Inspiring Convert Story-18
"I was called through the
Brotherhood in the Church"
By Ronald Howell
Locale of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
AS I LOOK
BACK, I cannot help but shake my head and chuckle
at the way my life had been before I joined the Church of Christ.
Religion or anything relating to it was not even in my vocabulary.
My former religious
beliefs, if any were based on the words of a
preacher who confirmed I was saved, but for me they were mere words.
I always told myself that if I wanted to go to church it should be
near my house in West Seattle. But typical of me, it never
materialized. I recall my grandmother bringing me to church as a
young boy. What was queer was the offering had to be done twice
because they realized that there was not enough offerings collected.
Basketball is my
favorite sport and I enjoy playing the game. One spring
afternoon in 1999, I happened to join a team in Seattle
University comprising Brothers Kris
Dalit, Ronald Depano, Joel Remos,
and Ben Tiangsing from the Locale of Seattle. What was interesting
was that we were victorious many time over. After the game,
Kris asked me and another friend to play for their Church's sports
league. Without any hesitation, I gave him my number and expected a
call back, which I did not receive for several
weeks. However, I was still interested in joining their team
and even regretted not taking his telephone number, so that I could
have called him up. When Kris finally called me up, I was ready to
play and excited to hear that tryouts were starting at the Tukwila
Community Center.
Other players who were not yet members of their
Church like me were invited to attend Bible studies. My first
attendance was in the Locale of Seattle, The brethren were very warm
and hospitable. Nevertheless, I was still reluctant in joining any
church.
The first game of the basketball season came and I
admit that it changed my view of religion for the better. An
exciting crowd cheered and hooted for their locales. I had never
played in front of a huge crowd and was awed to see such fellowship
among the locales. With this experience, attending the Bible studies
became a regular activity for me, not only because I got to play but
more so because I enjoyed being in the company and fellowship of the
brethren.
What was very
interesting was my desire to hear more of tine teachings of the
Church and to meet more brethren. The Bible studies truly opened up
a lot of things to me. There I met KADIWA members who were very
supportive during the entire time of listening to the lessons.
During a grand
evangelical mission in Everett, the ministers clearly
revealed the role of the Church
of Christ in these last days in man's salvation. My interest to join
the Church grew stronger that I attended the worship services every
Sunday through the assistance of Kris who provided
me transportation. I then understood the importance of
attending the worship services regularly, thus I started
attending even the worship
services on Thursdays. I believed then that it was
time for me to be a member of the Church, thus I contacted the Light
of Salvation president, Brother Buu Huynh, who enlisted me for Bible
study on doctrines under Brother Pastor B. Palacios
Jr. He was patient in conducting one-on-one lessons for me, which
helped me understand the doctrines without an iota of doubt in my
mind.
Finally on the cool and sunny day of
November 20, 1999, I was
baptized into the Church of Christ. It changed me completely from a
person of the world to person of humility and love. Despite the
countless trials, I have held on to my faith and continued praying
for strength and wisdom to overcome these trials. There are more to
come, I know, but t understand that faith has to go through fire to
find out if it is pure and genuine. My prayers are being
answered because I remain a member despite trials. It
is through God's grace and mercy that I was chosen to be among His
people and it is through His love and compassion that I am now a
Light of Salvation officer in Seattle the Pacific Northwest, KADIWA
chairperson of the Missionary
Committee, and an officer of the locale's Sports League. I am now an
instrument in helping the Church
Administration propagate God's words to let others have the same
experience as I had through the brotherhood in the Church.
As I recall the lesson about the love of the
brotherhood, never: will I forget the warm and sincere welcome of
the first brethren whom I met during that first basketball game
namely, Brothers Jayar Suelen and Eymard Lopez and the Valdez family
who opened their doors to me and welcomed me as part of their
family. Truly, all the brethren who helped me understand the
teachings of the Church define the truth that the love of the
brotherhood reigns in the Church of Christ.
___________________
Source: October 2004, God's Message, p.16