Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

Guest Blogger: Imelda Quibin

In Imelda's article, she addresses a challenge many Filipinos face when they work overseas. I believe her willingness to speak out about this issue will serve to educate and encourage others. Great Job, Imelda!!

Filipinos can be found all over the world. Against all odds, they work to help their families. The government of the Philippines does not provide Filipinos with the benefits that rich countries offer their citizens. Living in third world countries is difficult. (Note: God chooses what race we will be. We should not compare ourselves to other people who are more prosperous than we are. We must not think that God is unfair, because He is just and He knows what is best for us.) The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, so people like me tend to envision life abroad as a viable option. Filipino men and women, single or married – anyone who can afford to pay the agencies that send OFW abroad and are physically fit – leave their homes and families to work in foreign countries. In this article, I want to concentrate on my experiences as a married OFW.

First, let me briefly define marriage: Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. God is the author of that union. It is significant that Jesus’ first miracle occurred at a wedding in Cana. Fornication can break this union God instituted.

Matthew 19:6 says that a couple is no longer two but one. Physically, two people are two separate beings. Obviously, they can be separated physically, but marriage means that they are no longer two, but one in union. Married couples should not be away from each other for a long period of time. Every time a couple separates, they create an "open door" that the devil can enter.

So, for those of us who must work abroad, physically separated from our spouses, we should close the door. How do we close the door? By focusing on the Lord Jesus. In this way, we close the door. A GOD centered life creates two separate soul-mates!

The Devil is a spirit being. He knows the Word of God exactly. He trembles at the Word but he is not a doer of the Word. The Devil cannot read our minds like God does, but take note and be aware that the Devil knows every weakness of man. He tempts us by using his number one tool, the source of our temptation: Our eyes.

CHRISTIANS, WE HAVE TO SAY YES TO GOD AND NO TO SIN! WE MUST PUT JESUS FIRST IN OUR HEARTS!!