Inside Story for Friday 13th of February 2026
Rene Tucaldo is chief financial officer of the 1000 Missionary Movement, whose headquarters in Silang, Philippines, were constructed with the help of a 1996 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Read more next week.
Image © Pacific Press
Little Rene liked everything about Seventh-day Adventists. In his native province in the Philippines, all rich people seemed to be Adventist. They had big rice farms and a good standard of living. Rene wanted a similar lifestyle.
One day, several Adventist children invited him to read the Bible with them. Then the son of his father’s employer, an Adventist rice farmer, invited him to Sabbath School and church.
For the first time, Rene heard about the Sabbath. It sounded logical. He also noticed that the Adventist children dressed well. He liked that they didn’t swear. He wanted to be like them.
When he was 12, he was baptized and joined the Adventist Church.
He didn’t become rich, and his life seemed to grow worse. His family despised him for his faith and stopped supporting his studies. He was forced to quit school. After four years, he had had enough. At 16, he left the church and joined his father in the rice fields of the Adventist farmer. Soon he was drinking, smoking, gambling, and eating all kinds of unclean food.
Two years passed, and a 17-year-old named Rodel knocked on the door.
“I’m a missionary,” he told Rene’s mother. “Can I come in?”
“What kind of missionary?” she asked.
“1000 Missionary Movement,” he said.
“What’s that?” she said.
“I’m a Seventh-day Adventist missionary,” he said.
“Ahh,” Mother said. “My son is an Adventist, but he has backslidden.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s sleeping.”
As a hardworking farmer, Rene was exhausted. Mother led Rodel to him.
“My friend, why have you stopped being an Adventist?” Rodel said.
Rene was surprised but made it clear that he wouldn’t return to the church.
“My family hated me as an Adventist.”
“Can I invite you to church?”
“I don’t think so. I can’t go.”
Rodel left. But a year and a half later, when Rene was 20, he returned.
“My friend, come fishing with me,” he said.
Rodel didn’t try to convince Rene to go to church. He simply befriended him. They went fishing together. After a while, Rene found himself back in church on Sabbaths.
