As I stepped into the pulpit together with my wife Emma, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. On this day, God finally gave me the gift—to be rewarded with a milestone every theology course completer serving as district pastor dreams of—to be officially ordained into the gospel ministry.
Looking out at the congregation gathered at the Alicia Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bohol on June 20, 2026, I felt the weight of the moment wash over me. The path that led to this sacred platform was not paved with ease, but with tears, calloused hands, and decades of relentless faith. From a wandering, broken childhood to the ultimate affirmation of gospel ministry, my life stands as a living testimony that God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the broken and the willing.
A Scattered Foundation and Early Labor
My journey began in the quiet coastal landscapes of Tala-o, Gitagum, Misamis Oriental. Life fractured early for me. Growing up in a broken family, I had no permanent home, moving from one relative’s house to another. Without parental support, survival became my first real education.
By the time I was five years old, while other children were learning to play, I was learning to labor. I was responsible for six cows. Every morning before dawn, I tended to them, and the moment the afternoon school bell rang, I rushed home to pasture them. Lunchtime was my only sanctuary—the hour of the day when I could simply pause and be a child.
After high school, the future seemed to disappear. Without money, college seemed impossible. Losing direction, I fell into an unproductive life with friends, doing odd jobs to get by. I rode rough mountain trails as a habal-habal driver, cut meat in chicken farms, stayed up at night as a baker, and traveled bumpy roads delivering bakery goods. Those were hard years, but they made me very independent.
At 23, things changed. Tired of a stuck life, I decided to change my future. I left Misamis Oriental and crossed the sea to Sierra Bullones, Bohol, where a relative worked. With a new hope, I chose to follow my true calling: studying Theology at Central Philippine Adventist College (CPAC).
The Crucible of a Working Student
Moving to CPAC was a big step into the unknown. Pastor Diosdado Samson helped by letting me travel with him to a District Leaders’ Convention on campus with future pastors Anel Mahinay and Jimmy Genonio. There, my relative Kuya Rey Yamaro gave me ₱3,000—a lot of money for me—that I used as a down payment to enroll as a working student.
When the convention concluded, I fully intended to return to Bohol with the others, completely unaware that a down payment could be withdrawn. Stranded by chance, I stayed.
From 1998 to 2000, CPAC became my crucible. I cleaned the campus parks as a janitor, pulled weeds as a gardener, and sweated in the fields with the maintenance team. I learned the deep theology of humility through a broom and a spade. Once, while changing a fluorescent tube on a maintenance shift, I touched a grounded wire. The electric shock surged through my body, a terrifying moment where life hung in the balance. By God’s grace alone, I survived.
Yet, financial exhaustion caught up with me during my second year. Heartbroken but undefeated, I chose to pause my theology study and move back to Bohol, seeking affordable ways to fulfill my minor subjects.
An Argument, a Classroom, and a Lifelong Partner
I walked onto the campus of the Bohol Institute of Technology–Carmen one summer afternoon to enroll in Elementary Education, knowing the credits would parallel my theology requirements. The very first person I encountered was a young lady trimming the grass outside the registrar’s office—a fellow working student.
Our first interaction was far from romantic; in fact, we got into a heated argument. But God has an extraordinary sense of timing.
As semesters passed, the friction softened into friendship. We became classmates and, eventually, the backbone of the Supreme Student Government’s leadership. I was elected president for two consecutive terms, which granted me free tuition, while she served as the treasurer. To cover our daily expenses, I returned to the ovens, working as a nighttime and Sunday baker.
During those busy college days, I started leading Bible studies for my classmates. Of everyone I invited, only one person said yes: the smart student leader I had argued with on my first day.
Emma Simbajon did not just join the Bible studies; she shared a future with me. After graduation, we got married, tying our lives to one promise of service. Years later, God gave us great joy when our first son graduated with his own Bachelor of Theology from Mountain View College, following the dream his father had held for so long.
The Sacrificial Field of Teaching and Literature Ministry
Passing the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) in 2007 opened new opportunities. I became head teacher of Panglao Christian Academy. This was where Emma’s true character showed. She gave up a steady, secure job as a public-school teacher to join me at this small, community-run school.
For two years, we taught side by side by day and walked the neighborhoods every Friday afternoons and Sundays as part-time literature evangelists, selling books that carried messages of eternal hope.
Changes came next. We moved back to Sierra Bullones, where I worked as a substitute teacher in public schools. Our family grew with the birth of our daughter, now an active Grade 10 student at Mindanao Mission Academy. Whether leading student groups through the busy streets of Cebu City or running literature ministries, our family became closely connected with books and the gospel.
Returning to the First Call
In 2011, the Central Visayan Conference hired me as an Associate Publishing Director, a job I did for five years while Emma taught at the Adventist Elementary School-Ubay. Even though the publishing work was rewarding, I still felt the unfinished theology degree in my heart.
The turning point came through Pastor Isaias Guisando. He looked at my journey and explicitly urged me to return to my original calling. Inspired by his push, I balanced the impossible: managing my conference duties while re-enrolling at CPAC. In 2017, after long miles of travel and days spent away from my wife and children, I stood on the graduation stage with my Bachelor of Theology degree finally in hand.
The years that followed were a steady climb through the ranks of ministry:
- 2017–2021: Lay Pastor in Northeast Bohol and South Cebu
- 2022–2024: Intern Pastor
- 2024: Regular Denominational Worker
- June 20, 2026: Ordained Minister of the Gospel
Reflection: A Testimony of Faithfulness
My life story is not an exhibit of personal achievement; it is a canvas displaying the absolute faithfulness of God. When I look at the boy who chased cattle in Misamis Oriental, I see a God who was already preparing a shepherd for His people.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee… I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.” — Isaiah 41:10
Every challenge was part of my preparation. Poverty taught me to understand the real needs of the poor; the risky maintenance work showed me that my life is in God’s hands; and the long years of waiting taught me that God’s timing is always right.
I owe a huge debt to Emma. She shared the hard work, the arguments, the empty pockets, and the busy ministry schedules, supporting me whenever I struggled, showing the truth of Ecclesiastes 4:9–10. Along with our children, she has been the foundation of my life as a pastor.
To anyone standing in the middle of their own silent struggle, interrupted education, or broken family dynamics: do not give up. God has a way of turning your heaviest burdens into your most powerful sermons. Trust the process, answer the call, and let Him turn your trials into a testimony.
Lyn Lucero | ECPUC Communications