The Ushering Ministry, together with Dcn. Tony Casuco of the Counseling Ministry and Bro. Tony Macheca of the Media Ministry, visited the family of Sis. Joy Conti in Sto. Tomas, Batangas last December 30, 2021. It was their first time to see her children since Sis. Joy passed away last April. The group ministered to the family – children Lesley & Leif and granddaughter Misha. (Another son, Ian Lezter, was not there that day.) Lesley shared about their ordeal from the time Sis. Joy was brought to the hospital until the day she finally succumbed to her illness. It was a testimony of how her strong faith in God sustained her to the very end. Lesley shared how when their father passed away fifteen years ago, they didn’t even feel like putting up the Christmas tree any more. However, they finally decided to decorate the tree this past December. Although life had been difficult without their father, Sis. Joy’s deep faith and love for the Lord had kept the family afloat. But after she died it dawned on the children that they were now completely on their own. They now had to learn to live without both parents. Even though the tree was finally up, to the orphaned siblings, Christmas 2021 was the most painful of all Christmases.
Realizing how far Sto. Tomas is from the Cathedral of the King in Parañaque shows that Sis. Joy’s love for God was her greatest motivation to serve and be in church; her relentless love for the Lord was perhaps her greatest legacy to her children.
We may not understand why our beloved and faithful ones have to leave us for good, but God has His reasons. Only He knows. We just have to trust the process, no matter how painful it is. What matters is going on with our lives, inspired by our loved one’s faith, and picking up where they left off - loving and trusting God the best way we can....#COTK#CEC
