By Rhoderick Campos of Roxas, Philippines
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
It all started when my spouse and I grew cold toward the religion I belonged to, so I looked for a temporary refuge where my family and I could hear the word of God. The first time we attended Community of Christ worship, I immediately felt the warmth of their welcome and appreciation. I felt at ease with them right away.
Since then, our worship has become frequent, and sometimes I stand at the front to share testimonies and word of God. One night in 2010, I had a dream that further troubled my mind. In my dream, three of us were together, Apostle Andrew Bolton, Bishop Paul Hardwick, and myself. Apostle Andrew pointed to the north toward a huge body of water and mountains with peaks and big houses with pointed roofs. We also traveled across water and later, in the deeper part of the water, I was immersing Bishop Paul Hardwick. I woke up immediately and asked, Lord, my God, what do you want to reveal to me?
I shared my dream with Elder Jennifer De Guzman, who was then the associate mission center president. I saw tears welling up in Elder Jennifer’s eyes, and she said, “The Lord God is calling you.” I replied, “I have already responded to that call long ago,” because during those times, I was one of the preachers in our church. Elder Jennifer added that I should carefully think about and study the situation. I did not pay much attention to it and just let it be.
In 2015, my family and I moved to the town of Cordon, where our original house of worship was located, and I became a pastor. There, I faithfully fulfilled my role as pastor. In 2019, our church faced serious internal problems, and my family was caught up in them. The overall leadership decided to remove or expel my family from the church, leaving only me behind. This was very painful for me as a pastor; my heart was deeply saddened. That night, I prayed earnestly inside our home. I asked Lord God to guide me and show the path that my family and I should take.
Our Lord God thru the Holy Spirit did not ignore my supplication. Once again God spoke to me in my dream and called me, clearly showing me what I must to do. In my dream, I heard his voice saying, “Go out, and I will guide you to cross over the other side of the water.” Our journey in the dream was not easy, as we had to go down deep ravines, and at their base was water. I woke up and shared my dream with my partner. Everything was clear to me that God has a much better plan for me. We returned to Roxas with my family.
On March 28, 2021, my wife and I and our daughter Rhodessa Faith received confirmation as members of the Community of Christ.
Prayer Phrase
“Let us work for the good of all” (Galatians 6:10).
Spiritual Hunger
Jesus discerned hungers of body and spirit, and he fed them through a physical, verbal, spiritual ministry of presence. In a time of listening prayer, ask God to help you discern physical or spiritual hungers of people in your congregation, community, and global family. Invite the Spirit to move you to one hospitable act that “feeds” someone’s hunger today.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.