>> Welcome and thank you
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for joining us on
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It Is Written Canada.
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Today we are looking at how
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God works in a person's life
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and works through tragedy.
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The the Bible assures us in
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Psalm 139 verse 16, this is
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from the Today's Living Bible
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and it says:
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So God sees the end from the
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beginning, He sees our life
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and He looks at us
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and He guides us.
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He helps us along the way
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and some things that happen to
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us are just traumatic, tragic
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and we just--
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it catches us unaware,
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and unexpected.
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Today we have with us
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Neil Peralta and Neil is going
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to be sharing with us an
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experience that he had when he
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was fourteen years old,
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a traumatic experience.
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And it happened one evening
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and from that moment on,
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everything absolutely
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changed in his life.
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So, Neil, thank you for
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joining us on
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It Is Written Canada.
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>> Yeah, thank you for being
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with us, Neil.
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So, Neil, can you please tell
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us about what happened that
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fateful evening when you were
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fourteen years old?
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>> Well, I remember
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at that time I was by myself
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in the house
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with two of our residents
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that we were taking care of
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and my mother and
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father were actually attending
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a Revelation and Daniel
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seminar in Vancouver.
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And so at that time, we had
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Jolly's mother and father
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living with us.
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She was only five months old
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at the time.
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And her mother was like an
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auntie to me.
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She took care of me,
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she babysat me
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and so we grew very close
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together and she would come up
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and just make sure that I was
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doing OK.
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And I remember the last time
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that I saw her, she came up
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and she had a cut on her hand
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and she asked me,
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"Neil, do you have aloe vera?"
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And I said,
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"Oh, sure, Auntie."
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"The aloe vera's in the"
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"kitchen, you can just go grab"
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"it and you can put it"
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"on your hand."
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And she said,
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"OK, thank you so much!"
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"I'm gonna be heading back"
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"down now."
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And so it was quiet
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for a while.
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I was just sitting in the
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living room watching TV
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and it just seemed like, after
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a couple minutes or maybe
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thirty minutes, it started
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getting loud downstairs.
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Now, you have to understand my
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Auntie Belia, that's her name,
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she's a very loud person.
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Not that she's angry or upset
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with you, it's just
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that's her volume.
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And she doesn't mean to say
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mean things to you,
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it's just who she is.
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And so I started hearing loud
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voices, getting louder between
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my aunt and my uncle and then
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it became more of a commotion,
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a discussion.
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I sat there, I said,
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"Oh, I've never heard"
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"this before."
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"I've never heard my uncle..."
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who is now very soft-spoken,
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very gentle, very quiet,
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a good person,
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all of a sudden he started
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raising his voice even louder
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than my aunt.
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And I'm sitting there
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and wondering,
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"Wow, this is a first."
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"I've never heard my uncle"
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"be this upset."
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And I sat there wondering,
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"What is going on?"
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Then finally my aunt's voice
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went even louder and louder
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and higher.
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And then she started to say,
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"Please, Dad, no!"
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"Please, Dad, no, no, no!"
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"I'm sorry! Please, Dad, no!"
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And I began to think,
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"OK, this is really serious."
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"What is going on?"
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I was thinking of going
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downstairs, but out of respect
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for my auntie, I said,
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"You know what,"
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"I'm just gonna leave it."
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"They're just gonna work it"
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"out and I'll just go check"
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"on them later."
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But it just began to get
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louder and louder.
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My uncle began to say really
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mean stuff to my aunt that I'd
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never heard him say before.
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Some of them were curses in
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Ilocano, the dialect that they
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speak up in the
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Northern Philippines.
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Some of them were just mean
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and I said, "Wait a minute,"
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"this is not my uncle."
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"What is going on?"
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"Why is he so upset?"
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But I just decided to stay in
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the living room and stay there
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quietly because I didn't want
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to disrupt what was going on.
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>> And what about Jolly?
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Was she crying at this stage?
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Because she was only
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five months old, right?
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>> Yes. Yeah.
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>> Was she crying or was she
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quiet during this?
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>> I think what had happened
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was when they were arguing
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downstairs in the living room
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and then when they moved into
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the room, then I started to
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hear Jolly.
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And she was crying and I
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started to really worry about
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her because I said,
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"OK, this is not good that"
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"my aunt and uncle are"
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"fighting and yet the baby"
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"is there."
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Then it got really intense
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because now my aunt was not
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only saying, "No, Dad, no, Dad!"
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"Please, I'm sorry!"
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She then said, "Not the baby!"
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"Not the baby, I'm so sorry!"
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"I'm so sorry!"
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And then I said to myself,
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"Oh, Lord, what is going on?"
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"Please, Lord, help."
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"Help in this situation."
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"This is really serious."
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And this whole time Jolly is
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crying and I'm sitting there
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shocked, didn't know
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what to do.
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So then again I hear commotion
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and I finally hear my uncle as
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if he's moving things and
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things are being thrown or
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being moved and a sound like
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as if something was being
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pushed and then my aunt's
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voice went from a high pitch,
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alert to more of a--
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going down to a faint cry
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saying, "Please, Dad..."
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"No, Dad."
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And then Jolly stopped crying.
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It was just very quiet
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and very silent.
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And I said, "Oh, dear."
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"What is going on?"
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Now I still stayed upstairs.
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At that point I was scared.
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I was scared, I didn't want to
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go downstairs, I said, "Lord,"
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"please be in this situation."
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So then finally I could hear
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my aunt fainting--
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her voice fainting and I heard
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a little bit of Jolly crying,
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but very quietly
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and then all of a sudden,
00:07:09.96\00:07:11.16
she-- my aunt no longer spoke.
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It was very quiet.
00:07:13.50\00:07:15.46
All I could hear--
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The door was open to the room
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and then my uncle walking
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back and forth pacing from
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the kitchen downstairs
00:07:23.24\00:07:24.34
to the room.
00:07:24.34\00:07:25.84
I could hear the footsteps.
00:07:25.84\00:07:27.68
And again, I'm worried,
00:07:27.68\00:07:30.11
Jolly's being quiet, I'm not
00:07:30.11\00:07:31.71
sure what has happened.
00:07:31.71\00:07:33.62
So then I sit there for what
00:07:33.62\00:07:35.25
seemed eternity,
00:07:35.25\00:07:36.35
for a long time.
00:07:36.35\00:07:37.85
Then I hear footsteps
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coming upstairs.
00:07:39.25\00:07:41.49
and I said, "OK, my uncle's"
00:07:41.49\00:07:43.26
"coming up."
00:07:43.26\00:07:45.19
"I'm just gonna sit here and"
00:07:45.19\00:07:46.90
"just remain calm and pray"
00:07:46.90\00:07:49.30
"and hopefully he's"
00:07:49.30\00:07:50.10
"not upset..."
00:07:50.10\00:07:51.27
Because clearly he was upset
00:07:51.27\00:07:53.60
and then what caught my
00:07:53.60\00:07:55.24
attention that really changed
00:07:55.24\00:07:56.71
my mind, what really brought
00:07:56.71\00:07:58.21
fear in my heart was when my
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uncle came up, his eyes were
00:08:01.21\00:08:03.08
bloodshot red, he had--
00:08:03.08\00:08:04.81
really looked very agitated.
00:08:04.81\00:08:07.22
He was wearing a white shirt
00:08:07.22\00:08:08.82
but on that white shirt was a
00:08:08.82\00:08:10.22
stain of red.
00:08:10.22\00:08:12.62
And I said, "OK..."
00:08:12.62\00:08:15.09
Then as he's moving up the
00:08:15.09\00:08:16.39
stairs, you see his arms now
00:08:16.39\00:08:18.76
and there's also stain of red,
00:08:18.76\00:08:20.73
but what really caught my
00:08:20.73\00:08:22.46
attention was Jolly was in his
00:08:22.46\00:08:24.83
arms, on his right arm
00:08:24.83\00:08:27.60
and then he had a knife
00:08:27.60\00:08:29.30
on his left arm.
00:08:29.30\00:08:31.34
It was stained with blood.
00:08:31.34\00:08:33.41
Then it really clicked in my
00:08:33.41\00:08:34.68
mind, I said,
00:08:34.68\00:08:36.58
"Oh my goodness."
00:08:36.58\00:08:38.38
"This is more than just"
00:08:38.38\00:08:39.75
"serious, this is life--"
00:08:39.75\00:08:41.25
"Life threatening."
00:08:41.25\00:08:42.98
And so again, I...
00:08:42.98\00:08:46.05
I didn't want to make him
00:08:46.05\00:08:47.29
more upset or agitated.
00:08:47.29\00:08:49.72
I just sat there and continued
00:08:49.72\00:08:51.29
to pray very quietly,
00:08:51.29\00:08:53.09
asking the Lord to be with me
00:08:53.09\00:08:54.56
to be with Jolly,
00:08:54.56\00:08:55.63
to be with my aunt downstairs.
00:08:55.63\00:08:57.90
And then he was pacing--
00:08:57.90\00:09:00.20
Now he was pacing from my
00:09:00.20\00:09:01.97
living room to the kitchen.
00:09:01.97\00:09:06.14
And at that time, I was taking
00:09:06.14\00:09:08.28
care of the residents.
00:09:08.28\00:09:09.98
One is blind, deaf, and mute
00:09:09.98\00:09:12.35
and the other one has the mind
00:09:12.35\00:09:13.38
of a ten-year-old
00:09:13.38\00:09:14.68
and so I needed to make sure
00:09:14.68\00:09:15.88
they were OK.
00:09:15.88\00:09:17.69
And I also had a small dog who
00:09:17.69\00:09:19.55
was also whimpering and
00:09:19.55\00:09:21.32
wondering what's going on.
00:09:21.32\00:09:23.09
So here's my uncle pacing
00:09:23.09\00:09:24.16
back and forth
00:09:24.16\00:09:25.89
and finally he looks at me
00:09:25.89\00:09:29.20
and he asked the question:
00:09:29.20\00:09:31.60
"Neil, where is your mom"
00:09:31.60\00:09:33.54
"and dad?"
00:09:33.54\00:09:35.24
And I said to him,
00:09:35.24\00:09:37.01
"Well, you know, Uncle,"
00:09:37.01\00:09:38.27
"they're not here."
00:09:38.27\00:09:39.67
"Remember, they're attending"
00:09:39.67\00:09:41.88
"a Revelation and Daniel"
00:09:41.88\00:09:43.38
"seminar in Vancouver."
00:09:43.38\00:09:44.91
"They won't be here"
00:09:44.91\00:09:45.78
"for a while."
00:09:45.78\00:09:47.52
And so then he looked at me,
00:09:47.52\00:09:49.22
breathing a little
00:09:49.22\00:09:50.12
bit heavier.
00:09:50.12\00:09:51.92
I think he was thinking of
00:09:51.92\00:09:52.99
what to do next.
00:09:52.99\00:09:54.89
But then he stood there,
00:09:54.89\00:09:57.43
then he approached me.
00:09:57.43\00:09:59.86
And I remember when he first
00:09:59.86\00:10:01.70
took his couple of steps,
00:10:01.70\00:10:03.30
my mind clicked and said,
00:10:03.30\00:10:05.00
"Oh man, I might be next."
00:10:05.00\00:10:08.20
I don't know what's gonna
00:10:08.20\00:10:09.57
happen and so I really prayed
00:10:09.57\00:10:12.14
like I never prayed before.
00:10:12.14\00:10:14.21
And I remember thinking to
00:10:14.21\00:10:16.24
myself, you know,
00:10:16.24\00:10:18.51
all these flashbacks of all
00:10:18.51\00:10:19.78
these wonderful memories,
00:10:19.78\00:10:21.22
they do come back, you know,
00:10:21.22\00:10:23.35
of all the good times I've had
00:10:23.35\00:10:24.99
with my family, but now in
00:10:24.99\00:10:26.32
this situation it's going
00:10:26.32\00:10:28.46
through my mind so quickly,
00:10:28.46\00:10:30.16
but at the same time
00:10:30.16\00:10:31.29
I'm now praying, I'm like,
00:10:31.29\00:10:32.39
"Lord, please protect me."
00:10:32.39\00:10:34.13
"Please, I--"
00:10:34.13\00:10:35.93
"Whatever happens now Lord,"
00:10:35.93\00:10:37.07
"I give my life to You."
00:10:37.07\00:10:38.30
"It is up to you."
00:10:38.30\00:10:39.93
"And I put my trust in You."
00:10:39.93\00:10:42.07
And that was tough.
00:10:42.07\00:10:43.91
And so then he approached me.
00:10:43.91\00:10:46.68
I was sitting by the couch
00:10:46.68\00:10:49.01
on the left-hand side
00:10:49.01\00:10:50.98
and there I looked up at him,
00:10:50.98\00:10:52.71
he looked down at me
00:10:52.71\00:10:54.65
and I went like this, he said,
00:10:54.65\00:10:57.15
"Neil, please take the baby."
00:10:57.15\00:10:58.35
So then I put my
00:10:58.35\00:10:59.45
hand up like this,
00:10:59.45\00:11:01.22
he had Jolly on his right hand
00:11:01.22\00:11:03.22
and he had the knife here.
00:11:03.22\00:11:05.19
So then he bent down
00:11:05.19\00:11:06.86
and I kind of tilted my head
00:11:06.86\00:11:08.60
to the left
00:11:08.60\00:11:10.53
'cause I was getting ready
00:11:10.53\00:11:11.70
for whatever was gonna happen
00:11:11.70\00:11:13.87
and I prayed again, I said,
00:11:13.87\00:11:15.17
"Lord, please protect me"
00:11:15.17\00:11:16.84
"and protect this baby."
00:11:16.84\00:11:18.51
"Be with this situation."
00:11:18.51\00:11:20.24
And he was paused there for
00:11:20.24\00:11:22.14
maybe a couple seconds
00:11:22.14\00:11:24.41
and then he looked at me,
00:11:24.41\00:11:25.28
he said, "Neil,"
00:11:25.28\00:11:26.51
"I want you and your family"
00:11:26.51\00:11:29.25
"to take care of this child."
00:11:29.25\00:11:31.82
"It is your responsibility"
00:11:31.82\00:11:33.46
"to take care of Jolly Grace."
00:11:33.46\00:11:36.52
I said, "OK, Uncle, we will."
00:11:36.52\00:11:39.39
"I promise you that."
00:11:39.39\00:11:41.10
"Thank you."
00:11:41.10\00:11:42.63
And then, I mean,
00:11:42.63\00:11:44.37
it was so amazing.
00:11:44.37\00:11:45.83
It's as if--
00:11:45.83\00:11:47.20
I really believe God
00:11:47.20\00:11:48.50
intervened because he stood
00:11:48.50\00:11:51.64
back up, he looked at me,
00:11:51.64\00:11:53.91
he said, "I'm gonna go back"
00:11:53.91\00:11:55.18
"down now and"
00:11:55.18\00:11:57.31
"you just stay here."
00:11:57.31\00:11:59.68
And I just said, "OK, wow..."
00:11:59.68\00:12:01.88
you know, so he went back
00:12:01.88\00:12:02.95
down, I'm holding Jolly Grace
00:12:02.95\00:12:04.79
and I'm wondering,
00:12:04.79\00:12:05.82
she's very quiet.
00:12:05.82\00:12:06.79
She's not even saying--
00:12:06.79\00:12:07.92
crying our anything.
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.76
And then I say another quick
00:12:09.76\00:12:10.76
prayer, I'm like, "Lord,"
00:12:10.76\00:12:12.03
"please be with Jolly Grace."
00:12:12.03\00:12:13.93
I hoped nothing happened to
00:12:13.93\00:12:15.00
her because she was also
00:12:15.00\00:12:17.10
full of stained blood.
00:12:17.10\00:12:20.10
And then finally she cried
00:12:20.10\00:12:22.17
and it was such a relief
00:12:22.17\00:12:24.24
to know that she was OK.
00:12:24.24\00:12:26.04
>> So you thought she had
00:12:26.04\00:12:26.91
been stabbed.
00:12:26.91\00:12:27.84
>> I thought she had been,
00:12:27.84\00:12:29.74
you know...
00:12:29.74\00:12:31.08
that her life had ended there.
00:12:31.08\00:12:32.45
>> Oh my.
00:12:32.45\00:12:33.62
>> And so then she cried,
00:12:33.62\00:12:36.32
phone calls were coming in,
00:12:36.32\00:12:37.59
because people were calling
00:12:37.59\00:12:38.69
downstairs to try to get
00:12:38.69\00:12:39.75
ahold of them.
00:12:39.75\00:12:41.09
I picked it up, and I said,
00:12:41.09\00:12:42.49
you know, "Auntie's not"
00:12:42.49\00:12:43.39
"available right now."
00:12:43.39\00:12:45.06
"She'll call you back"
00:12:45.06\00:12:45.89
"when she can."
00:12:45.89\00:12:46.96
Trying to put a brave face
00:12:46.96\00:12:48.56
to the situation, but knowing
00:12:48.56\00:12:51.03
what just transpired.
00:12:51.03\00:12:53.23
And so my uncle's
00:12:53.23\00:12:54.74
downstairs now,
00:12:54.74\00:12:56.64
Jolly's crying a little bit
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.54
and then finally I hear him
00:12:58.54\00:13:00.38
walk and this time he walks
00:13:00.38\00:13:03.08
outside the front door
00:13:03.08\00:13:05.15
with a phone in his hand.
00:13:05.15\00:13:06.78
And then that's when I
00:13:06.78\00:13:08.35
realized, when the police
00:13:08.35\00:13:10.05
showed up 'cause I was
00:13:10.05\00:13:11.69
watching now from the window,
00:13:11.69\00:13:12.85
carrying Jolly,
00:13:12.85\00:13:14.72
that's when I realized that he
00:13:14.72\00:13:15.89
had made the phone call.
00:13:15.89\00:13:17.23
He had snapped out of whatever
00:13:17.23\00:13:18.56
happened and then the
00:13:18.56\00:13:20.16
ambulance came, I called my
00:13:20.16\00:13:22.33
mom and dad, they drove as
00:13:22.33\00:13:24.13
fast as they could to get to
00:13:24.13\00:13:26.03
us and then, sadly, we found
00:13:26.03\00:13:29.40
out that her mother had passed
00:13:29.40\00:13:32.74
away because of the stab
00:13:32.74\00:13:34.68
wounds that she received,
00:13:34.68\00:13:36.21
but also trying to
00:13:36.21\00:13:37.11
protect herself.
00:13:37.11\00:13:38.61
And she had passed away
00:13:38.61\00:13:40.38
on the way to the hospital.
00:13:40.38\00:13:42.68
And so from then on,
00:13:42.68\00:13:45.15
it was this whole--
00:13:45.15\00:13:46.32
because I was the only
00:13:46.32\00:13:47.29
witness, I had to write down
00:13:47.29\00:13:49.22
every detail,
00:13:49.22\00:13:50.06
what had happened.
00:13:50.06\00:13:51.79
My mother cried out when she
00:13:51.79\00:13:53.56
found out she passed away on--
00:13:53.56\00:13:55.73
Jolly's mom passed away on the
00:13:55.73\00:13:56.73
way to the hospital.
00:13:56.73\00:13:58.37
And it was very difficult.
00:13:58.37\00:13:59.87
And it took us
00:13:59.87\00:14:02.40
a lot of time to recover and--
00:14:02.40\00:14:05.74
but what we decided as a
00:14:05.74\00:14:07.28
family is we wanted Jolly Grace
00:14:07.28\00:14:09.34
to be looked after.
00:14:09.34\00:14:12.18
We didn't want her to go into
00:14:12.18\00:14:13.65
the system, because at that
00:14:13.65\00:14:15.18
point of time, the next of kin
00:14:15.18\00:14:17.72
was in the Philippines.
00:14:17.72\00:14:19.79
And legally in that situation
00:14:19.79\00:14:22.46
Jolly Grace should have gone
00:14:22.46\00:14:23.89
into foster care
00:14:23.89\00:14:25.76
and get a social worker.
00:14:25.76\00:14:27.30
And she did for a while and my
00:14:27.30\00:14:29.00
parents fought really hard for
00:14:29.00\00:14:30.33
her to stay with a church
00:14:30.33\00:14:31.73
family, which she did.
00:14:31.73\00:14:34.44
For me, I struggle with this
00:14:34.44\00:14:36.37
whole idea, two years after
00:14:36.37\00:14:38.51
that, that how do I then--
00:14:38.51\00:14:42.64
How it made an impact on me so
00:14:42.64\00:14:44.95
negatively that I questioned
00:14:44.95\00:14:46.92
my faith, I questioned my
00:14:46.92\00:14:48.28
belief 'cause I said--
00:14:48.28\00:14:50.59
I was angry.
00:14:50.59\00:14:52.55
I was angry at myself,
00:14:52.55\00:14:54.32
I was angry at my uncle,
00:14:54.32\00:14:56.26
I was angry at the situation,
00:14:56.26\00:14:57.93
I was angry at God.
00:14:57.93\00:14:59.53
And at fifteen-- fourteen
00:14:59.53\00:15:01.83
to sixteen-year-old,
00:15:01.83\00:15:03.03
I was asking the Lord,
00:15:03.03\00:15:05.23
"Why would you do this?"
00:15:05.23\00:15:06.74
"Why would you take away"
00:15:06.74\00:15:08.50
"someone who loved me,"
00:15:08.50\00:15:09.60
"who cared for me?"
00:15:09.60\00:15:11.21
And also, "Why would You"
00:15:11.21\00:15:12.37
"allow a daughter to grow"
00:15:12.37\00:15:14.08
"without parents?"
00:15:14.08\00:15:15.78
"How could you allow a"
00:15:15.78\00:15:17.35
"husband to do that to"
00:15:17.35\00:15:18.21
"his wife?"
00:15:18.21\00:15:19.35
And so my dad, you know,
00:15:19.35\00:15:20.85
saw that I was changing.
00:15:20.85\00:15:22.52
I didn't want to go to church,
00:15:22.52\00:15:23.72
I was being negative.
00:15:23.72\00:15:25.79
I always try to put a smiling
00:15:25.79\00:15:27.29
face in front of everyone,
00:15:27.29\00:15:28.72
naturally that's who I am.
00:15:28.72\00:15:30.49
I try to put a smiling face
00:15:30.49\00:15:31.83
as if I'm strong, but during
00:15:31.83\00:15:33.63
those two years it was tough.
00:15:33.63\00:15:36.06
Then finally my dad came to me
00:15:36.06\00:15:38.80
and he said, "You know, Neil,"
00:15:38.80\00:15:40.67
"I think the greatest thing"
00:15:40.67\00:15:41.80
"that you're struggling with"
00:15:41.80\00:15:42.80
"right now is that"
00:15:42.80\00:15:46.04
"you went through a tough time"
00:15:46.04\00:15:47.84
"but you're not allowing God"
00:15:47.84\00:15:49.04
"to heal you"
00:15:49.04\00:15:50.41
"and in order for that"
00:15:50.41\00:15:51.61
"healing to start,"
00:15:51.61\00:15:53.68
"you need to forgive."
00:15:53.68\00:15:55.45
Now when I heard that,
00:15:55.45\00:15:56.79
I was upset with my father.
00:15:56.79\00:15:59.89
I said, "How could you"
00:15:59.89\00:16:00.86
"say that, Dad?"
00:16:00.86\00:16:02.12
"You weren't there"
00:16:02.12\00:16:03.53
"that night it happened."
00:16:03.53\00:16:05.83
"You don't know how many"
00:16:05.83\00:16:07.30
"questions of--"
00:16:07.30\00:16:09.26
"Auntie's best friends have"
00:16:09.26\00:16:10.80
"questioned me saying that"
00:16:10.80\00:16:12.73
"I could have done more."
00:16:12.73\00:16:14.67
"I could have run out"
00:16:14.67\00:16:16.04
"and helped."
00:16:16.04\00:16:17.51
And I thank my mother for
00:16:17.51\00:16:18.94
stepping in whenever people,
00:16:18.94\00:16:21.01
members of the church or
00:16:21.01\00:16:22.61
people would ask why didn't I
00:16:22.61\00:16:23.65
do more, she would say,
00:16:23.65\00:16:25.35
"I'm a nurse."
00:16:25.35\00:16:27.38
"You don't know what trauma"
00:16:27.38\00:16:28.28
"does to you."
00:16:28.28\00:16:29.55
"My son experienced trauma"
00:16:29.55\00:16:31.29
"that night and you do not"
00:16:31.29\00:16:33.29
"have the right to question"
00:16:33.29\00:16:34.82
"him or even say these things"
00:16:34.82\00:16:37.33
"when you yourself have not"
00:16:37.33\00:16:38.33
"experienced it."
00:16:38.33\00:16:39.83
And so my mother protected me
00:16:39.83\00:16:41.13
and she let them know.
00:16:41.13\00:16:42.80
And so then...
00:16:42.80\00:16:44.93
What ended up happening was
00:16:46.23\00:16:47.87
two years went by,
00:16:47.87\00:16:50.04
I prayed about it,
00:16:50.04\00:16:51.91
I read more scripture,
00:16:51.91\00:16:54.14
sang songs, I tried to be more
00:16:54.14\00:16:56.44
active in the church,
00:16:56.44\00:16:57.88
but it was tough.
00:16:57.88\00:16:59.65
What made it possible for us
00:17:01.02\00:17:03.69
to go see my uncle who was now
00:17:03.69\00:17:05.92
in the psychiatric ward,
00:17:05.92\00:17:08.82
he pleaded guilty to insanity
00:17:08.82\00:17:11.03
and so they brought him into a
00:17:11.03\00:17:12.66
psychiatric ward to recover.
00:17:12.66\00:17:15.86
He put, on the names of
00:17:15.86\00:17:17.80
people who are allowed to
00:17:17.80\00:17:19.00
visit him,
00:17:19.00\00:17:20.17
he put "the Peraltas."
00:17:20.17\00:17:21.74
No one else.
00:17:21.74\00:17:22.90
Not even his own cousin,
00:17:22.90\00:17:24.47
not even his own family.
00:17:24.47\00:17:26.44
He only put our names on there.
00:17:26.44\00:17:29.94
And so my mom and dad would
00:17:29.94\00:17:31.15
frequently go visit him to
00:17:31.15\00:17:32.41
check how he's doing,
00:17:32.41\00:17:33.38
to see how he is.
00:17:33.38\00:17:35.32
And finally, my dad said,
00:17:35.32\00:17:36.95
"Neil, we're gonna go visit"
00:17:36.95\00:17:38.12
"your uncle."
00:17:38.12\00:17:39.85
"Are you ready to go forgive"
00:17:39.85\00:17:41.39
"him and meet with him?"
00:17:41.39\00:17:44.16
I said, "OK, fine I'll go."
00:17:44.16\00:17:47.93
"I just need to get this
00:17:47.93\00:17:49.43
"over with,"
00:17:49.43\00:17:50.50
"I need to learn to forgive,"
00:17:50.50\00:17:51.63
"I need to move forward,"
00:17:51.63\00:17:52.67
"I need to start the"
00:17:52.67\00:17:53.80
"healing process."
00:17:53.80\00:17:55.20
So then when I went to go see
00:17:55.20\00:17:57.77
my uncle, my mom and dad went
00:17:57.77\00:18:00.41
in first, they said their
00:18:00.41\00:18:02.14
pleasantries, "Hi, hello,"
00:18:02.14\00:18:03.71
"how are you? How are things?"
00:18:03.71\00:18:05.65
And then they got me to go
00:18:05.65\00:18:07.45
inside, we were sitting at a
00:18:07.45\00:18:10.15
half-round table,
00:18:10.15\00:18:12.52
he was sitting on one side,
00:18:12.52\00:18:14.12
here's my mom, my dad,
00:18:14.12\00:18:15.12
me in the middle.
00:18:15.12\00:18:16.79
And he looks at me and I was
00:18:16.79\00:18:19.83
ready to just let him have it.
00:18:19.83\00:18:22.63
I was ready to just
00:18:22.63\00:18:24.23
be angry at him.
00:18:24.23\00:18:25.93
>> You were very angry.
00:18:25.93\00:18:27.00
>> I was very upset.
00:18:27.00\00:18:28.00
Very angry, very upset.
00:18:28.00\00:18:29.54
I was ready to ask him all the
00:18:29.54\00:18:31.14
"why" questions.
00:18:31.14\00:18:32.27
"Why would you do this?"
00:18:32.27\00:18:33.27
"Why would you do that?"
00:18:33.27\00:18:34.68
But when I looked at him,
00:18:34.68\00:18:36.24
I felt compassion
00:18:36.24\00:18:38.05
and pity for him
00:18:38.05\00:18:39.61
because he wasn't the same
00:18:39.61\00:18:41.25
uncle that I saw.
00:18:41.25\00:18:42.38
He was shaking,
00:18:42.38\00:18:44.79
he was highly medicated
00:18:44.79\00:18:47.96
and he managed to talk to me
00:18:47.96\00:18:51.09
and express how sorry he was.
00:18:51.09\00:18:53.70
Tears fell from his face.
00:18:53.70\00:18:55.86
He said, "Neil, I've been"
00:18:55.86\00:18:57.07
"waiting for two years"
00:18:57.07\00:19:00.34
"to talk to you."
00:19:00.34\00:19:02.24
"I've been waiting to say"
00:19:02.24\00:19:03.61
"that I'm very sorry and"
00:19:03.61\00:19:05.57
"I was praying that you"
00:19:05.57\00:19:07.28
"would come meet with me"
00:19:07.28\00:19:09.68
"because I'm very sorry for"
00:19:09.68\00:19:10.51
"what happened to you,"
00:19:10.51\00:19:11.95
"I'm very sorry for what has"
00:19:11.95\00:19:13.05
"happened to Jolly..."
00:19:13.05\00:19:14.68
And he said, "Can you find it"
00:19:14.68\00:19:16.42
"in your heart to forgive me?"
00:19:16.42\00:19:19.02
I just stood there, stunned.
00:19:19.02\00:19:21.59
I didn't know what to say
00:19:21.59\00:19:23.99
and I finally said to my mom
00:19:23.99\00:19:25.83
and dad, "I have to go."
00:19:25.83\00:19:27.30
It was just too much.
00:19:27.30\00:19:28.96
But before I left,
00:19:28.96\00:19:30.73
I turned to my mom
00:19:30.73\00:19:33.13
and I whispered in her ear,
00:19:33.13\00:19:34.67
"Can you please let him know"
00:19:34.67\00:19:37.04
"that I forgive him"
00:19:37.04\00:19:39.21
"and that I'm very sorry for"
00:19:39.21\00:19:41.61
"what he had gone through"
00:19:41.61\00:19:42.61
"as well."
00:19:42.61\00:19:43.88
And so I left, my mom told
00:19:43.88\00:19:45.78
that and as I was leaving,
00:19:45.78\00:19:47.78
I could tell that he broke
00:19:47.78\00:19:49.02
down and cried even more
00:19:49.02\00:19:50.55
because he just felt that
00:19:50.55\00:19:52.45
relief come over, knowing that
00:19:52.45\00:19:55.09
I had forgiven him.
00:19:55.09\00:19:56.93
And so from that day on,
00:19:56.93\00:20:00.16
we've treated Jolly as our--
00:20:00.16\00:20:01.90
I've treated her as
00:20:01.90\00:20:02.86
my god-daughter.
00:20:02.86\00:20:04.13
And I know she treats me as
00:20:04.13\00:20:05.63
her older brother and so
00:20:05.63\00:20:07.64
we've kept up,
00:20:07.64\00:20:08.77
we've stayed in contact,
00:20:08.77\00:20:10.37
we've encouraged her.
00:20:10.37\00:20:12.61
Her Auntie Divina who came
00:20:12.61\00:20:13.68
from the Philippines at a very
00:20:13.68\00:20:15.98
young age of twenty-one,
00:20:15.98\00:20:18.11
took on that role
00:20:18.11\00:20:19.58
and it was a big role to
00:20:19.58\00:20:21.68
be there to help Jolly Grace.
00:20:21.68\00:20:23.89
>> So her mother's sister
00:20:23.89\00:20:25.02
came over?
00:20:25.02\00:20:25.79
>> Her mother's sister, yeah.
00:20:25.79\00:20:27.12
>> And became her mother.
00:20:27.12\00:20:28.39
>> And became her mother,
00:20:28.39\00:20:29.36
yeah, and took care of her
00:20:29.36\00:20:31.89
and they ended up staying with
00:20:31.89\00:20:34.36
us and so I'm very glad to see
00:20:34.36\00:20:37.63
that through this tragedy
00:20:37.63\00:20:41.00
we have been able to raise a
00:20:41.00\00:20:43.37
girl as a family although
00:20:43.37\00:20:45.01
we're not blood-related,
00:20:45.01\00:20:46.91
but we're related because of
00:20:46.91\00:20:48.68
the circumstance, but because
00:20:48.68\00:20:50.18
we love each other like we're
00:20:50.18\00:20:51.51
family, we're so glad to see
00:20:51.51\00:20:53.65
now that Jolly has been able
00:20:53.65\00:20:55.42
to grow up in a place where
00:20:55.42\00:20:57.39
she's been mentored, she's
00:20:57.39\00:20:59.02
using God's gift to
00:20:59.02\00:21:01.06
guide and direct her.
00:21:01.06\00:21:02.72
She's a very wonderful singer,
00:21:02.72\00:21:04.26
an amazing singer
00:21:04.26\00:21:05.59
and she uses that talent to
00:21:05.59\00:21:07.76
share her message as well.
00:21:07.76\00:21:10.17
And as her older brother,
00:21:10.17\00:21:15.14
I still stay connected with
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.24
her, I call her...
00:21:17.24\00:21:18.47
>> She sees you as an
00:21:18.47\00:21:19.24
older brother...
00:21:19.24\00:21:19.87
>> Yeah.
00:21:19.87\00:21:20.74
>> And you see her--
00:21:20.74\00:21:21.51
>> As a god-daughter. Yeah.
00:21:21.51\00:21:22.64
>> OK.
00:21:22.64\00:21:23.41
>> I just--
00:21:23.41\00:21:25.95
You know, listening to your
00:21:25.95\00:21:27.08
story has been really moving
00:21:27.08\00:21:28.82
for me and I know you
00:21:28.82\00:21:31.65
mentioned that fateful evening
00:21:31.65\00:21:34.19
when this trauma happened that
00:21:34.19\00:21:35.96
you were praying throughout
00:21:35.96\00:21:37.63
all of this and it just...
00:21:37.63\00:21:40.73
It just amazes me,
00:21:40.73\00:21:42.40
from listening to your story
00:21:42.40\00:21:44.27
how calm you were, Neil.
00:21:44.27\00:21:47.44
Like, you know, you didn't...
00:21:47.44\00:21:50.24
freak out and...
00:21:50.24\00:21:52.27
>> I'll be honest with you,
00:21:52.27\00:21:53.31
there was a moment where
00:21:53.31\00:21:54.68
I wanted to run out.
00:21:54.68\00:21:56.64
There was a moment
00:21:56.64\00:21:57.78
I wanted to run out.
00:21:57.78\00:21:59.08
And knock at the door of
00:21:59.08\00:22:00.15
my neighbour,
00:22:00.15\00:22:01.82
but then I realized,
00:22:01.82\00:22:04.22
if my uncle is still in his
00:22:04.22\00:22:06.05
angry state...
00:22:06.05\00:22:08.62
what would he do?
00:22:08.62\00:22:10.59
Would he stop me?
00:22:10.59\00:22:11.59
Would he end up
00:22:11.59\00:22:13.19
running after me?
00:22:13.19\00:22:14.03
And so I--
00:22:14.03\00:22:15.66
that quickly played in my mind
00:22:15.66\00:22:17.30
and I said,
00:22:17.30\00:22:18.57
"I think the best thing to do"
00:22:18.57\00:22:20.60
"is just to allow God to"
00:22:20.60\00:22:22.47
"intervene and whatever"
00:22:22.47\00:22:24.57
"happens, put your trust"
00:22:24.57\00:22:25.77
"in Him."
00:22:25.77\00:22:27.28
"He will take care of you."
00:22:27.28\00:22:29.11
"He will take care of her,"
00:22:29.11\00:22:30.95
"the people who are here"
00:22:30.95\00:22:33.15
"and He will protect you."
00:22:33.15\00:22:35.48
And then that's what happened
00:22:35.48\00:22:36.69
that evening and I felt a calm
00:22:36.69\00:22:39.09
assurance even though that
00:22:39.09\00:22:42.72
it was so chaotic and so...
00:22:42.72\00:22:46.26
What do you call this,
00:22:46.26\00:22:47.76
a very edgy experience
00:22:47.76\00:22:49.33
that I couldn't even imagine
00:22:49.33\00:22:50.80
if someone else would have
00:22:50.80\00:22:51.97
gone through this,
00:22:51.97\00:22:52.93
how would they react?
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.54
But in that moment, God really
00:22:54.54\00:22:56.04
calmed me and reassured me
00:22:56.04\00:22:58.61
to just remain calm,
00:22:58.61\00:23:00.68
"I'm here, and whatever"
00:23:00.68\00:23:02.88
"happens, I will protect you."
00:23:02.88\00:23:06.21
The story has been
00:23:06.21\00:23:07.18
really good.
00:23:07.18\00:23:08.15
I don't use it a lot,
00:23:08.15\00:23:09.62
I'll be honest, but I do share
00:23:09.62\00:23:11.62
it when I feel the need that
00:23:11.62\00:23:14.09
it needs to--
00:23:14.09\00:23:15.36
Especially when it comes to
00:23:15.36\00:23:16.96
young people, and impact, and
00:23:16.96\00:23:18.56
who have been hurt by older
00:23:18.56\00:23:20.76
people, who have suffered loss
00:23:20.76\00:23:23.26
and are struggling with this
00:23:23.26\00:23:24.87
whole idea of forgiveness,
00:23:24.87\00:23:26.27
I share with them that story.
00:23:26.27\00:23:27.90
But again, the story continues
00:23:27.90\00:23:31.11
in Jolly's life and it's
00:23:31.11\00:23:33.01
amazing to see that from my
00:23:33.01\00:23:35.68
situation how now God has used
00:23:35.68\00:23:38.35
our family, her auntie,
00:23:38.35\00:23:39.75
and people around her to be
00:23:39.75\00:23:42.55
able to move forward and grow
00:23:42.55\00:23:44.49
and be spiritually connected
00:23:44.49\00:23:46.99
that way, so...
00:23:46.99\00:23:49.22
>> So, Neil, God has been
00:23:49.22\00:23:50.99
working in your life from when
00:23:50.99\00:23:52.79
you were a fourteen-year-old boy
00:23:52.79\00:23:54.10
and how He's been leading you
00:23:54.10\00:23:55.60
and you worked through some
00:23:55.60\00:23:56.93
difficult times here.
00:23:56.93\00:23:58.50
But now, today you're
00:23:58.50\00:23:59.57
a pastor...
00:23:59.57\00:24:00.34
>> Yes.
00:24:00.34\00:24:01.30
>> And that's a long story
00:24:01.30\00:24:02.20
in itself.
00:24:02.20\00:24:03.30
You were running away from God
00:24:03.30\00:24:04.61
and He found you and He was
00:24:04.61\00:24:05.74
leading you.
00:24:05.74\00:24:07.08
And so all that you've learned
00:24:07.08\00:24:09.01
from the scriptures,
00:24:09.01\00:24:10.15
from your experience with God,
00:24:10.15\00:24:12.41
was this a part of God's plan
00:24:12.41\00:24:14.45
that, you know, your uncle
00:24:14.45\00:24:15.98
take his wife's life
00:24:15.98\00:24:18.35
and you end up with his child,
00:24:18.35\00:24:20.49
all of this.
00:24:20.49\00:24:21.82
Was that tragedy a part of
00:24:21.82\00:24:24.33
God' plan?
00:24:24.33\00:24:25.86
>> No, I don't think it was.
00:24:25.86\00:24:27.76
I think it was a bad choice
00:24:27.76\00:24:29.83
that my uncle had made.
00:24:29.83\00:24:31.93
Like I said before,
00:24:31.93\00:24:33.94
it wasn't him.
00:24:33.94\00:24:35.54
He let his anger out
00:24:35.54\00:24:37.71
and because of his anger
00:24:37.71\00:24:39.57
Satan came in and took
00:24:39.57\00:24:41.01
advantage of that and as a
00:24:41.01\00:24:43.71
result, you know, my--
00:24:43.71\00:24:46.01
Jolly Grace had to go through
00:24:46.01\00:24:48.02
that, I had to experience
00:24:48.02\00:24:49.85
that, a night of loss from my
00:24:49.85\00:24:51.39
auntie, but I truly believe
00:24:51.39\00:24:53.76
what's so amazing is that it
00:24:53.76\00:24:55.66
wasn't God's plan, but He had
00:24:55.66\00:24:57.43
a plan to intervene.
00:24:57.43\00:24:58.73
>> Yes.
00:24:58.73\00:25:00.06
>> And it was because He knew
00:25:00.06\00:25:02.60
that at that moment in time
00:25:02.60\00:25:04.63
that I myself needed to be
00:25:04.63\00:25:06.43
protected and I needed the
00:25:06.43\00:25:08.00
reassurance, I needed to be
00:25:08.00\00:25:09.54
calm so that Jolly Grace and I
00:25:09.54\00:25:12.44
would be able to be here
00:25:12.44\00:25:14.01
where we are today.
00:25:14.01\00:25:15.44
>> So, Jolly, welcome.
00:25:17.98\00:25:19.81
You're here with us and we've
00:25:19.81\00:25:21.22
been listening to Neil
00:25:21.22\00:25:22.52
talk about you.
00:25:22.52\00:25:23.95
You're no longer a
00:25:23.95\00:25:25.39
five-month-old baby
00:25:25.39\00:25:26.72
and so we're so thankful
00:25:26.72\00:25:28.36
that you're here with us
00:25:28.36\00:25:29.86
and joining us.
00:25:29.86\00:25:31.16
We've got just a few minutes
00:25:31.16\00:25:33.09
left in this episode,
00:25:33.09\00:25:34.36
but next week hopefully we can
00:25:34.36\00:25:36.60
hear the rest of your story.
00:25:36.60\00:25:37.83
I hope you can stay with us.
00:25:37.83\00:25:39.00
Yes, good sure.
00:25:39.00\00:25:41.27
>> It's wonderful, Jolly, for
00:25:41.27\00:25:42.74
you to be here with us
00:25:42.74\00:25:44.37
face-to-face so this is great!
00:25:44.37\00:25:47.44
So tell us what does Neil and
00:25:47.44\00:25:49.31
his family and his parents
00:25:49.31\00:25:50.85
mean to you?
00:25:50.85\00:25:52.58
>> So Neil is just like an
00:25:52.58\00:25:55.55
older brother to me and his
00:25:55.55\00:25:57.35
parents are more so like my
00:25:57.35\00:26:00.76
grandparents.
00:26:00.76\00:26:02.99
>> And so you had your
00:26:02.99\00:26:06.86
mother's youngest sister come
00:26:06.86\00:26:09.33
over from the Philippines to
00:26:09.33\00:26:10.67
take care of you.
00:26:10.67\00:26:12.10
How did you see her?
00:26:12.10\00:26:13.44
>> I saw her as my mom.
00:26:13.44\00:26:15.60
>> As your mom.
00:26:15.60\00:26:16.40
>> Yeah.
00:26:16.40\00:26:17.54
>> And so she raised you and
00:26:17.54\00:26:21.31
we really want to hear the
00:26:21.31\00:26:22.84
rest of your story and we look
00:26:22.84\00:26:24.08
forward to it next week, so...
00:26:24.08\00:26:26.88
I look forward to hearing it
00:26:26.88\00:26:28.35
and I know Rene does and we're
00:26:28.35\00:26:30.32
going to visit then.
00:26:30.32\00:26:31.69
But we're going to close off
00:26:31.69\00:26:32.75
with a word of prayer and
00:26:32.75\00:26:34.46
thank the Lord for the way in
00:26:34.46\00:26:36.56
which He's been leading in
00:26:36.56\00:26:37.83
your life and for what we're
00:26:37.83\00:26:39.19
going to look forward to
00:26:39.19\00:26:40.10
seeing next week, so
00:26:40.10\00:26:41.40
let's close our eyes for a
00:26:41.40\00:26:42.20
word of prayer.
00:26:42.20\00:26:43.13
>> Let's pray.
00:26:43.13\00:26:44.83
Dear God and Heavenly Father,
00:26:44.83\00:26:46.77
thank You so much for this
00:26:46.77\00:26:48.57
opportunity that we have had
00:26:48.57\00:26:51.34
here with Neil and with Jolly.
00:26:51.34\00:26:53.48
And Lord, it's been so
00:26:53.48\00:26:55.11
exciting to see what You've
00:26:55.11\00:26:57.11
done in their lives and we're
00:26:57.11\00:26:59.85
so excited to hear about what
00:26:59.85\00:27:03.62
You have done in Jolly's life
00:27:03.62\00:27:05.62
and how You've taken something
00:27:05.62\00:27:09.36
that was bad and turned it
00:27:09.36\00:27:11.09
into something that is so
00:27:11.09\00:27:12.99
wonderful and we just want to
00:27:12.99\00:27:14.93
honour and glorify Your name.
00:27:14.93\00:27:17.93
Be with us now and guide us
00:27:17.93\00:27:19.77
according to Your will.
00:27:19.77\00:27:21.14
I pray this in Your precious
00:27:21.14\00:27:23.14
name, amen.
00:27:23.14\00:27:24.14
>> Amen, amen.
00:27:24.14\00:27:25.77
So, friends, thank you again
00:27:25.77\00:27:27.74
for joining us and I hope you
00:27:27.74\00:27:29.81
are going to tune in.
00:27:29.81\00:27:31.11
I know that we are looking
00:27:31.11\00:27:32.41
forward to being with Jolly
00:27:32.41\00:27:33.65
again next week and just to
00:27:33.65\00:27:35.48
hear the rest of her story and
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.55
how God miraculously led
00:27:37.55\00:27:39.42
in her life.
00:27:39.42\00:27:41.19
And I just want to remind you
00:27:41.19\00:27:43.09
of the words of Jesus that we
00:27:43.09\00:27:44.66
can trust as Jesus Himself
00:27:44.66\00:27:46.29
said, "It is written,"
00:27:46.29\00:27:47.73
"man shall not live by bread"
00:27:47.73\00:27:48.86
"alone, but by every word"
00:27:48.86\00:27:50.60
"that proceeds out of the"
00:27:50.60\00:27:52.10
"mouth of God."
00:27:52.10\00:27:55.20
>> Next on
00:27:55.20\00:27:56.50
It Is Written Canada...
00:27:56.50\00:27:58.84
>> Now you had to tell her the
00:27:58.84\00:28:00.34
story of the night when her
00:28:00.34\00:28:02.01
mother was murdered.
00:28:02.01\00:28:03.95
>> And so when she first heard
00:28:03.95\00:28:05.15
it, it was very hard on her.
00:28:05.15\00:28:06.88
She did cry.
00:28:06.88\00:28:08.38
>> Have you seen your dad,
00:28:08.38\00:28:09.78
Jolly?
00:28:09.78\00:28:11.85
>> I truly believe that was
00:28:11.85\00:28:14.19
God-given talent to her.
00:28:14.19\00:28:15.99
We are so proud of her that
00:28:15.99\00:28:17.79
she's using it for reaching
00:28:17.79\00:28:20.70
out to other people
00:28:20.70\00:28:22.16
through music.
00:28:22.16\00:28:23.67
>> I can just see that this is
00:28:23.67\00:28:25.10
a very sensitive topic and
00:28:25.10\00:28:26.63
you're being very vulnerable
00:28:26.63\00:28:28.10
and sharing this with us.
00:28:28.10\00:28:29.77
>> I struggled with
00:28:29.77\00:28:31.41
forgiveness, forgiving my dad,
00:28:31.41\00:28:33.41
forgiving God
00:28:33.41\00:28:35.51
and being angry with Him.
00:28:35.51\00:28:38.61
>> Although it was very
00:28:38.61\00:28:40.12
tragic, God was there holding
00:28:40.12\00:28:41.55
me with His right hand,
00:28:41.55\00:28:42.88
holding her.
00:28:42.88\00:28:44.92
¤You reached out to me
00:28:47.19\00:28:53.86
¤and gave me my first hope
00:28:53.86\00:28:59.43