by Bro. George Santos

     "I cannot believe that the things my mother does which I laugh about are exactly the same things I am doing at the very moment." Thus said our Faces of Faith awardee for the month of June, Bro. Urbano Bryan A. Bagarino, an able servant of the Lord who continues to strum and pluck his guitar to give honor and glory to God.

Childhood memories

 

He dreams that there will come a time when the community will be able to launch a concert in the mold of a "Hillsong United" band with him as the lead guitarist.

 

     Born on July 16, 1987, Bro. Bry, as he is fondly called in the community, is the fourth among a brood of eight of Banny Bagarino and the former Corazon Adesna, who both hail from Eastern Samar. Because of the demand of his father's profession as a seaman, the whole family transferred to Dagatdagatan, Malabon.

     Bro. Bry finished his primary education at Tonsuya Elementary School and completed his secondary studies at Macario Asistio High School. Life back then was relatively simple. He was blessed to have parents who are able to provide for their needs. It was all that mattered to him, until something happened to him when he was in second-year high school.

A  mysterious ailment

     Bro. Bry was struck by a myterious ailment that lasted for two months. The sickness made him skip school often. His mother sent him to a number of doctors who prescribed various medicines yet his ailment could not be cured. The whole family was so worried of his condition that they thought his life was in great danger.

     During those times, Bro. Bry's mother was already an active member of a charismatic community. Realizing that they had exerted all means humanly possible, his mother resorted to divine intervention and offered his condition to God's will. Truly, prayers work wonders. After that prayer, Bro. Bry's condition improved and he was eventually healed.

Learning to pray

     Bro. Bry's encounter with a life-and-death situation was not enough to perk up his spirituality. All that was important to him was he was up and about and would be able to return to school. In his third year in high school, Bro. Bry, together with some friends, decided to put up a band. They practiced regularly and joined contests that ate up much of his time. His studies took a back seat and when he was in fourth year, he even received a failing mark.

     Bothered by the possibility of not being able to graduate, Bro. Bry tried something unusual, pray. God answered and he eventually graduated. Little did Bro. Bry knew, God had something more in store for him.
 

A life-changing experience

     Bro. Bry took up a nursing assistant course after gaduating from high school. He was still a band member when God's call for him to serve became too much to ignore. For three consecutive occasions, he declined to attend an invitation to a Catholic Life in the Spirit Seminar sponsored by the Friends of the Divine Mercy Community. But God was persistent on him until finally, in June 2005, Bro. Bry said “yes.”

     Bro. Bry said it was all for the purpose of attending the seminar and said that the first day was quite boring. He was deciding to skip the second day until he heard a teaser that there was more to come on Day 2.

     Curious of what was going to happen, he returned the following day and received the greatest gift of his life - a new life with Jesus Christ. On that moment, his life became complete. He realized that what transpired during the times when he was sick and the times he was receiving failing marks were all but pieces of a big puzzle and he saw that the puzzle was a new Bro. Bry.


Striving to be strong

     Upon graduating from the CLSS and being an official member of FDMC-Malabon, Bro. Bry religiously attended the weekly prayer meeting and now serves as a member of the Music Ministry of FDMC Main. He became so engrossed with the various activities of the community that he was surprised to know he has already completed his two-year course.

     Today, there are still occasional invitations from his friends to jam around and play guitar for the rock band but he is polite enough to turn them down as he has promised to play his guitar only for the Lord.


Youth band

     Although without a steady job at the moment, Bro. Bry still believes that God will provide a job for him. He now spends most of his time in serving God, not only in Malabon but also in other chapters.

     He dreams that there will come a time when the community will be able to launch a concert in the mold of a "Hillsong United" band with him as the lead guitarist.
 

Future speaker

     Asked how he would be five years from now, he said he would by then have a family of his own. A balanced time for the family and the community is his immediate goal while being one of the community's resident speakers is an utmost dream.
 

Words of wisdom

     "I just would like to give emphasis on our prayer, 'Jesus, I trust in You.' Like me, who have entrusted my whole life to God, all of us can be a recipient of this Face of Faith award. With God's grace, I hope and pray that I can continue praising and glorifying our Lord with my talent and gift. I know there would be more 'old Bryans' who would laugh when they hear shouts of 'Praise the Lord!' yet I believe there would be even more 'new Bryans' who would realize how truly great God is!”

(Bro. Bry from the Music Ministry and FDMC-Malabon is Face of Faith for June 2008.)