There have been so many times that I’m going home carrying big bags, heavy bags, then along the way, a beggar will come and tell me that he’s hungry… and even if I’m carrying a lot of stuff, I know that it was a Jesus moment right there. I thought, why me? Well, God knows my heart. God knows I can’t say no.
This is the story of Mimi Gomeri, a volunteer missionary nurse who’s been with Operation Blessing for more than a decade already. But even years before being into missions, she has always had a sense of God’s call in her life.
It started in the family. As a child, she saw both of her parents’ kindness and generosity. “Whenever it’s Christmas, or when it’s their birthday, my father would give away packs of grocery items, rice, and canned goods to our fishermen,” she recalls. On another note, her mom loves to cook. So as early as the age of 5, in the afternoon when her mom’s home cooked merienda is ready, she would call her friends and playmates and feed them. She refers to this as the early years of her feeding program.
“If there are peddlers of household items or rice cakes along our street, my mom would invite them to our house for some snacks.” She further narrates, “My parents have always been givers. And I emulated that.”
Come college, God’s call gets clearer and clearer for her. “There have been so many times that I’m going home carrying big bags, heavy bags, then along the way, a beggar will come and tell me that he’s hungry… and even if I’m carrying a lot of stuff, I know that it was a Jesus moment right there. I thought, why me? Well, God knows my heart. God knows I can’t say no.”
She got invited by her doctor friend to join Operation Blessing’s missions when typhoon Ondoy hit the country in 2009. She said, “I’ve seen Operation Blessing in The 700 Club on TV and saw that many lives have been transformed through their programs. So I decided that I want to be part of that. And I have enjoyed it ever since.”
When the pandemic came, she had to stop doing missions for health reasons. After two years, she was finally able to join again. Her enthusiasm and joy in every encounter with our kababayans from the Dumagat tribe in our medical mission in Nueva Ecija last April 2022 shows how much she missed it.
“I dreamed of being a doctor. But because our fishing business went down, we didn’t have enough funds. So I told my father that it’s okay, I will just be a nurse.” With this, she’s always excited when there are surgeries to be done on site.
“I can’t say no to God because there have been so many storms that hit our place, but our house was never destroyed. There had been so many times that I could die, but God spared me. God’s presence really manifests in my life. I cannot complain. I’m overwhelmed by His love, His protection, and His unwavering blessings. So I’m just sharing His grace to those who have nothing.”
Like Mimi, do you feel a tug in your heart that God is calling you to missions and to a new level of serving others? Have you been asking God, “why me?” Do you want to share God’s goodness in your life by serving others?
Serving God and helping others is a privilege. The sooner you say yes, the sooner you’ll see the blessings that come with it! And you can start by joining our missions.
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VOLUNTEER or GIVE today! Go to www.operationblessing.ph or inquire at 09399215543 or 09189067753 for more ways to help.
DSWD-SB-SP-000061-2021-Nationwide. Valid until Nov 23, 2022.