Sudden illness stole everything from Mansueto Tampayan, a family man, father of three and hard-working farmer from T'boli, South Cotabato, Philippines. Complications from acute diabetes rendered him helpless and dependent on others.
Bedridden for 10 years, his medications and medical bills consumed all the family's resources. They were forced to sell their motorbike, then their kalibao (water buffalo), and finally their property. Mansueto's children had to stop attending elementary school because they could not afford the fees, and his wife had to seek odd jobs to sustain them.
Years passed and still Mansueto's condition grew worse. He lost some of his toes. Hopelessness and despair were overcoming Mansueto and his family.
But all that changed on Jan. 11, 2008. Hope was in the air...or rather on the air. From his bed, Mansueto tuned in to the World Mission Broadcast radio ministry Paglaum sa Kinabuhi (Hope of Life). Through the program, Mansueto began to believe in God's power to heal him. The spirit of God was at work in his life.
On the next broadcast, a healing prayer was given and Mansueto followed the simple prayer of faith. He asked God to forgive his sin and he put his trust in the Lord for his healing. Exactly what he asked was granted to him - his faith in Jesus Christ healed him.
After learning about this listener's miraculous healing, the WMB program host personally visited Mansueto one week later. Mansueto excitedly replayed how this radio broadcast led to his healing of diabetes. He prayed with the broadcaster a prayer of confirmation.
Mansueto's life radically changed. The whole family rejoiced over the healing experience of their father and husband. What Satan had stolen from him over the past decade was restored in a moment of truth proclaimed over the airwaves.
Mansueto and his whole family are now worshiping and serving Jesus Christ in the Toril Church of the Nazarene, pastored by Romeo Cuyan. The pastor says he has seen continued transformation in Mansueto's life.
"When God owns the person, He will use him for His purpose," says Pastor Cuyan. Mansueto Tampayan now serves as assistant to the pastor and helps in Bible studies and other related ministries. His life is giving great encouragement to the local radio broadcaster to continue airing messages of healing and hope.
--- Nick Cacho, WMB Asia-Pacific. This story appears courtesy "Transmission," the e-mail newsletter of World Mission Broadcast.