Ring... ring... ring...

“Papa is calling you.”

The screen of my phone glowed during my afternoon college class. My father had just come home after working abroad and decided to stay for good. I was living with my aunt while studying because our house was a bit far from the university.

With a big smile and excitement on my face, my classmate noticed and asked, “Who’s that?”

“It’s Dad!” I whispered, then immediately headed to the restroom to answer the call.

Click! As I pressed the answer button, a loud woman’s voice suddenly shouted,

“Your father and I are separating! I’ll go there with you!”

It took me a moment to realize it was Mom.

I stammered, “Why? Why are you fighting?”

She didn’t answer. In the background, I could hear my father’s voice arguing with hers. My head spun in confusion. I was shocked and frozen for a few minutes. The excitement and joy I had just felt vanished, replaced by the sadness of a child watching her balloon drift away into the sky.

I stayed in the restroom for several minutes, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t want my classmates to see me crying or even looking like I cried. After pulling myself together, I returned to class with a fake smile plastered on my face.

“Are we a broken family now?

How can I continue college? What will happen to my little brother, who’s still in high school?”

Questions swirled in my mind, drowning me in anxiety. Later, I found out their fight was caused by jealousy and financial problems. My father had lost his way and turned to alcohol. My mother eventually moved in with my aunt, the same aunt I was staying with for college.

All our properties were sold, and the money was used for my college expenses and daily needs. Though I managed to graduate, I had no home to return to. That pain was even worse than a breakup.

But with the grace of God, our family was reunited after eight long years. Can you imagine such a miracle? Everyone in our family, even our relatives, had lost hope for us. But my faith, as small as a mustard seed, truly moved mountains.

It’s TRUE! That Bible verse came alive in my life:

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

I’m so thankful to God for answering my prayers. However, since our house was sold when my parents separated, we no longer have a place of our own. Right now, we’re living in my grandmother’s house and we’re doing fine, but deep inside, I dream of providing something for my family that we can truly call our own, a home.

All of us long for that peace, that privacy, that sense of fulfillment in life.

This is why I hustle, why I’m passionate about what I do. I know my story won’t end once I build that house. It will continue, and no matter what challenges I face, I’ll stay positive and hopeful.

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13