BIBLE SCHOOL, HERE I COME

The Living Word Bible Seminary was housed in a large compound of three average sized houses that occupied about an area of a football field stretching from the main road in Dalipuga down to the beach. The middle house served as the pastoral, and the building beside the beach was the school. The house by the road served as the dormitory. The entire facility was donated by Ador Yanez to the Living Word church organization headed by Pastor Pagalan. Adoracion Yanez was the daughter of one of the richest men in the area who got newly converted to the born again movement. To feel good, she donated the whole thing to the work of the Lord. Pastor Nestor Lagdamen, a short man in his early thirties, who was very intellectual, was the head administrator and Pastor Ruby Alatraca was the school principal. The school had some forty students coming from all direction in Mindanao and some from the Visayas. I became a very much welcome addition because my two brothers, Fred and Ramon, where doing very wonderfully in the ministry as pastors of the Assembly of God organization. And they knew of the Ayudtud family as a very big family. Sister Alatraca, Pastor Ruby's wife, was all smiles interviewing me. "I think that you will do very good here," she said. I was only sixteen at that time but was towering big in size as compared to the other people and was mature in my thinking.

In a few days I familiarized myself with the new lifestyle but I still smoked. We started the school day with a program where a student would practice-preach and then to be criticized or commented on. When it was time for my turn I did get many comments, some good and some bad. We laughed at our shortcomings and imperfections and were easy to forgive those who hit us sort of "below the belt" comments. I began interested on Bible characters and became sharp in remembering the location of verses. I memorized the thirty-nine books of the old testament and the twenty-seven books in the new testament. And I was faster than anyone in my class when it came to memorizing scriptures.

I became very prayerful and conscious of the presence of God. I gradually lessened my smoking specially after one of the lady students saw me smoking and preached about it in her practice-preaching time. I retaliated and brought her down to humility by itemizing all of her bad attitudes. Anyway, this was one of the games played in the school and there was no harm done. I became very enthused in evangelism that I would go out alone in Dalipuga proper to distribute tracts. I even took Rudy Macabenta with me to Iligan to preach around the cockpit arena using a megaphone. I pointed at the people telling them that they all were headed down to hell and that they remedy was for them to believe in the gospel. I preached about Sodom and Gomorrah with a shrill voice, sending some people to cover their ears. I was on fire and unstoppable.

December came and we went around Christmas caroling to raise money for our school. I was of course the guitarist. I led the singing although I was not the choir director. We were twelve people, nine girls and three boys, and we went around Dalipuga and up and down all places. Then we went to Matabang where we found trouble. Pastor Lagdamen was with us along with his wife when rocks began raining on us. "Hey!" we all screamed while taking cover. "Boy!" a voice filled the air, "come out and we will kill you!" The young man who shouted was one of those that Jose and I beat before. He saw I was in the group and desired revenge. I saw in the distance that they were many in number. I suddenly ran to the light from an electric post undaunted. "Come!" I shouted back. Pastor Lagdamen was screaming and showing his badge as a police officer. The group stopped at a distance. I recognized some of them. But they were determined to hurt me and they moved in. Suddenly, Tonieto, my cousin who lived in the area stood in between. "Don't touch Boy!" he said. "Over my dead body!" Tonieto was the so-called maton, the toughie, in that place. And no one dared to cross him. I then saw the group backed out. Tonieto came up to me and proudly spoke to my caroling group that I was his favorite cousin.

In August of 1969 I was given a church to pastor in upper Dalipuga because the church became vacant on the account of the pastor leaving for another assignment. I had preached in this church as a preacher-student and the people liked me. I was only sixteen at the time and they had me as a temporary pastor. Also in the school I began to substitute teach. I was getting better in my English because English was my favorite subject during high school days. I did not finish fourth year and was not able to graduate high school but my English was better than some of the college kids. I was very good in reading and Pastor Lagdamen informed me that the following year the school management would appoint me as a regular teacher. That was a very fast kind of promotion.

I would be one year in the school in the coming November when Rev. John Willhoite, a oneness missionary visited our school. Along with Pastor Domingo Guzmana he was given a tour of the class. Willhoite was in Mindanao to recruit students for his Bible School in Manila. We learned that he was a oneness and not a trinitarian and we were taught that the doctrine was of the devil. Yet, what I could not understand was when Pastor Alatrace taught us about how to debate with the Jehovah's witnesses that we had to use the stand of the oneness. I remembered him saying: "The oneness doctrine is a very strong doctrine, although it is a wrong doctrine." Now Willhoite was talking to us. Then he got out a tape recorder from his bag and asked me to sing. It had been known that I was a real good singer and he wanted to record my voice. I got my guitar and sang, "I'm longing for that glorious day when all the saints will come..." That was my very first time to see a tape recorder. And, of course, my very first time to hear a recorded voice of my singing. The crowd around me clapped and Willhoite said that it was very good. I was exhilirated and in utter disbelief. "After all, this devil is doing good to record my voice," I said to myself wordlessly.

Emotionally I was doing well. I did not drink nor smoke. My father and mother were very pleased about my transformation. But we did not have any money. We were now dependent on some people that were renting one of our rooms in the house. The man was an engineer at Floro Cement with a wife that was absolutely beautiful. But he got killed. Someone shot him and killed him on the spot. It was a very sad time for the wife. She packed up and went back to Manila.

Time to go back to school on a Monday. I prepared everything, but I had to bring some rice and must buy some canned goods. I was happy in my spirit when I asked my mother for some money. "Boy," she answered sadly, "we do not have anything." I spoke "What" loudly and in desperation I hit the wall with my fist. I did not see the nail on the wall that was used to hang clothes. The nail went inside my fist. When I pulled my fist away blood squirte all over. My eyes got big and I became very scared. I found a white used T-shirt and I wrapped it around my bleeding hand. Suddenly, the T-shirt was all blood. I ran down to the guava tree and chewed some leaves and applied them on my wound. I murmured unintelligible words. I cursed the moment. I must have said, "What a hell, or, what a life." Nothing mattered now, I was angry and I was not going back to Bible School. I was beside myself when I passed the house of Lourdes Depino. Lourdes called me, "Boy, it's good to see you!" she was all smiles. "Andresa and Nanding are leaving tomorrow to Manila, to go to Bro. Willhoite's school there, why don't you go with them?" I said, "Yeah, I will go." I did not know why I said yes. I only know one thing now, I said yes out of desperation.

I informed my mother and father that I would be going with Andresa to Manila. "Manila?" my mom was aghast. "Manila! No way," she said. "Do you know where Manila is? Do you realize how far that is? We would die if you go." I told my father about it. I told him that we did not have any money where we were at and that it would be my chance to do better there. I mentioned to my father about the American by the name of Rev. Willhoite. "I'd become the right hand man of Bro. Willhoite," I said to my dad. "Then I will go to America."

My mom cried and cried that night. She did not want to lose me. My dad agreed with me. I packed my wrapless suitcase and all of my earthly belongings fit inside it. I did not have any money. Mama borrowed ten pesos from a neighbor. I trusted the words of Andresa, "Don't worry Brother Boy. Willhoite will take care of everything." I did not have a ticket to board the ship. Nanding and Andresa, with her sister Norma, had the tickets. Andresa sent a telegram to Willhoite through RCPI that I was coming and that he should meet us with money for my fare because I would be riging the boat "paga-destino," a spanish word for "pay at arrival."

Sunday night came. It was time for me to leave Lugait to a real big city called Manila. I was only anxious but not fearful. I assuage my mother's feeling by assuring her that I would be back soon. This was the first time for the four of us to board a big ship and to go to Manila. I had nothing except ten pesos and my belongings inside the wooden suitcase. When we boarded the ship the man did not want me to get in. Nanding said that I had to come along, and that an American will pay for my fare once we get to Manila. The ticket master came to see me. Andresa showed her confidence that we were God's workers and that it is important for God that I go to Manila. "Do you want him to sing?" she told the ticket master. "He is a very good singer." Finally, the ticket master said yes. After a while the ship was untied from the pier and its huge horn sounded off, "POOOOFFFF!" We stepped on the side of the boat to look at Iligan City. As we progressed off deeper to the ocean, Iligan City loomed bigger and bigger but fainter and fainter.