With God, I AM UNSTOPPABLE!

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
-Romans 8:35-39

When my mother was three months pregnant, she had a miscarriage—the baby inside her was pronounced dead. The doctor immediately came to attend to her. To her surprise, the doctor heard a heartbeat after a few minutes. She couldn’t help but shout. My mom did not lose the baby; she was in fact, carrying twins! And the reason why I am here, testifying to God’s goodness, is because the Lord protected me while I was still in my mother’s womb.

God’s miracle in my life did not stop there. When I was born, the doctor noticed that the umbilical cord was coiled around my neck, thus everyone in the operation room thought I was already dead. I was no longer breathing, and my skin color turned purple. Still, they tried to revive me although they were close to giving up. A few minutes later, I started crying. I was alive, and I am more than alive now because the LIFE God has given me is UNSTOPPABLE!

I came from a Christian and an OFW family. My family migrated to Dubai when I was young. My father had a decent job, and we had a luxurious lifestyle until my father got ill so my parents had to return to the Philippines. I, together with my three married sisters and their respective families, were left in Dubai. I couldn’t attend college and instead, went to work after high school graduation because I had to meet the needs of my family.

I loved the company of my friends. I enjoyed smoking, drinking, and partying with them. Despite my busy schedule at work, I still managed to hang out with them. In short, I turned my back on God.

One night, I was invited to a party. I made sure that I was not going to drink more than two glasses of alcohol. When I arrived after midnight, my friends noticed that I disappeared after forty-five minutes of my arrival. The next thing I knew was waking up in a bathroom with the man who invited me to that party. I was not aware of what had happened up until I saw myself on the floor naked and bleeding. I was weak and in pain. I couldn’t remember exactly what happened that night—just that something really bad happened. I was drugged and raped.

Because of so much shame and pain, I heard a voice from the devil saying “Krizzia, Pakamatay ka na! Pakamatay ka na! Krizzia, magpakamatay ka!” Without any hesitation, I listened to that voice and attempted suicide. I was ready to die and enter hell but a few minutes later, I heard another voice saying “Anak, lumaban ka! Kasama mo ako!” I believe it is only God who can call me “Anak” and to my surprise, I survived.

Again, the LIFE God has given me is UNSTOPPABLE.

When I finally found the courage to tell my sister about what happened, we reported it to the police but it was too late. My medical tests did not confirm that I was drugged because three days had already passed before I reported the incident.

The situation became even harder.

My friends condemned me for reporting to the authorities. I was accused of being selfish and being a flirt by those I considered friends. Still, my family stood by me and the man went to prison. I had been running from God for a long time. I had been unfaithful and rebellious. As I was praying one night, alone in my room, the Lord told me that I have to forgive the man who raped me. I didn’t want to do that and I started crying out to God; but it’s only by His grace that I was able to forgive.

Months passed, and I found myself involved in a “Boyfriend Case.” A boyfriend case is observed in Dubai because of the Sharia Law. My perpetrator’s friends falsely accused me of being a prostitute.

During my one month stay in prison, I was able to lead Muslim women of different nationalities to the Lord through prayers and Bible studies. I did not seek out these women; instead they would go to me and ask for me to pray for them. I realized that God wanted me to share the gospel inside the prison before I returned to the Philippines.

I told myself, “Mas naunawaan ko na ang grace ni Lord. I have learned to love my enemies.” If God is for us, who can be against us?

I served a month in prison and was eventually deported

Now, I have become bolder in testifying about the goodness of the Lord and how He changed my once crooked path. I learned that forgiveness produces freedom, and worry produces deep worship.

Indeed, this LIFE God has given me is UNSTOPPABLE.

This boldness I have now defines my fearless passion to make Jesus known. As Queen Esther declared, “I will fulfill my life destiny no matter what it costs me; no one can stop me even if it demands my own life!”

The Red Sea couldn’t stop Moses—nothing can stop you.
A fiery furnace couldn’t stop The Three Hebrew Boys—nothing can stop you.
A lion’s den couldn’t stop Daniel—nothing can stop you.
A barren womb could not stop Sarah—nothing can stop you.
A great wall around Jericho and could not stop Joshua.
Prison walls could not stop Paul and Silas.
Death could not stop Jesus.
His victory has assured my victory.
Nothing can stop you!