I was saved through the ministry of the Association of

Baptist World Evangelism (ABWE) missionaries in 1947. I felt

the call of the Lord to serve in full time ministry when I
attended the first Keswick conference in Malaybalay,
Bukidnon in the summer of 1952, organized by ABWE
missionaries, Miss Mildred Crouch and Miss Precilla Bailey.
ABWE missionary to the Visayas, Rev. William Hopper, was
the speaker at that conference.
I decided to go to Doane Baptist Seminary. Sadly, my
parents opposed my decision. They needed my help at home
and they were also struggling financially.
In April 1954, a Bible conference was held in Valencia,
Bukidnon, and Rev. E. Gordon Wray, the director of Doane
Seminary, was the speaker. He spoke about spiritual growth
for believers and the need for spiritual vitamins. One specific
point from his sermon that made an impact on me was when
he explained about “Vitamin B- The Bible.” He then taught us
a short simple chorus which, unto this day, rings in my heart:

I have a wonderful treasure,

A gift of God without measure,
And we will travel together,
my Bible and I..

I was encouraged more to study the word of God.

I entered Doane in 1954 as a working student. Through
the ABWE missionaries in Bukidnon, I was recommended to
be given work in school to be able to pay my board and
lodging which cost about PHP30 a month. However, the
scholarship I was granted with paid only half of my basic
expenses, PHP15, to be exact. Thankfully, another
missionary, Mr. Aagard, offered me a car washing and
maintenance job, and other odd jobs, which paid for PHP10 a
month. By the end of the month, a receipt of full payment of
PHP30 was already paid, with the 5-peso difference paid by
an anonymous donor. This went on for four years until I
finished my schooling. This strengthened my faith that God
would supply all my needs when I will already be in the
mission field.
 The school gave me different jobs every year for the
whole time I was in Doane; from kitchen to keyman, dining
hall cleaner to driver, marketing to messenger, and anything I
could be of service. The Practical Work Committee also
assigned me as fill-in student pastor to churches and centers
whenever their pastors were away. I have visited most of the
churches in Guimaras and Ilo-ilo, and enjoyed their
hospitality.
Mr. Edison Clavel, the Doane maintenance man, saw
that I could work with my hands. Eventually he recruited me
to be his assistant, assigning me simple carpentry and
plumbing work, and tasked me to make sure that all the
lights in both men and ladies’ dormitories functioned well.
Back then it was customary for ladies to request some men
to scrub the room every Monday for a few centavos. While
most of the boys happily did it to be able to buy their needs,
others, like I, did it for free.
In those days, horse-drawn kalesa was still in use in Iloilo
City. They play along the route of Bonifacio drive to Lapaz and
Jaro, mingling with passenger jeeps and buses and other vehicle
in the traffic. Students use bakya in the campus, and sometimes
the sound of the feet of trotting horses with iron shoes clucking
blended with the sound of students’ bakya in the campus,
especially late in the night when jeepneys and buses were few.
My first few weeks in Doane was a struggle for adjustments.
As someone who came from the rural. I had to learn to get used
to the sight and sounds of the city.
I would also like to include in this testimonial a tribute to
our faculty members. The members of the faculty were Rev.
E Gordon Wray, school Director; Rev. and Mrs. Carrel
Aagard, Mrs. Mary Russell, Rev. Russell Ebersole, Miss.
Mona Kemery, Miss Bonnie Guthrie, Miss. Keye Mollohan,
Miss. Doris Secore, Rev. Ignacio Nacita, Rev. Antolin Zamar,
Mrs. Juliet Zamar, Miss. Melencia Mendoza, and Mr. Demetrio
Macasa Jr.
I would like to especially mention Rev. E Gordon Wray.
When I first met him, I saw him as a very serious person. I
was even afraid to talk to him, but later I found out that he
was loving and kind, had a good sense of humor, and was
very much concerned about his students’ success in their
schooling and future ministries. Word even went around the
campus that he paid the bills of students who struggled
financially from his own pocket. He was very particular about
obedience. His love for Doane was evident, and he
repeatedly testified of how the Lord preserved the school
building during the World War II. During a bombing raid of
Iloilo City, it was not known whether it was a Japanese or a
US bomb that directly hit the main building. The bomb
penetrated the roof, ceiling, the second floor, and down to
the first floor (that was lumber originally), and embedded in
the ground. Thankfully, the bomb did not explode. He always
gave us reminders to follow the rules in school, and even
posted a bulletin board by the dining hall with a sign that
read:
“PAUSE AND PERUSE,”
When I visited Doane a few years ago I saw the sign still
up there, and to my surprise I also saw the “bomb nose bell”
right at the same place when I entered Doane in 1954. I rang
that bell every meal time for the 4 years that I have stayed at
Doane.
From time to time, Mr. Wray gave us words of wisdom to
encourage us. One of those was,
“WORK AS IF YOU HAVE A HUNDRED
MORE YEARS TO LIVE,
AND LIVE AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST”
But there were three different sentences that he spoke that I
will never forget. They were spoken at three different times,
at three different places, and in three different
circumstances. He always saw to it that instructions were
followed; he monitored students who were working in the
buildings in the first floor of the Doane Hall. One specific
instruction he gave was to not sweep the trash into the
manhole placed on the first floor. One time a student was
cleaning the hall and was caught sweeping dust into the
manhole. Immediately, Mr. Wray reprimanded him, and in a
soft low tone voice said, “Can you not just follow
instructions?” When I heard that from that student it was a
“word sharper than two-edged sword piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit.” Later in life when I had
my own family and ministry, I could understand very well Mr.
Wray’s feeling when his instructions were not followed
because I felt the same way.
I knew then that our director was concerned for his
students’ success in the ministry, and I knew this also when
in the early 60’s I was pastoring a church in Tibal-og, Sto.
Tomas, Davao. Tibal-og was a newly opened farm settlement
of the government’s program of land for the landless during
that time. One time, Mr. Wray made a surprise visit in our
home. The parsonage only had one room and it was almost
dilapidated. We had no running water, only a well beside the
parsonage, we had no electricity, and our toilet was primitive.
I did not know what to do to accommodate him. We did not
have any member who had a decent house that would be
comfortable for an American. The members were all very
poor. We did not know what to feed him because we only had
corn grits. But despite our situation, Mr. Wray seemed to not
mind at all. It was so natural for him.
That evening we talked about the ministry; I told him
how apologetic I was about the situation. Hoping to hear
sympathetic words from him, the typical Mr. Wray, in his soft
and low-toned voice, said instead, “Somebody has to be
here.” When I heard that, I knew he was referring to my body
“a living sacrifice fully acceptable unto God which is my
reasonable service.” We were quiet after that, and the
following day he left. I knew then that he was genuinely
concerned of me and how I was faring in my ministry in
Davao.
In 1972, While serving as missionaries in Thailand, Mr.
Wray again visited us and the other missionaries, Rev. and
Mrs. Gequillana, in the row house where we lived and used
as our student center and meeting place for Bible studies. By
that time, he was already retired and aging. We offered him a
glass of coke and chatted about our ministry when suddenly
the glass of coke slipped from his hands. In order to calm
him down, I said, “No problem, that’s okay,” and then as
usual, with his soft and low-toned voice he said, “That will
make you remember me better.”
I was reminded of Heb. 13:7 “Remember them which
have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word
of God: whose faith follow…” and 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour
among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.”
These three incidents that happened and three sentences
that Mr. Wray had spoken show that Rev. E. Gordon Wray
was really concerned with the success of his students, not
only in the seminary, but also in the field.
My Wife and I spent 27 years as missionaries to
Thailand under PABWE. We retired in April 1995 and had our
continuing ministry in Bukidnon in church planting and jail
ministries. We thank and praise the Lord we had local
pastors, brethren, bible school students who had teamed
with us. With God’s hands guiding us, and His blessings in
the teamwork, the three churches are now established. We
have experienced different seasons of life; we are now
retired as we already have worked our way out of the job.
Only one life it will soon be past, only what is done in Christ
will last. We are now at our evening years, and as we wait for
the coming of our Lord. We keep on living for God, keep on
loving, laboring, listening, looking up, and we keep on
laughing for God gave us richly all things to ENJOY (1 Tim.
6:17), “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he
addeth no sorrow with it.” (Prov. 10:22)

To God be the Glory!