CHIN, CHIC, JONES, JUVEN, COMING OVER TO AMERICA

In March of 1984 I established the Worldwide Pentecostal Church of Christ, Inc. also known as WPCC. This was to say that we had now formally severed connection with the AMF which was still in the hands of Eddie Wheeler. Bro. Cavaness sent the money for us to buy the Caloocan church formally from Eddie Wheeler and this included the Batangas property which at that time was being pastored by my brother Fredo. By now, we had moved to a bigger house in an exclusive subdivision in U.E. Caloocan. We had also purchased another vehicle. And the church in Caloocan was doing excellently well with Bing Ocampo now assisting us as assistant pastor. The young children that I got from the streets have now become fully mature in God and they became strong workers. One of them was Boy Flores, who at this writing is now living in Sydney, Australia.

Things were doing very well for us. The children were doing wonderfully well in church and they were taken and picked up to and from school by one of our church members who drove for us. But the political situation in the country was becoming more riotous on the account of Ninoy Aquino's assasination. Marcos, who ruled the Philippines all these years since 1972 under Martial Law had let up a little allowing an election to happen. This happened because of the pressure from the Catholic Church and from the poor masses. Corazon Aquino, the widow of Ninoy, was put up by the opposition party to run for president. When the ballots were counted Marcos came out the winner and everyone was screaming in the streets that the election was rigged. Of course, the people were now tired of Marcos and they wanted a new government. This led to an escalation of riots in the streets until it bacame so huge that the first people power ever to occur in the world happened in the Philippines. I was thinking all along that a civil war could take place and so I decided to get my family out of the Philippines to move to the United States. We now had the chance to get them Visas to come with us, so I might as well.

In 1985 another child was born to the Ayudtud family making all the children now to six. She was born on October 10, 1985. We named her after her mother, Venus Twinkle. And due to the turmoil that was happening in the country we wanted to take all the children to the United States including the new born Twinkle. But the consul at the U.S. Embassy said that she was too young to travel with us. We decided to leave her behind in the care of Bro. and Sis. Amato.

Venus and I agreed the she go to America first, with Jones and Juven. Damariz at this time was brought to the Philippines by Venus' father and mother. It was on this occasion that Papa Almeda got sick and died. It was a sad moment for all of us.

Within three months after Venus left, I applied Chin and Chic for their Visas and thankfully they were granted. So now things were clear and easier for us to immigrate to the United States. Venus got a job in the law office of her brother in Jersey City who became a judge in Jersey City and the kids were left at the care of her sisters, Princess and Marilyn in Staten Island. Our concern now was about Twinkle. Once again we would become a divided household. But because there was nothing that could be done about the situation of Twinkle we left it unto the Lord.

In January of 1986 I would again fly back to the United States taking with me my oldest and second daughters, Chin and Chic. This was such a joyous moment as the girls were already thirteen and eleven years of age. They were on their early teens and at this age they already had a professionally recorded song entitled, "Struggle Is The Game." The church kept saying that now that all the children, except, of course, Twinkle, would be in America that there was a chance that we would not come back to the Philippines. I kept telling them that we would be back again. The church made us a farewell party for Chin and Chic and it was a moment of a realization that it would be their last time to see these children who they fondly loved so much. Chin and Chic were a fast rising singing sensation in our church and in other churches. Now they would miss their voices and their presence.

At the airport, after taking care all the necessary papers, I became so overjoyed watching my two daughters. They certainly were my joy and pride. And I had been a stronghold for them emotionally. They loved me and I loved them beyond measure. And here we were in the boarding area fixing to board a huge jumbo 747 Nortwest Airlines jetliner. I watched them giggled and tremendously happy. And moments later we were inside the plane. We brazed ourselves while the plane negotiated the runway and then take off. It shook momentarily and I watched with admiration my daughters who were holding on their seats with smiles on their faces. They were pinching each other to find out if this thing was real or that perhaps they were only dreaming. Moments later they slumbered and slept.