kailangan magpalit?’ I became their oppressor.”

“But God is really good and He is true to His promises when Acts 16:31 said that ‘If you believe in the Lord Jesus, you will be saved — you and your household.’

Ellaine’s sister, Ederlyn has secretly been laying hands on their family every night, believing that God will change their hearts and that one day they’d all worship together with her.

“It’s overwhelming to know that before we even pursue God, He already pursued us.” — Ellaine.

True enough, in 2010, God worked in Ellaine’s heart so when someone invited her to a youth gathering at the same church where her sisters attended, she agreed and went. There she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Simula noon natuto siya na mag-basa at mag-meditate ng Salita ng Diyos sa tulong ng Holy Spirit. She also stopped worrying about things that are beyond her control. Ellaine held on to Matthew 6:33 kung saan natutunan Niyang iprioritize si God above everything else and everything will be provided according to His will.

In year 2014, nag-simula din siyang mag-start ng Bible study sa family nila because of the Holy Spirit’s leading sa isa sa mga devotion niya. Hindi niya alam kung paano mag-sisimula pero nag-tiwala siya sa Diyos at nag-obey.

“God is good because He guided me all throughout the bible and it was one of my happiest moments with my parents that I will cherish forever. We were also able to invite our parents to attend in CCF Taytay and had our first family picture in Church.”

When Ellaine’s father died, her faith was tested, but eventually God opened her eyes to the reality and finality of death. She thanked God for impressing in her heart to start their family devotion where she started planting the seed in her father’s heart. She still praises God dahil nakapag-accept kay Jesus ang Papa niya before he died.

After that, Ellaine became even more active in serving God. She became a part of a Discipleship Group and started leading her own. God also led her to serve using her gift of singing in CCF Taytay’s Worship Team and a core leader in B1G (Be One with God) Taytay which is CCF’s singles’ ministry.

Hindi doon natatapos dahil patuloy na ginagamit ng Diyos si Ellaine para mag-share ng Gospel sa mga officemates niya at sa mga bata. God even led her to start a kid’s Bible study sa bahay nila. Ellaine’s turning point in accepting Jesus may seem ordinary but God is using her extraordinarily to point people to Christ.

“We all must embrace God’s calling for us to be ambassadors of Christ, and our role as followers of Jesus should not end inside the church — we should all take part in the movement of telling our families, co-workers, schoolmates, friends, and even strangers about the Good News.” — Ellaine.