Conrad & Violy Tolosa – Founder and Pastor of Ministries

I can always tell when God is telling me to move on. I feel this heavy restlessness inside of me. Things will go smoothly for a season. You wake up in the morning praising and thanking God. You are glad to see your family. Smiles all around. Then slowly but surely pressure starts building up. God can make your situation so uncomfortable that you begin to consider what options are open to you.

God opens doors and God closes doors. The thing is, you need to be able to discern when it is really God who is doing the opening and the closing. We have enemies and we know that. The flesh, the world and the devil. We could bring miseries to our own selves. The whole world system is designed to move us farther away from God. The devil is so crafty, you’re checkmate in two before you know it.

My world began to crumble when my Mom died and I found myself face to face with what I feared most in life — death. As an accountant I knew how to avoid paying taxes. But death was so certain. Suddenly career was not as important. Family was not as satisfying. Friends had no answer. Life was meaningless.

It was obvious to many of our friends that I defer to Violy in so many ways. How could I not? Without a doubt she was, and still is, the stronger, wiser, more persevering, more enduring one. I would not have survived my face-up- with-death crisis and the ensuing search for life’s purpose if not for her. I owed her big time. Listening to her views was the least I could do.

Grateful as I was to Violy, however, the time came when there was no choice. I had to leave my job at Prison Fellowship and get involved in the protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship. Watching Ninoy Aquino face down at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on television was just too emotionally traumatic for me. That was the time when there was no consultation, no deliberation, just the decision to answer the call of duty. Enough was enough. Suddenly no sacrifice was too great. My soul cried out for justice. The Philippines was in turmoil!

In the midst of mental and emotional exhaustion dwells the Spirit of God, offering clarity, peace and tranquility. God met me one more time. He entered my heart years before when I was on an extended vacation in the Philippines searching for meaning. It was at the foot of Calvary’s cross when God revealed Himself to me through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Then it was all over! The whole world hailed the Filipino People Power. The Marcoses fled to Hawaii courtesy of the U. S. government! Euphoria! The people raised their glasses and danced on the streets. That was decades ago.

Today, a great majority of the Filipino people still lack the basic necessities of life. Graft and corruption in government are worse than ever before. Crime pays. Thousands of Filipinos leave the country every day.

The answer then is the answer now. Jesus alone can satisfy the hungering and thirsting of the human soul and the restlessness of his heart. That is why Violy and I are here: To bring Jesus to the people and bring the people to Jesus.

Because Jesus never fails.

 

Hi! I am Gin Tolosa.

I committed my life to Jesus in 1976. New as I was in the faith, my Sunday school teacher gave me the responsibility of pitching-in in her class. I was reluctant at first for obvious reasons but I thought that if I trust the Lord and not rely on my own understanding, I’ll be okay. Because of that situation I realized the need for me to study God’s word more diligently. Without delay, I attended a teachers’ training camp offered by our church group.

In 1980, my husband began to serve full time for the Lord while I worked for a construction company in the city. Daily commute was tough. I juggled my time as a wife, a mother of three and an employee. This took a toll on me. I finally decided to give up my job and work alongside my husband to support him in the ministry and help bring up our kids in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

I grew in my faith as I ministered to women in the church. Being in ministry prodded me to attend short term bible school to gain more knowledge and wisdom in His word. The Lord gave me joy and peace in serving Him in this capacity. Life was not a bed of roses even in the Lord’s service. It did not matter because I knew at that time that I was at the center of His will.

However, a sudden life change occurred that resulted in us leaving ministry.  Our children were growing fast and tons of needs grew with them. I worked part time for several research companies to help pay the bills while serving the Lord in our church as a deaconess.

I landed a permanent job in a Korean packaging company in 1997. Though the compensation helped me put food on the table and more, I had no inner satisfaction and had no joy and peace in my heart. In 2000, my brother-in-law, Conrad returned to the Philippines and introduced the Biblical Christian Worldview to pastors in the country and held yearly seminars for a religious denomination. I worked with him in my free time to organize his seminars. By this time, Lambat Ministries was already in its infant stage. His visits became more frequent to conduct more BCW seminars in various provinces and for the pastros of the denomination that ordained him in the Philippines.

We always talked about ministry during his visits. In one of those converstaions, I mentioned to him that the happiest moments of my life were when serving the Lord full-time. Conrad asked me to join him in the ministry several times. As to what I will do, I had no idea.

In retrospect, I thought about the trainings I had in camps and bible school in relation to the secular jobs I had. All these taught me how to interact and communicate according to the principles that I learned from God’s word. The Lord was preparing me for a bigger task ahead.

In April 2004, I left my Korean employer. The following month, I recommitted my life to full time ministry through Lambat.

At present, I am the President of the board of trustees of Lambat. As such, I oversee all the programs and production of materials. I communicate with pastors for their teaching and training seminars. I am also in-charge of the websites for Lambat and its support group in the States -The Philippine Ministry. 

 

Hi, I am Lorie Ann De Sena.

When I was three years old, my parents started bringing me and my two brothers to church every Sunday. There, we heard stories from the Bible, learned different action songs, enjoyed paper activities like coloring, and memorized Bible verses.

As I grew older, I learned more truths about God and met more Bible characters, especially Jesus Christ. At age 13, I found myself having to teach Sunday school. Later, I also took part in our church’s music ministry as song leader.

At seventeen, I got involved with Lambat’s first values club where we taught the values of Christ to neighborhood kids on Saturdays. My involvement lasted for only two years because I had to focus on my undergrad studies on Secondary Education at the Philippine Christian University.

After college, instead of pursuing my profession as a high school teacher, I opted for a secular job. I lived independently and found worldly satisfaction away from my family and the ministry. I was 21 years old. And this journey lasted for four years.

The time came when a feeling of exhaustion and meaninglessness came over me. Tons of questions flooded my mind. I had no answer. My job at a call center company was unfulfilling.

Finally, I turned to God for answers. He spoke to my heart. I packed my bags, handed my resignation to my boss, left everything behind, and decided to go back home – where my family had been waiting for me.

I was 26, when I fully committed myself to the Lord’s work through Lambat Ministries. It’s going four years now and I’m still in ministry. By God’s grace, with a joyous heart I had been involved with our teaching, training and equipping ministries.

At present, I continue to develop Lambat’s Say No Series Program for junior high and high school public students – – say No to premarital sex, drugs, gambling and crime gangs.  We started our iWait program with the fifth and six grade students at Javalera Elementary School upon the insistence of the Village Captain of Javalera. The Philippines has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in our region.

I am hoping that before the start of next school year, this program will be adopted by our partner-pastors in Mindoro, Bataan, Laguna and Rizal. I am also eager to expand the outreach of iWait right here in Cavite. I am praying that the Lord will raise more teachers from neighboring churches that will participate in our programs for teens.

 

Hello, I am Jeena Tolosa.

Growing up in a Christian home means attending Sunday school and joining children’s choir.

I accepted Christ Jesus as my Lord and Saviour at a very young age. But, truthfully, I did not understand what it meant.

I grew up believing in Jesus and His teaching. However, He was not the Lord of my life. Everything I had was just head knowledge. I planned my life thinking of the present and the future but never in relation to eternity.

Though I taught kids in values clubs wherever I was told to do so, I had other plans. And the steps that I took had many ups and downs. I relied on my own strength and made my own choices based on my own understanding. After graduating from college, the plans I made for myself never came true. It was at that time that I realized, through the situations, circumstances and opportunities that came my way, that the Lord was pulling me to the path which He has planned for me. I went back to school to qualify for a teacher’s licensure exam which I passed. The Lord spoke to me through His words in Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 16:9 and Proverbs 19:21. Godly people gave me counsel. I finally turned over control of my life to God. That was a difficult step because I was so used to doing things my way.

I taught in a private school for nine years. It was God’s way of preparing me for what was ahead. No longer able to resist His call, I left my teaching job and joined Lambat ministries, full-time.

I can now attest that all the years of learning showed me the most important thing in life – faith and obedience to Jesus. Now I can truly say that Jesus is the Lord of every aspect in my life. It may not always be an easy and smooth sail, but I know that He will always be with me and will never leave me.

At present, I am in-charge of our Headstart Program which I developed and in the process of upgrading our elementary school teaching materials. I also provide continuing teaching and training services to Lambat’s five Headstart teachers.

I hope that by next school year, two each from among our partner pastors in Mindoro, Laguna and Bataan will agree to bring our Headstart Program to their respective provinces. I pray that the Lord will raise up teachers in those places.

 

Hello, I am Resa Caampued, 20 years old.

Contrary to my wishes, I grew up going to church because my mother wanted me to. Later in life, I realized the importance of the things I learned from my Sunday school teachers though I struggled as I tried to apply what I had learned. We lived in a tough neighborhood.

After high school, I looked for a job so I can support myself through college. I worked as a domestic help for a while and later landed a job in an electronics company. While waiting for the result of my medical exam required by my employer to be, I asked my pastor if I can work for Lambat Ministries where his daughter was working. I got his recommendation.

Lambat Ministries took me in as a production staffer. While doing my everyday task, Lambat gave me time and opportunity to study God’s word systematically. I was enrolled with the Philippine Institute of Christian Thought on a scholarship grant. All the modules were authored by Pastor Conrad, the founder Lambat. I am scheduled to receive my Biblical Christianity certificate next year, after which I will begin my undergrad studies on Early Child Education under a grant from Lambat. All in the will of the Lord.

At present, I am in-charge of reproduction of our teaching materials and a Headstart teacher. I hope to teach the values of our Lord Jesus Christ to many of the children of the Filipino poor.