THERE’S POWER IN THE WORD
A TESTIMONY OF BROTHER REGINO GALINDES
Young Regino Galindes received his first Gideon Bible in his college days. As the region where he came from was a secluded area and Bible would only come as often as next to never, this young man was overjoyed, and there sprung the desire to find the place where all these free Bibles were coming from. Regino desired to be a part of The Gideons International. But because he was still studying, the answer to his prayer hadn’t been given that year.
Years passed, and seasons came.
The Christmas season is one of the most awaited holidays in the Philippines. Families gather, friends spend time together, churches prepare – everyone’s busy just making things merrier during this time. One of them was Regino, who was then an active music ministry teenager who was at the peak of his excitement as he was on his way to attend their practice for that year’s Christmas caroling. He was merrily walking without any hint that day December 21st of 1987, at 5:00 in the afternoon somewhere in Manila; death would show a glimpse of its face to him.
In a blink of an eye, just a split of a second, a speeding car hit Regino and the next thing he knew, he was already lying under a train – barely moving, barely living. And at that moment, the question that first came to his mind was if he was already going to die. But God is simply just not yet done with him.
The unfortunate twist of fate sent him straight to the National Orthopedic Hospital in Banawe, Quezon City. There he received the pronouncement of not being able to walk for months.
After a night spent on his bed, he found a Gideon Bible on top of the table near him. Which he mistakenly thought had been brought by his visiting relatives. With no other choice and nothing else to do but to sluggishly twist and turn on his bed from morning to night, he finally succumbed to the call of the little book placed near him – the Gideon Bible. He started moving his fingers through its pages.
Few more days passed, and his time in the hospital was spent lavishly with the Bible that he had found. As if being called by Jesus to stand up, he miraculously was able to be on his feet and walk on the seventh day of his confinement. The doctors overseeing his records are all astounded and perplexed. It seems like science cannot explain his rapid development and recovery. This is not what they expected from his x-ray and diagnostic results when he first came to their door, all bloody and half-dead! But as for him, Psalm 107:20 was the only explanation he knew of. God is indeed the God of miracles when the Bible said, “He sent out his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.”, and it became true to his life. Not long after the experience, Regino went back home, bringing with him the Bible and his renewed life with the knowledge of Christ through the Gideon Bible.
Later this brought-back-to-life young dreamer became a member of The Gideons International. He is now one of the power-house advocates of distributing free Bibles to everyone – fully aware of how the Word of God and through the movement of the Holy Spirit can change people’s lives.
Now, Brother Regino Galindes, also known as “Reggie,” was the former State Vice President of the Visayas State Association, giving his life and all that he can for the glory of God alone.
