Working abroad leaving my three young children was the toughest decision I had to make. I never regretted that because I had the support of my husband and the stable source of income has made it possible for the next generation to have better education. But after that very hard decision, doubt inevitably interferred. Giving it a try was the start. While waiting for my working visa, on my knees I prayed the novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran asking for my luck to have a good employer. The rest was history. I am thankful that I was able to overcome the problems and my faith has grown stronger. A good decision takes courage and he who hesitates loses.
— Judy Albiso
T he toughest decision I made was to leave my child to the care of my mother and work abroad. I have encountered numerous hardships and pains in life and I do not want my child to experience them. I want my family to have a better future and working abroad was a sacrifice and tough decision I had to make. Who would want to be separated from their family? It is tough but this was the only way for me to give my loved ones a better life. I am thankful to God that even during the ups and downs in my life, he never left me alone.
— Arline Payot
I was in my final year of preparatory medicine course at the West Visayas State University when my dad died in an ambush. After graduation my greatest dilemma was whether to study medicine, spend the best years of my life studying until I become a Cosmetic Surgeon or enroll in a totally different course like nursing which was the choice for many graduates that year. I asked God and the Holy Spirit to help me decide on what to choose. I followed a little voice telling me to consider mom’s situation as a sole breadwinner being a supervisor at the Department of Public Works and Highways and with some income from our farm products. Also to consider the shortest time where I could be of help to my mom, my family and the community in general. So I became a registered nurse. Now I am happily taking care of my 82-year-old mom and overseeing the farm. Until today I cannot help but feel God holds me so tenderly in his hands. He prepared everything for me. God is good all the time!
— Jomille Primavera
The toughest decision I had to make was to convince my cancer-stricken father to undergo stomach surgery when we knew he didn’t want to, but this process might prolong his life. The doctor at the hospital advised me to go through with the operation as that could make him feel better. But in the end, my father died a week after the surgery. We were all prepared because the doctor gave him six months to live and he was in palliative care already. The medicines did not work for his prostate and bone cancer as well. I may have made a wrong decision but when I think about it again, I did what I thought would have been good for him. It is not easy to make a decision when a loved one is sick. I am glad I spent the last few months of his life with him in our home.
— Jocelyn Tan
I had some struggles before accepting my present job which requires good memory. I had the fear that because of my age, I may not be able to meet its requirement. I had the inner struggles because of my memory retention and asked myself what would happen if I forgot something about my work. But I told myself finding a job is not easy nowadays. So after praying about this job offer, I decided to give it a try. Today I am thankful to Our Lord for his guidance and removing all doubts and fear inside me. I am happy with my present work.
— Victor Villarin
One of the most difficult decisions I made in my life was whether to marry my fiancé or not while I was working in the military. I served before in the Women Auxillary Corps of the Philippine Navy. I enjoyed my work so much because it was challenging. I had to travel, be assigned to different missions and do tough tasks … So it was so hard for me to get married. My fiancé was a civilian and not with the military. My comrades said he would not understand my work as I would be reassigned to other places every now and then and there were confidential jobs that I could not tell him about. But I married him regardless of what others said. Now I am thanking God for blessing my right decision. Yes, there have been loads of ups and downs in our married life but God is always with us from the very beginning. We were blessed with three wonderful and loving sons who are all grown-ups. My eldest son is now a diocesan priest, second son, chemical engineer in Canada with his family and my youngest son, a civil engineering graduate. Praise God I chose the right path.
— Elsa Villariza
