My Amazing Journey with God

I was born in a small village of Liloan Leyte in the Philippines. The date was the 28th day of February 1926. My father's name is Leonardo Marqueda and my mom is Christina Merca Marqueda. I was the second child in the family of twelve siblings. I received my degree of Christian Education at The Siliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines in 1951. I became a pastor in several churches, but I mainly served as a pastor at The United Church of Christ in the Philippines since 1958-1970. My loving husband, Ben Gonzales and I, has been married since 1953, and we were married in Surigao City, Philippines. We have four children, Hannah, Dorothy, Lemuel, and Samuel. We all migrated to the United States in 1971. I taught Kindergarten for four years at The Southside Baptist Church in Covington Kentucky. Then, I became an associate pastor at The Chicago Temple Methodist church in Chicago, Illinois in 1975. While I was at the Chicago Temple, I became the pastor of the "Filipino Mabuhay Fellowship" congregation for three years. Thereafter, I became the chaplain at The Bethany Nursing Center in Niles, Illinois, from 1982 until 1987. And from 1988 to 1993 I served as a pastor at The Norwood Presbyterian Church in Chicago. I retired in June of 1993. Today, I am enjoying playing with my great granddaughter, Solei. She is two years old and her parents are Jamie and Stephanie. Hannah is married to Calib, and Dorothy is married to Ricky with Derick and Krystal as their kids. Lemuel's kids are Jamie, David, Christopher, and Elizabeth. During the Summertime, Ben and I are busy planting flowers and vegetables at our backyard. Presently, we all attend The Willow Creek Community Evangelical church at Hoffman Estates, Illinois every Sunday. We thank God for He has blessed us with a big family.