APO LAKAY'S GREAT HAPINESS

Apo Lakay Leonardo Pacheco is an 80-year-old man who lives in a cemetery garden. He owns no property but spends his nights in a small house he built in the “city of the dead.” He eats his food once or twice a day and has many complicated diseases. But when he met Jesus, miracles began to transform his life.

Apo Lakay is a respectful Ilocano term. Apo means reverent, and Lakay means old man.

In the early 1970s, Leonardo was a businessman. He traveled from place to place to advertise and sell his products. This produced a high income for him with which he could buy anything he wanted. He spent his evenings in bars, using his money for liquor.

One day, on his way to the Aringay province of La Union, he met a young woman. They decided to live together without the benefit of marriage. Soon a
baby girl was born to them.

Apo Lakay began to suffer from rheumatism, diabetes, arthritis, headaches, high blood pressure and other maladies. That stopped him from earning a good living. His family members suffered from the financial crisis until they were obliged to build a small house in the public cemetery garden with the permission of the municipal mayor. One condition was set: Leonardo would serve as a volunteer cemetery watchman.

Adding insult to injury, Leonardo’s “wife” left him for another man, taking
two sons with her.

Then the municipal engineer ordered Leonardo to move his house and leave
the cemetery. More space was needed for graves. The engineer asked him
to sign a document stating that he would leave, but Leonardo refused. He said,
“This is not the time of the Japanese regime. I have no place to live. I will stay here. Give me some time to decide. I will appeal to the municipal mayor.” The
mayor favored him, and Leonardo was allowed to stay in the cemetery.

He recovered from his diseases and met another woman who was a relative
of his first “wife.” They also lived together and had two girls and two boys.
This was an unhealthy relationship, and they separated. The woman took the
children. Even after they were separated from each other, the woman stole the
food and clothing Leonardo produced.

Apo Lakay’s life was miserable. His only hope was Jesus. He knew that Jesus was the resurrected One who gave hope to the weary. At that time, Jehovah’s
Witnesses frequently visited him and gave him Bible studies.
After he heard and knew what Jehovah’s Witnesses believed, he stopped entertaining them. He discerned that the resurrected Jesus, whom he believed in, was rejected by them as the real God and Jehovah.

One night, three men stole the coffin of Apo Lakay’s father. We visited Leonardo at that time. While we were at his home, I saw Glena and Merilda, two of his children, playing on the grave and eating mango fruits. They had sweet smiles but very dirty clothes and bodies.

During our stay, we offered to talk about Jesus. At first, I spoke to Leonardo about the great advent hope. He appreciated this very much. He began to understand God’s plan for him, and he was happy. He asked us to come back again and continue the series of Bible studies. We did this for six consecutive months with the assistance of my broadcast team and church members. After much consideration, Apo Lakay decided to accept baptism.

When we taught about the Sabbath, he revealed that when he was 20 he lived with an uncle who was a Catholic priest. This uncle told him that the Sabbath— Saturday—was the real day of rest. This made it easier to persuade him that the Adventist belief was biblical.

“I am a Catholic and have Catholic relatives. But I did not understand what I believed. Only when the Adventist message came to my home was everything made clear for me. It is just like sweet honey,” he said.

Apo Lakay has made many changes in his life. He delivered his testimony during our Sabbath service. He testified that his diseases seldom attack anymore because there have been changes in his diet.

He walks one kilometer without a cane to attend our Sabbath service. He’s happy because God loves him as well as his two kids. He was thankful because God gave him brothers and sisters in Christ who showed that they cared. He liked what the Seventh-day Adventists did because they not only taught about the Sabbath and health but they also studied God’s Word and served Him.
As Apo Lakay learned to eat spiritual food, he shared it with others, including some of his alcoholic friends. Spiritual things are now his great happiness.

By
Maxwell D. Agunan
GO Radio Evangelist
Philippines
October 2007