21 Jan Family Finds Faith
Michelle (second from left) with her parents (center) and their Victory group leaders before water baptism.
“And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”- Acts 16:31 ESV
These were the words that Michelle Ramos held on to as she believed that someday her whole family would come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Michelle was invited to church in 2011 and she eventually entrusted her life to Christ. She became an active member of the church and went on to lead a Victory group and a Kids Ministry team. After she became a Christian, she had a burden to pray for her family. She wanted them to experience the same love that changed her life.
Michelle came from a family with financial struggles. She was the breadwinner at one point. Being the eldest, she had the burden to help out with the tuition fee of her three siblings, Jobhel, Mikee and Jomari. She also had to contribute to the household expenses. That was always been the case after her father Jojo returned home and stopped working overseas.
“Sure we had money, but we didn’t know how to handle it very well,” Michelle said. “Instead of saving up, we ended up in debt. Somehow, to me, there was something wrong with the picture that my father wasn’t really leading our family financially, relationally and most of all, spiritually.”
The salary from her job in a BPO company was barely enough. She started worrying about her family’s future. Michelle knew there was a deep struggle in her family. She became desperate for God’s intervention. Because of this, before going off to work every night, she would lay her hands on and pray for each of her family members. Michelle started declaring God’s words in prayer.
Then something changed. The Ramos’ neighbor started inviting her family to a nearby church and they started going. Initially, her dad would always make the excuse that Sunday could still be a workday for him to try and earn extra from his job as a hotel car driver.
In 2013, Michelle’s family started attending Victory Greenhills—an answered prayer. God started showing Michelle and her family, especially her dad, that He can provide. What Jojo would normally earn in a week, he would now earn in just one day. Michelle was promoted, too. She slowly saw a change in her dad as well, the way he viewed and handled money, how he treated her mom, the end of his drinking habits—he even began exercising!
Michelle (top left) stands with her mom (top) during water baptism.
Michelle’s parents finally agreed to go through One 2 One discipleship after a few hesitations in September 2014. A month later, her mom and dad went through water baptism. For Michelle, more than just an answered prayer, it was a display of God’s power in the lives of her family members. She held on to God’s words and it did not return empty.
“Prayer is your most powerful weapon. I saw God work when I started declaring God’s word upon my family. I think that God is simply waiting for us to call upon Him and pray,” Michelle says. Val Baguios III