“Press the NVDA modifier key plus F12. What do you hear?”
Soon, laptops chimed the current time, one after another. A hush of amazement followed, as if those simple keys were treasures hidden in their pantries. The sound of their simple joy as they discovered the wonders of this assistive tool matched my own when I first started learning. Over the years, with sincere concentration, I have mastered these keyboard shortcuts as if I were born for this technology.
“In the next session, we will learn how to navigate apps and social media networks,” I told the seminar participants. Though I couldn’t make out their faces, their sense of amazement was palpable.
My students’ reactions sounded like pure self-fulfillment. My commitment to the Lord—to motivate church members, leaders, and educators to become front-liners in the ministry for the visually impaired—has finally become a reality. Standing before them, I realized that blind instructors like me who teach NVDA have a distinct and powerful advantage: we teach from lived experience, not just technical knowledge. We know the undocumented workarounds and most efficient shortcuts for daily workflows because we solve those exact problems for ourselves every single day.
I couldn’t help but wonder how God carried me through, giving me the courage to turn my visual impairment into a ministry. I didn’t start out as bold or as committed to this advocacy as I am now.
In fact, this joy and fulfillment didn’t come easily. It only happened after years of fighting emotional battles, wrestling with the Lord to overcome low self-esteem, despair, and the fear of being rejected and abandoned as my disabilities grew.
I used to be energetic, like any normal, sports-minded child. Then, in high school, I noticed something was wrong. During the day, I had no problems, but at night, I suddenly couldn’t see anything. I tried to ignore it. However, in college, I couldn’t see the writing on the chalkboard anymore, though I could still read the Bible and other books.
In my thirties, my vision deteriorated rapidly. By four in the afternoon, my night blindness would set in. I was eventually diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, inherited eye disorder that causes a gradual and progressive loss of vision by affecting the retina. It started with that night blindness and advanced into a gradual loss of peripheral vision, creating a “tunnel vision” effect that often leads to severe low vision or legal blindness.
Today, I can only see basic, dark colors, silhouettes, shadows, or the vague shapes of huge objects like buildings and cars in the daytime. It is not enough to see someone’s face clearly. As of this writing, there is no known cure, though my physician remains hopeful that future scientific breakthroughs might one day reverse my condition.
Human as I am, I couldn’t accept my reality at first. I began questioning the Lord. Though I was not born into an Adventist, I grew up an obedient and diligent child until I accepted my Savior when I was 23.
Why did He allow this to happen to me, rather than to the troublemakers or public nuisances of society?
Driven by depression, I had never imagined myself standing in front of learners who were volunteering to master a technology to reach one of the most neglected groups in society: individuals just like me.
Over time, with the amazing support of my family—especially my wife, who has sacrificed so much for me—I slowly accepted my condition. Through constant pleading with the Lord for healing, He showed me instead the mission He wants me to do.
He showed me that I am one of those He prepares for special missions, much like Samson and others in the Bible. He was going to use me to reach out to His visually impaired children, give them hope, help them feel accepted, and give their lives a sense of purpose.
These individuals don’t have to feel useless or drown in despair as outcasts. They, too, are a gift and an important part of society. Most of all, God would use me to train people to go and tell them about Jesus and the promise of transformation when He comes.
Morning Star Christian Learning Center gave me a sense of purpose by welcoming me in 2018 as a faculty member after I passed my Licensure Examination for Teachers in 2017. I taught there for more than four years, until I joined the SEND Missionaries under the supervision of the Central Visayan Conference in 2022.
Being sent for pastoral duty fulfilled a lifelong dream. I had long wanted to become a pastor, but my disabilities always seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. Working in the Lord’s vineyard then strengthened my dedication to evangelism. I conduct regular Bible studies and tell people about Jesus at every chance I get, whether at the market or in my neighborhood.
My sense of depression and doubt is completely gone. I have fully committed to the Lord and will remain His servant until He comes.
On October 1, 2025, I was accepted as a ministerial intern and assigned as a district leader in Northwestern Bohol. Serving the Lord through His church has deepened my resolve to reach out to others facing similar struggles. I proactively connected with government agencies and offered to conduct NVDA training, determined not to wait passively for opportunities, but to actively seek out and support more visually impaired individuals.
But then I realized that teaching alone isn’t enough. I need to multiply my efforts. I need to motivate as many people as possible. Many visually impaired souls out there feel hopeless and need encouragement—precious children of God who simply need to know more about Him. The more advocates there are, the more people with visual impairments can be reached.
Now, I fully understand what God wants me to do and why He allowed me to experience this disability. I see that He prepared me for this mission long before my vision began to change.
I have moved past the stage of wrestling with insecurities, depression, and fear. By His grace and strength, I will continue working for Him until He comes.
On November 2, Northwestern Bohol District Pastor Albert Taraya kicked off an inaugural three-part NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) training series as part of Adventist Possibility Ministries.
Hosted at the Morning Star Christian Learning Center (MSCLC) in Inabanga, Bohol, the program drew over 20 delegates eager to learn the screen-reading software.
Attendees were primarily local Adventist Possibility Ministries coordinators, educators, district pastors, and church members—all eager to understand the language of the visually impaired so they can reach these groups more effectively.
By Albert Taraya, as told to Lyn Lucero ⎸ East Central Philippine Union Conference