Kaibigan Ministry: September 2014

Misheil Oga (in gray shirt): reunited with her parents after 13 years of separation.

Hi! My name is Misheil. Thirteen years ago I left my home in the Bicol region, hoping to make a better life for myself in Manila. I was just 16 then. Like many other young probinsiyanas with little education, I found a job as a maid. My employer, however, was abusive. I couldn't stand the abuse so I ran away. Because I had nowhere else to go, I ended up living on the street.

I met Billy Oga on the street and soon we began living together. To be able to buy food, we scrounged through trash for recyclables that we then sold to junk shops. We worked hard and I can say with my head high that we never stole anything to feed ourselves or our children.

About five years ago we met workers of the Kaibigan Ministry. They told us about Jesus and His love for the poor. They also helped us acquire a bicycle with a side car through a rent-to-own agreement. The pedicab made work so much easier because Billy and I didn't have to carry sacks of recyclables anymore, we didn't have to walk, and the children could ride along with us as well.

All those years on the street I never ever thought I would get to wear a wedding dress and get married in a formal ceremony, but Billy and I were among several couples married in a lovely wedding ceremony -- not just anywhere but in Tagaytay!

A little while after that we were brought to the Kaibigan Village in Nueva Ecija where other families who also used to live on the street were starting new lives. It was good to be back in a rural setting. Since Billy had grown up doing farm work in his own province, it was easy adjusting to farm life again. But soon I began growing homesick and I yearned to be back in my own province. We knew other street people had been reunited with their families in the Kaibigan Ministry's Balik-probinsiya program and we asked if we could also be blessed this way.

Earlier this year, thank God, I got to go home, along with Billy and our three children. My parents thought they would never see me again. We had a tearful reunion...and I was home to stay.

Billy and I thank God that the Kaibigan Ministry didn't just provide us with bus tickets, but two of the staff, Kuya Angel and Pastor Jun, actually accompanied us home. We were also given a little money to use to start a small business. (We have decided to raise and fatten hogs.) We continue to trust in God. We know that He loves us and will always do.