My family have been believers since 1989, but we only heard about the gospel of grace from Pastor Prince’s ministry in 2012.

For my 48th birthday this year, my youngest daughter booked a holiday to Davao, Philippines. She booked the flight and accommodation for me, my husband, my second son, herself, and her son from September 1 to 3.

Before leaving for our trip, the Holy Spirit reminded me of what Pastor Prince has been teaching in his messages—to always pray for and depend on God’s protection. I was also reminded not to take God’s protection for granted as the devil does not go on holiday. Immediately, I led my family in prayer for God’s protection.

Before embarking on the trip, we created an itinerary. We’d planned to visit a few places including the Roxas Night Market for food and shopping.

On September 2, we went to the Davao Crocodile Park, which was only a twenty-minute drive from the Roxas Night Market. After exploring the park for forty-five minutes, we asked a taxi driver about the difference between the crocodile park and our next destination, the Eden Nature Park. He said there was also a zip line there and that Eden Nature Park was much bigger.

Upon hearing that, my daughter decided to change our itinerary by cutting short our time at the crocodile park and heading straight to Eden Nature Park instead. We also decided to spend the night there instead of going to the Roxas Night Market. So we went back to our hotel room, packed some things, and enjoyed an overnight stay by a beach in the Eden Nature Park vicinity.

The following day, on September 3, I logged into my Facebook account and saw several messages from my relatives and friends. They asked if my family and I were okay. My sister told me there was a bomb explosion at the Roxas Night Market at around 10.20pm the day before. The terrorist attack had taken fourteen lives and wounded more than sixty people.

My family and I were shocked when we heard the news. I realized why we had a sudden change in our itinerary even though it added some costs to my daughter’s budget—God was protecting us. By going to Eden Nature Park (some 30 kilometers away from Roxas Night Market) and spending the night there instead, we were located much further away from the bomb blast.

My eldest son also sent me a verse proclaiming God’s protection that had been with us: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).

God had protected us from danger that night. We want to thank God for His goodness and glorify Jesus for His finished work at the cross. Also, we want to thank Pastor Prince for his messages. They have been a blessing to me and my family. May God continue to bless Pastor Prince’s family and ministry.