THE CALOOCAN CHURCH

Coming back to Manila in the early part of 1975 was restarting to build again. Nothing came out of the businesses that I left behind. And there was no way that I could get back the church in Pasay. For the time being we lived with the Hanchey's in White Plains, Quezon City and commuted to teach the third batch of Bible School in Caloocan church. Not too long after this we found a house in St. Anthony's Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal and we got financial support from Bro. Hanchey. The house was up and down, newly built, and the subdivision was for the middle class.We started evangelizing the neighborhood and planned to put up a church in the area. I felt like displaced in leardership since I belonged to the Mindanao work rather than in Manila. Bro. Hanchey supervised the churches using Pastor Pol Aguinaldo, Cesar de la Cruz as the leaders. With me going around to the churches now, acting as an evangelist, the pastors around slowly adjusted to the fact that I was again getting up into the leadership position. That was especially true on Bro. Hanchey's insinuation. Later on the Caloocan church had a situation which necessitated for a new pastor to take over. And it did not take long Bro. Hanchey let us take over the said church. So, from a nice house in St. Anthony we moved to a small room located upstairs of the Caloocan church. The area where the church was located was infested with drug pushers, theives, and killers. I was putting my family in danger by moving to this church. Yet, I wanted to have a church to pastor so we moved to live in the church building.

There was but nine people that attended the church. But because of the Bible School students who lived also in the church building the church services had more people. The first thing I did was gather the older children in the immediate surrounding of the church to teach them how to sing. I formed a singing group and I let these kids participate. These young teenagers were obliged to attend the services. I laid my hands on them to pray them through in God. The strategy worked, I got them into the church and they all became church workers. Some of them even became pastors later on.

I formally started pastoring the Caloocan church in 1976, I was now 23 years old at this time. Additionally, I had the Bible School in my care which helped me built the church by using them to evangelize and invite new people. My spiritualitybecame very high because I was motivated to grow the church so that I could have the biggest church in the area. Venus and I prayed at dawn every morning and we fasted. Soon after people became glued to our dedication, the members who lived nearby joined our very early morning prayers. Our services became very high-powered events. One night I demonstrated in my preaching that the images that the Catholics do worship were helpless and I broke them in the middle of my preaching. These images, such as the holy family (Joseph, Mary, and Jesus), were revered highly by the Catholic adherents. The baptized members were edified by this act but some of the visitors where very unhappy. One of the most notorious killers in the area saw what I was doing and he sent a notice around that he would kill me for breaking the images. Sis. Lourdes Sitchon, one of the members, warned me for it. I only shrugged my shoulders yet I became watchful. Then, one early morning, I could hear people from the back of the church talking in hysterical voices. Sensing an emergency situation, I went out to investigate. I found out that a man's head had been found in the ditch just beside the church building and the police came to take it away. "Turing did it," Sis. Lourdes informed us. Turing was the man who made the threat that he was going to kill me for breaking the idols.

One Sunday night, I was already preaching, Turing came inside the church. He sat in the vacant seat on the rear. People turned around to see who came in and then silence fell on all of them. Sis. Lourdes motioned in her hands to quietly get my attention letting me know that it was Turing who came in. I knew. I had been speaking to him on occasions about the Lord, not knowing who he was. Undaunted but concern I continued to preach. Turing listened to my salvation message. Then Turing got up and walked toward the front. I thought to myself that he was carrying a gun to shoot me. But he knelt down on the altar to pray. The people screamed to worship God when they saw this. I laid hands on Turing to pray for him. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered his life to God. Not long after this, the police arrested him and he was convicted for murder and was sent to the national penitentiary.

By now, the church was running packed with people. Notable miracles were happening like the lame and cancer cases getting healed. We conducted evangelistic crusade outside of the church on a vacant property. We invited Pastor Celedonio Ompad to preach for us. The group called "The Singing Beryls" became our guest. And it was in one of the nights of the crusade that a neighbor by the name of Bing Ocampo came to the Lord. He came to the crusade because he got attracted to one of the girls of The Singing Beryls but that was just a way by the Holy Spirit to lead him to the gospel. Eventually, Bing came to the Bible School to study in the ministry and today he is pastoring his church in Los Angeles, California.

Caloocan church became the "church of all churches" in terms of revivals and miracles. At this time I took time to finish my fourth year high school. I was still young at 23, so through the encouragement of Venus I enrolled in Sanciangco High School in Malabon. Sanciangco was part of the Arrellano University. Later on, one of my teachers, Angelina Gonzales, came to our service. We converted her and baptized her. I graduated from Sanciangco and then by the following year I enrolled for my bachelor's degree in business at the Philippine Christian College, now, Philippine Christian University. As before, I was rolling in enthusiasm. I had been successful in about everything that I had put my heart into. Amidst of my successes, a situation had arisen which had to do with the AMF organization, in which I was now the main leader. Bro. Hanchey had already went back to the United States and we wanted the US to turn the work in the Philippines to the hands of the nationals. That did not happen because they sent a replacement in the person of Eddie Wheeler. We were capable of governing ourselves and so Eddie Wheeler's arrival was not as welcome as Bro. Hanchey. He was a cunning man, a genius in getting his own way prosper, and he took the AMF away from us and from the AMF in the United States. I did not just allow him to do his thing without a fight. I went to court and sued him.