The Life Of A Great Man

             We all knew how wonderful this man is but we never knew what made him great. We never heard the ups and downs stories that built this man for greatness. Well, here is a short summary of this person’s life… On the 22nd of May in the year of our lord 1934, this baby boy named Armando who no one knew what his future would be, was born. He was the eldest of 7 children. However, he didn’t experience to bond that much with his siblings because he grew up from his grandparent’s side. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a good brother and son especially when he already had his business in the latter years of his life, he is always ready to help them when they are in dire need and he gives his mom a weekly allowance as a gift. He experienced a lot in his early life. At 7 years old, he was chased by Japanese soldiers during the time of World War II. At 10, he started selling “pandesal” from the “panaderia”. At 12, he learned how to smoke and joined his peers by doing standby’s to wherever they will go as “taong-gala”. At 21, he dropped out of college because there wasn’t enough money to pay for his tuition so he was forced to work and enter as a door-to-door salesman for Johnson & Johnsons Company selling Colgate and Palmolive products, with his hard-working attitude, he was then promoted to become a division manager but was later fired from his work. At 21 too, he also met the great love of his life which he married and up to this very day, 55 years of true love blossomed creating a family of 5 children and 11 grandchildren.

            There came to a point in his life that he just wanted to give up living it… One Sunday, he went to the church and attended the service there, with only 50 pesos left in his wallet and with no work, he gave all of his last money to GOD. Little did he knew, that the simplest and unnoticeable act that he did would change his life forever… Numerous opportunities that would change his and his loved-one’s lives would come after his act of sacrifice… There came the Business that would be considered as the fruit of his Faith to God, the Spring which later became Classe’ Cooking oil, it was the bread and butter of the whole family… And from that, he already had the opportunity to be used as an instrument of GOD, he started with his own family by being a good provider through giving of good food, various businesses and quality education to his children, next is through sharing the blessings of God in his life by creating a church and fellowship which is now known as the Gospel of Christ, he has helped countless of people in so many ways, I don’t even know where to start but if I would name a few things, it would be the way he helps people by means of scholarships, giving sacks of rice, food sharing, money problems, bringing lost souls back to our almighty and so much more. He also worked in the government for 30 years in various positions like Chairman in the San Carlos Water District. He is an adviser to many, not only in the Gospel of Christ, but to struggling marriages and campaigning politicians. He has really been an influential person in many good ways and he always knows where to give thanks and that is to his Almighty Creator, GOD.

            The faith of this man to our GOD is immense… If I would make a contest and name someone as who’s the most Faithful person to God I have ever met? Without a single doubt, it is Him. Do you want to know his secret to a very successful life? Then he would only tell you 3 words, GOD the Father… He is always the proudest when he says that he has done 10 years of morning watch and it is waking up in the 1st hour of your life praising, researching and giving thanks to our Almighty GOD. With Armando? He always does it at 3 in the morning. And up to now, he still consistently reads books and watches documentaries aside from the bible to get to know more about GOD. He told me that on his 2nd year of his morning watch, he was praying and then suddenly a voice in his head told him “Ngayon anak, magpapakilala na ako sayo” (In this very moment my Child, I will introduce Myself to You) and from that moment he felt a warm unexplainable feeling and a covenant between him and our Almighty was born. He was given the opportunity to know our real GOD which rarely happens and very few people were chosen to have that kind of gift and together with it, is 100 percent blessing regarding financial matters, that even if he’s not requesting for it? GOD is giving it to him.

            With regards to his health, journeying to 77 years of his existence was not an easy task. At 55 years old, he had his first heart attack due to his excessive chronic smoking vices. That’s the time he stopped smoking. And at 70 years old, he was bypassed (heart surgery). But the worst thing that happened to him was when he was diagnosed with a Congestive heart failure that was discovered when he had a pulmonary edema (water in the lungs), it is an irreversible degenerative disease in the medical books that has a prognosis of a short timeline. But with so much faith and with the family’s strong bond of prayers, God again answered our heart’s desires, when he came back for a follow-up, the doctor gladly gave the good news, that it’s a miracle, his congestive heart failure was gone… So as his Grandson, I’m so much thankful to GOD that he gave my Grandfather the greatest wealth, and that is a long healthy life until now and there are more years to come for him with God’s unconditional grace…

            These stories that I’ve shared to you are only a few stories to his thousands of amazing stories… I just told you the surface side of it. But if you will really try to know his life’s voyage then you will really learn a lot especially on how kind, gracious and really loving our Almighty GOD is…

            My Grandfather has impelled me to follow his footsteps. He has been my role model and a really big influence in my life. He had taught me to be futuristic, to not think of today but what my future would be. He motivated me to be a great provider for my family one day, not only in financial matters but with education, values and spiritual aspects of life as well. He heartened me to virtuously do good to my neighbors. He inspired me to be a faithful lover to only one woman in my lifetime. And he inspirited in me the dream of having a strong covenant with our Almighty Creator. As his Grandson, I really learned a lot from him about how magnificent and beautiful life is, that GOD will return all the blessings that you deserve depending on how much good you have planted in your life…

- The Thoughtful Son