Against all odds

Some people experience astonishing episodes in their lives and wonder how they survived them. Some were sure to have been killed in an accident or by a disease, but somehow lived. Others became successful, when things seemed to work against them. Some got to where they are — despite all odds.

For example, Max Edralin became the first vice-president of Citibank Philippines who did not finish college. Menardo Jimenez became one of the country’s millionaires after he had been bypassed as the next head of the abaca company he had worked for for years; a few months after Nards resigned, the company closed down. The phenomenal Manny Pacquiao got into the international boxing ring as a mere substitute for a boxer who did not show up for a match. The career of one of the country’s best singers, Lea Salonga, was launched because her mother bravely knocked at stores in Carriedo and asked them to sell Lea’s single, but was told people were not ready to listen to a child singer; the store that did was swamped with orders. Ruby Ordinario Agnir, choir director of a church in the US, had driven into “black ice,” her car skidded, and just stopped at the edge of a ravine.

Such stories of the incredible are told in a fine volume titled Against All Odds, another inspiring project of banker Flor Gozon Tarriela and her nephew, Butch Jimenez, producer of the award-winning film Jose Rizal. This book is the duo’s fourth in a Coincidence or Miracle? series which Conquest for Christ Foundation published. Like the earlier projects, Against All Odds consists of testimonies of individuals who acknowledge the intervention of a Mighty Creator who makes possible things that have been deemed impossible.

There’s the story of a real estate broker who had survived two vehicular accidents. She relates a third accident. She was parked on a hilly area. “The handbrake inexplicably gave, and the car slid down, crossing the busy Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay. As this was happening, I closed my eyes and waited for the sound of a crash. Nothing happened. God was faithful to His promise in Psalms 91:9-11: “If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the Lord, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent, for He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

Bernadette Tioco, mother of three, writes that her husband, James, opted to finish his office work at home so he could take his son to Glorietta Mall 2 before the morning was over. By the time he was through, his son, Cedric, had fallen asleep. Not wanting to disrupt his nap, James decided to forgo the trip. Later that afternoon, James and Bernadette learned there was an explosion at the mall. The following day’s papers showed a photo of a hole in the ceiling that had been ripped open by the blast. The ceiling was directly above the Kids at Work, a children’s indoor play area, and Time Zone, a game arcade — where James and Cedric intended to go.

Many of the vignettes are on the miraculous recovery of patients, and the patient, religious ministering by their spouses, families and friends. Some tell of money coming in when it was needed most. The story written by Rina Filart is one such example of a need being provided. Rina writes that in August of 2006, a pastor friend from Palawan had contacted her and her husband Abet, about his needing to pay P20,000 for his wife’s medical treatment in Manila. Although the Filarts were financially strapped at the time, they decided to put up the money. Two months later, Abet experienced chest pains; in short, the doctor’s diagnosis was for them to fly to Singapore for Abet’s angiogram, which would likely be followed by an angioplasty. The couple was in a quandary: they had no money. The day after their visit to the doctor, Rina got a text from a friend that read, “We, whose lives you have blessed, would now like to bless you back. We have raised $10,000 for Abet’s medical expenses in Singapore and more, if needed. So go, you already have an appointment with the doctors in Singapore.”

Rina writes: “I cried as I read the text. I had heard many testimonies about how God touches people to give even though the need has not been made known, but I never thought it would happen to me. Also, Abet and I have always been on the giving end and I did not realize it takes humility to be on the receiving end.”

Jimmy Bautista, president of Philippine Airlines, recalls the hardships he went through as a farm boy, helping his father tend the land, and carrying the wares as his mother hosted after-school Tupperware parties. He had to work hard, finishing his elementary and high school education at Philippine Wesleyan College in Cabanatuan City under scholarships because the family income could not cover the schooling of four children. He completed his high school at the top of his class. In Manila, he maintained his scholarship, while living on a meager allowance from his father, and graduated from Letran magna cum laude. He then joined Sy Cip Gorres, Velayo and Company, then got a job offer from Fortune Tobacco Corp.

“My humble beginnings at Wesleyan , the work discipline first taught by my father and all the hardships I had to endure became my ticket to a more comfortable life for me and my family while working for different companies under Mr. Lucio Tan,” writes Jimmy.

“Most of all I kept the faith, Looking back, I can confidently declare that I could not have been able to rise above all the hardships if not for a Guiding Hand, a Divine Inspiration that made me persevere and succeed.”

Copies of the book (edited by Mia Rocha Lauchengco, and with cover design by Amor Alvarez), will be available at OMF, Echostore, and National book Store.   

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Sillimanians in Metro Manila (SIMM) are holding a Christmas party December 3, a Saturday, at McKinley Village Clubhouse, at McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Ticket is P200 per person. A shuttle van will be available at the Petron gasoline station, corner Ayala avenue and EDSA at 5 p.m. to bring Sillimanians and guests to the place. For inquiry, call up Gloria P. Belarmino at tel. 882-1739.

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