God's ways really are strange and unexpected. I never thought I would become a Comboni Missionary Sister. My home is in the Philippines and I come from a poor family, the second of ten children. Like any other child of my time, I grew up and went to school.

After finishing secondary school I was lucky enough to get a good job with a large company in Manila, the capital. It was a great joy for me to bring home my first pay packet and give it to my mother. With my salary I also assisted my family and my brothers with their school fees.

As I worked, I continued my education, attending evening courses. I felt I was doing quite well but God had his own plans for me which he made clear in the most unexpected ways. I was just a girl like any other: I loved the latest fashions, used make-up and wore high-heeled shoes.

Everything seemed to be just right with my life but at times I would feel a sadness coming over me. There was something missing. Deep down I knew I was not happy with all the good things I had.

It was then God moved me to join the Neo-catechumenal, a movement, a Catholic organization geared to renewing Christian life. I was eventually chosen to be a catechist who really meant teaching and explaining the faith to others.

After some years I began to feel something was not yet quite right in my life. I felt I was preaching the Gospel but not practicing it. Again, I felt God was calling me to change my life. Perhaps I should become a contemplative nun. I decided to start a one-month trial period in a monastery to see if that was the life for me.

While I was in the monastery I got a phone call from my sister in Dubai, in the Persian Gulf. She was soon to give birth and her husband had little time to look after her on account of his work.  I left for Dubai immediately. There I looked after my sister and her new-born child.

One day while out shopping I noticed a nun in a shop buying herself a pair of shoes. It was during Ramadan and I can still picture her. On impulse, I spoke to her and asked her if she could help me find my true vocation. She seemed to understand what I wanted and introduced me to a congregation I had never heard of, the Comboni Missionary Sisters.

They helped me to do a retreat and offered spiritual guidance. I gradually grew close to them and read the life of the founder Blessed Daniel Comboni. I was really moved by this extraordinary missionary who said that to be a true missionary is to be a contemplative.

I read how much he loved his parents and how hard it was for them to give him up for the missions.

Like myself, the Comboni Sisters were poor but hard-working and, like ourselves, a very close-knit family.

While I stayed in Dubai I visited the Comboni Sisters every Friday, the day off in Moslem countries. I felt God was calling me to be a Comboni Sister. My sister and her husband had by now returned to the Philippines and I was left alone. At first I felt very frightened and lonely but soon felt at home with the Sisters.

After two initial years of training I went to Italy for my novitiate. It was a real challenge to learn a new language and a whole new way of living. During my missionary training I made many new friends. Very often they could not understand why I wanted to spend my life as a missionary. I was glad to explain to them that the happiest day of my life would be the day I became a Comboni Missionary Sister.

After two years the great day came. On September 3, 2000 I made my first vows as a missionary. It was a wonderful day and my mother was able to be there with me. In fact I was the first Filipino to become a Comboni Sister!