Tag: Covid-19

Christian Walk, Covid-19, Faith, God, Reflections, Uncategorized

Shalom

rebekahhime

Last year, during the lockdown period due to COVID-19 in the UAE, I stayed at my relatives’ residence for some time. After few days from moving in, I noticed that my skin had red patches. My entire skin was very itchy. I had rashes. I don’t have any food allergies, so I was wondering what was happening. I decided to observe my skin. Days passed, I hoped that the rashed would eventually disappear. Unfortunately, it didn’t. That’s when I decided to go to the clinic to get checked. Because it was the height of the pandemic, my uncle was EXTRA cautious of anything concerning COVID-19. He was concerned that I might have had COVID. He told me that he read an article that says that rashes are one of the symptoms of COVID. I understand his concern and what he was implying, but I think otherwise. I was more concerned about my allergy. I needed to know the cause of it. I gathered up my courage to ask permission from my uncle because he is so strict about stepping outside the house! I remembered this passage in the Bible which says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).” I held on to that promise and prayed to God to grant my uncle peace from worrying about the possibility of me having COVID, which would mean that I could put them at risk.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.“

I visited the nearest clinic, and I was diagnosed with contact dermatitis. I had contact dermatitis before, and I knew that it was because of the soap that I was using. My uncle enquires about my check-up. I was relieved to tell him the good news! The issue was minor, and that he has nothing to worry about it. The next day after my check-up, I received a message from my uncle that his result from the swab test was negative. I was surprised why he sent me his results. I found out that their company arranged a regular PCR test for all their staff yesterday as well. Silently, I told myself, “praise the Lord!”

Indeed, God gave me peace — peace of mind from Covid and the cause of my rashes! What are the things that bother you? No matter how big or trivial our worries may be, God has the power to quiet our troubled mind and soul. He can easily still the tempest storms in our lives. So, worry no more because our Lord Jesus Christ can give us the peace that we ever desired. He wants us to cast all our worries to Him, for He cares about us. God is the source of our peace, a kind of peace that passeth all understanding. No wonder why He is also named the Prince of Peace. Shalom!

Faith, God, Testimony, True Story, Uncategorized

Left Alone in a Screening Facility

rebekahhime

One Thursday night, it was the 30th of July, our family was traveling from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to send our parents to the airport. At the border of Abu Dhabi, there was a stop for Covid-19 screening. My brother, sister-in-law, and I had gone for testing except for my niece, and nephew who were below 10 years old. My parents were exempted as well because they were on visit visas.

The result came out, and among the three of us, only my brother and sister-in-law were both permitted to pass the border. It was unfortunate that I was the only one who didn’t make it. I was left behind because I was given the result of “NOT PERMITTED” [to cross the border]. I asked some Filipinos who were at the screening facility about my result. I thought I was positive. The staff told me that it didn’t mean that I had a virus. He further added that, it was just detected that I had an immune response similar to those who contracted Covid-19. In UAE, if you failed the rapid test, it is mandatory to do a swab test. And so, I did. It is to make sure if you are infected or not. I had to wait for my swab test result after 24 hours.

It was time for my family to head to the airport. For the last time, my mom wanted to hug me, but I stopped her thinking that I might have the virus. I might get her infected. I couldn’t help but cry seeing them off. I was just sitting alone crying. I remembered Paul and Silas who were singing hymns in prison. So, I decided to sing as well to make myself feel better. I sang to myself the song called ‘Just as I am’. The song reminded me about how precious I am in God’s sight that His blood was shed for me. After some time, my brother phoned me, and my father was telling me to have faith. He tried to comfort me by saying that I didn’t have Covid-19 because I didn’t have a fever or any symptoms. I responded to my father and said, “I have faith, papa. God has a plan and I trust GOD.” Despite uttering those words, the feeling of being left alone made me cry. My brother asked me to recall all the sermons that I’ve heard. My mom was crying in the background. My niece was also crying. The mobile phone was then given to her so that she could talk to me and would know that I was alright. My family told me that she was crying the whole time! Though I was stressed myself because of the unprecedented circumstance, I ended up comforting my niece who was more frustrated than me. Poor child. I told her not to cry then added, “Don’t cry Dafni. Our God is Almighty! He will take care of me.”

My family in the airport. I was not able to join them.

I didn’t know what specific sermon to recall at that time but, I believed that the Holy Spirit impressed me to think of Hannah—she was crying but, with the Lord. And, I also recalled the teaching about guarding your aloneness or alone time just like Daniel in Babylon and John on the island of Patmos. After that, I stopped crying. I prayed in my mind and surrendered it all to GOD. After all, my life is in HIS hands. My brother, together with his family came back from Abu Dhabi. I was waiting for them outside the screening facility. They fetched me and we headed home together.

I was quarantined in their room for 24 hours. The result came. It was flat out NEGATIVE! I was relieved. When my family knew the result of my swab test, my 7-year-old niece and my 1-year-old nephew went inside the room to hug me. Out of joy, I shouted, “Praise the LORD! Thank you, Jesus!” And all of us were praising GOD. When I saw my family after the 24-hour quarantine and got ‘reunited’ with them, I imagined the similarity to the second coming of Jesus Christ when the dead will be resurrected and be reunited with their loved ones in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet sound.

When I was in distress, God’s promises comforted me. I thank and praise the Holy Spirit for reminding me about God’s Word. I also praise the Lord for the lessons that I learned through our Bible study group called The Final Herald, which is being led by Sister Ruth Paul and our speaker Dr. Ronald Robin. Moreover, I praise God for those people who are willing to be used for the glory of God.

And lastly, I wanted to leave you a message from the book of Jeremiah 33:3,6 which says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Verse 6, “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.” That is why it is said in Habakkuk 3:18 that,

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Habakkuk 3:18

Let’s always remember that whatever we may be facing right now, we should not fear nor lose hope for God is always with us. Let’s just put our trust in Him.

Christian Walk, Faith, God, Testimony, True Story

I WAS ON UNPAID LEAVE BUT MY CUP OVERFLOWS WITH BLESSINGS

rebekahhime

This is my first time writing a testimony. There are many instances that my fellow churchmates requested me if I can share a testimony in church, but I never testified, not even once. Not because I don’t have a story to share but simply because I have stage fright. However, I praise and thank God that somebody asked me to give a testimony during this pandemic crisis. I am glad that during these days of lockdown/quarantine period, a friend of mine asked me to share how God and prayer works in my life.

This COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, and I am not exempted, unfortunately. I worked in a nursery school here in Dubai. Because of this pandemic, the government mandated to close the nursery schools. And, last March 2020, our company decided to have its employees on furlough. I started to worry. My family back in the Philippines needed my financial support. What will happen to us if I will not generate an income? How will I be able to support them while I am on unpaid leave? How will I be able to pay my rent? How can I buy food? Aside from my financial problem, my employment visa was also my concern. It was due to expire in April 2020. I wouldn’t be able to renew it since the school would be closed indefinitely. Fortunately, the UAE government allowed the expatriates to stay in the country until December 2020 even if their employment visa has expired. At the very least, my visa will not be a concern anymore. With this, I would be able to find work even if my visa has expired.

There was a time that I received a text message from our company/owner. It was mentioned in the text that they are offering part-time jobs to their staff who are on unpaid leave. I was happy to receive such a message. However, taking that part-time job would mean risking my health since the workplace will be in a Covid-19 testing clinic. My concern was, there’s no guarantee that the company will shoulder our medical expenses in case we will be contracted with the disease.  Yes, I needed money but I couldn’t afford to risk my life. So, I confided to my housemates regarding the job offer and, they raised their concerns if ever I will take the job. First, the company didn’t offer free accommodation, which would mean that I will stay in my current flat and, there’s a chance that if I will get infected, they will be at risk too. Second, the company won’t be giving insurance to part-timers. Having heard their feedback, I have decided not to take the job offer. It was a tough decision for me to make because, again, I thought, how would I survive without an income? Yet, I reckoned that life is more important than money. I cried that night and prayed to God and asked Him what will happen to me and my family now that I had an offer, but I rejected it. I was feeling perplexed. In my prayer, I always say to God that it is not my will but His will be done in my life.

God hears and answers our prayers. When I was praying for food, God provided me food through my housemates who are working from home. They share with me their food every single day. For them, their giving of food was just a small thing, but for me, it was a big help. I thank God and praise Him.

A month after I was offered a part-time job, another opportunity knocked on my door. Unfortunately, this job requires me to work on Saturday. And so, again, I declined the job offer because I don’t work on Saturdays as I am a Seventh-day Adventist. Saturday is our Sabbath day. Every night, I cried as I pray because of the burden on how to pay my house rent. I couldn’t sleep for more than one month. I was so down to the point that I became depressed. Whenever I was asked a task for our online ministry, I couldn’t take the responsibility because I couldn’t concentrate nor focus on anything that I do. I was feeling hopeless at that time. Sometimes, I was thinking to myself that maybe it would be better if I would just go back home to the Philippines, but what saddened me was the thought of going back home penniless, no savings at all.

Problems after problems. Worries after worries.

On top of the financial problems that I was facing, my sister, who is in the Philippines, told me about an impending problem in our family. That was the heaviest burden to bear. It was the worst problem in our family. When I heard the news, the first thing I did was to pray because panicking wouldn’t help. I couldn’t imagine how stressed my sister was. I just told her to keep calm and pray to God. Pray on how to solve our family problem, and give us the wisdom to help us make a wise decision. Until now, that family problem that we are having is still not fixed. We are still praying for it and hoping that God will solve it at the right time. (I’m sorry if I couldn’t share it in detail.) That family problem of ours has taken a toll on me

Those sleepless nights anxieties, depressions, and hopelessness led me to have suicidal thoughts. I was thinking that maybe the solution to my problem is to end my life. But God is good all the time. He sends me people who helped me by sending me inspirational messages and inquiring about my condition. They also keep on sending me morning and evening devotionals, which helped me uplift my spirit. Reading the word of God and praying every day soothed and eased my burdened heart. I realized that I’ve been of little faith, especially when I had suicidal thoughts. I was embarrassed to God and asked for forgiveness. I thank the Lord God that even if we are unfaithful to Him, He is faithful to us. When I was on a brink of giving up, God lifted me up.

Blessings after blessings.

One day, a miracle happened. Someone gave me monetary assistance and with groceries too! Finally, I could pay my house rent! Not only that, but I was also given help from the church that I am in and from the Philippine Embassy (Abu Dhabi). I always cry with joy and gladness every time I receive any form of help from people. It is heartwarming when God answers your prayers if you put your trust in Him.

Relief goods that I received from friends and strangers. God is good!

I am so blessed that I belong in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church where the people are helping each other and are praying for one another. I praise God that He sustains my needs even if I don’t have work. Sometimes I am tempted to accept the job offer which has work on Saturdays because, nursery schools might not open so soon. But I reckoned that I’ve been here in Dubai for six years. I experienced and overcame a lot of obstacles, challenges, and problems. God helped me through it all. He never left my side. We have to have faith and trust in Him. My colleagues always ask me questions like—Why I didn’t take the job? How will I survive without work? My response to them was that I couldn’t afford to disobey God who provides my needs by compromising the Sabbath day. God specifically said in the fourth commandment to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

God is in control of everything. I will end this testimony with a passage from 2 John 1:3 which says, “Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” 

I hope that you learned something from my experience. Praise and glory be to our faithful God.