BucayaFamily’sSpiritualJourney – Testimony

CHURCH NEWS

The Bucaya family joining the Church family.

Our family spiritual journey was a bittersweet experience as our whole family acquired Covid-19 back in January this year on its 2nd wave. During that time, everybody was terrified of the virus as the 1 st dose of vaccine was recently initiated to health care professionals working in acute care and senior home facilities with Covid-19 outbreak. As one of the staff working in a senior home heavily impacted by the Covid-19 cases, I acquired the virus and infected my husband Erick, my 9-year-old son Tutz and my parents, who were part of our household. My father, who was frail for a year and bed-bound for a few months, needed to be treated in the hospital which my mother joined him in the same unit after three days of his hospital confinement. I was recovering from the virus, both of my parents in the hospital, a husband whom I dropped off to emergency for his worsening symptoms, and a Covid (+) son driving with me to and from the hospital. I had no choice but to be strong for my whole family and no one to rely on but to God, for His divine intervention to heal my family, especially my ill father who was fighting for his life, on the antibiotic course, oxygen, IV, and unable to eat and drink. Hospital doctors have told me multiple times that he may not surpass the virus. I prayed hard and hoped that God would extend my father's life. I can't let go... I wasn’t ready to give up on my dad yet.

Frederick "Erick" Bucaya accepting Jesus as his personal Savior.

We lost my father to Covid-19 on his last day of antibiotic treatment. We lost him but found a spiritual family.

I approached a dear friend struggling with the same pain as mine (we work together in the same Covid unit). A friend who happens to be married to a Seventh-day Adventist husband who was admitted to ICU in the same hospital where my parents were for Covid-19 unmanageable symptoms. My friend and I would talk on the phone, both crying about what happened to our families. I seek spiritual support from her husband's Adventist Ministry to extend their prayers to my dad. Shortly after we talked, I received a call from one of the pastor's wife, and we prayed for my dad, which later became a group zoom prayer with my family with special intention for my dad's healing. The M.E.T.R.O. Filipino Seventh-day Adventist family patiently prayed with us and for us. They treated my parents so dearly and helped my family with all the support we needed. In their exceptional, sincere, and loving way that we had never imagined a complete stranger would do to someone like us. The ministry showered our family with Christ-like kindness and support. Their kind gesture is very much appreciated. We will forever be grateful to God for sending His love to our family thru the M.E.T.R.O. Filipino Adventist ministry. We felt God’s love thru them. We were in complete darkness, but God sent His light unto our family through the Adventist Community.

Frederick Kyle "Tutz" Bucaya.

Karen Perez Bucaya baptized by Pastor Sam Cadiz.

We lost my father to Covid-19 on his last day of antibiotic treatment. We lost him but found a spiritual family. I once said this testimony in one of our many zoom prayers that our experience in finding our more profound relationship with God the Father, Our Redeemer Jesus Christ, and the Divine Holy Spirit in our lives was when we were in the midst of our storm, that's when we found peace in our lives too. We were at peace of losing dad, knowing that his physical suffering had ended, and the new beginning of our spiritual journey has started with the help of M.E.T.R.O. Filipino Seventh-day Adventist church members. We are forever grateful to each and everyone in the ministry for their Christ-like kindness and love. We are very proud to call them our brothers and sisters in Christ, most especially the day we all celebrated our family's most memorable day when our family officially accepted Christ as our personal Saviour on our baptismal day, September 5, 2021.

By Karen Perez Bucaya