From a homeless street dweller to a builder of homes.
Leroy Lamisera spent two decades of his life as a street dweller. As a child, he was adopted and raised in a family that he cannot call his own. So he felt unloved and left home at an early age. When he got married, his wife later left him for another man. Out of despair, he engaged in vices, which led him into the streets where he got acquainted with street dwellers who taught him how to rob in order to survive. He lived a life of crime for a while, got caught and spent time in prison.
After his release, Leroy started to join scavengers who would take people’s leftovers and garbage in order to survive. It was during his scavenging days that he encountered a Christian org during one of their feeding programs. He, together with his family, was able to go to Laguna where he worked as part of a construction team. He was trained with life skills and the use of heavy equipment while being discipled in the Christian faith. He was soon assigned to a project in Malungon, Saranggani. Bringing his family with him, he was able to send his children to school.
There were times in his life when he had struggles at work and with his family that he felt the urge to go back to his former life in the streets. But through prayer, he was able to overcome these. He now has a stable job as a construction worker where he receives a regular salary with benefits. “I used to worry about my children’s future and how I can be able to send them to school. But now I am no longer afraid. I have already been a Christian for ten years, and even if I reach 60 years old, I am assured of pension from the Social Security System,” he said.
His life’s testimony shows that God loves the outcasts of society, and He will bring them into the fullness of His grace and give them a better and righteous life.