In March 2013, my wife and I bought a lot in Pasig City, intending to build our future home there. We pushed through with the purchase, even though we were initially concerned about how it would affect my family, particularly my mother, who enjoyed the fact that all my siblings lived in Quezon City, making family gatherings an easy and effortless affair.
Well, our concerns were certainly valid. Telling her, six months after buying the lot, was absolutely devastating, and it caused a huge rift in my relationship with my mother, who, at the time, was very disappointed with our decision to move away from Quezon City.
“How could you live so far away from the family?” she asked angrily. “You will have to build your house on your own,” she added, “and I will never visit your house!”
Knowing that my parents wouldn’t extend any assistance to us, my wife and I began to save up for our house in Pasig. Saving up for it wasn’t easy; two of my income sources ended in 2014, and we were concerned about raising enough funds for construction, which we’d scheduled to start in January 2015. By the time our deadline came around, we’d raised only about 35% of the funds we needed to build our house.
That, combined with my strained relationship with my mother, was causing me a lot of emotional anguish. I thank God for the support I’d received from the men in the Victory group I attended, which met every Wednesday night.
One particular Wednesday night, our guest speaker was Mr. Jayson Lo, who talked about tithing and giving sacrificially. He shared several experiences where He blessed someone, only to have God bless him back. He challenged us to be faithful in tithing.
“Test God,” I remember him saying, “and surely, His blessings will flow.”
This message hit me straight to the heart. Frankly, I hadn’t tithed since 2014, and had not committed to giving sacrificially. That night, after Jayson shared his message, I felt God impressing upon my heart to pledge to give Php2.5M for the Every Nation Building Phase 2 project.
At first, I questioned my motives. I knew I wanted to give to the building project, not because I was expecting blessings from God, but because I’d heard about it for a long time from my pastors, and I cared about it because I ran a construction business. Since we were still short of the funds we needed for our house, I felt God was finally pushing me to make the building a priority. I spoke to my wife about it, and she supported me.
“Everything we have is from God,” she reminded me. “Give whatever is in your heart to give.” We pledged Php2.5M.
A week after submitting our pledge to the Development Office, I received a call from my mother, out of the blue.
“When are you starting the construction of your house?” she asked.
“February 2015,” I replied.
“Okay,” she said. “I will give you Php25M for the construction of your house.”
I was stunned. God blessed me with an amount that was ten times the amount I’d pledged, even before I gave a centavo! I had faith that God would help me raise the funds I needed to build my home, but I never imagined that He would use my mother to bless me with the funds for virtually the entire cost! Our relationship is slowly but surely starting to improve, and we are excited about what the future holds for us and our family.
The story doesn’t end there. Our senior pastor invited me to attend a building banquet, where he shared the vision of the Every Nation Building Phase 2 project. It was there that I felt God telling me to sponsor a Leadership Room. I learned that a Php3M gift was enough, so I decided to obey God and raise my pledge to that amount. A week later, I visited the Development Office to discuss the details for our donation. Apparently, the only Leadership Room still available for sponsorship would cost Php5M. I decided to step out in faith and pledge that amount.