He Lost His Brother to Violence. Now He Preaches Forgiveness.

Nineteen years ago Teonelo Operio was a newly baptized Seventh-day Adventist when tragedy shook his newfound faith.

His brother was shot. For two weeks the family waited and hoped for his recovery as he remained hospitalized. But despite their hopes and prayers, his brother succumbed to his injuries.

The loss left Operio grieving and struggling to understand why such a painful experience had come so early in his Christian journey.

“Lord, do I really have to go through something like this so soon?” he recalled asking God.

At the time, their church district in the central Philippines (Southern Antique), under the Adventist church in the West Visayas region (WVC), was actively conducting prison ministry. Church volunteers had been sharing the Bible with incarcerated individuals, offering spiritual encouragement and introducing them to the hope of a new life in Jesus Christ.

After three months of Bible studies, several participants decided to be baptized.

Operio was invited to document the occasion. What appeared to be a routine assignment would become one of the most unforgettable moments of his life.

Among those preparing for baptism was the very man responsible for his brother’s death.

The encounter brought him face-to-face with someone connected to one of his most painful experiences. The man who had taken his brother away was now standing before him, preparing to publicly declare his acceptance of Jesus Christ.

In that moment he faced a deeply personal decision about how to respond.

He turned to prayer.

“Lord, may You be the one seen in me during this moment,” Operio recalled praying.

What happened next was unforgettable.

Both men broke down in tears.

Rather than turning away, Operio approached the man and embraced him. “You are now my brother in Christ,” Operio told him.

It was an extraordinary moment of reconciliation. Although the encounter could not undo his brother’s death or erase the grief his family had endured, it became a turning point in his understanding of God’s grace.

“I lost my biological brother, but through God’s grace, I found a brother in Christ,” Operio said.

A Personal Experience Becomes an Ongoing Mission

Nearly two decades later the memory of that encounter continues to influence his Christian life and commitment to prison ministry.

Together with fellow members of the Adventist church in Project 4 in Metro Manila, Operio remains involved in sharing the gospel with persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s Quezon City Jail male dormitory.

Through this outreach the congregation seeks to bring spiritual encouragement and the message of salvation to individuals living behind prison walls.

For Operio the ministry carries a meaning that extends beyond regular church outreach. Having personally experienced the pain of losing a loved one and the difficult journey toward forgiveness, he believes that no person is beyond the reach of God’s grace. His experience also reflects the purpose of Adventist prison ministry: to share the love of Jesus Christ with incarcerated individuals, encourage spiritual renewal, and remind them that their past does not have to define their future.

“This journey has taught me that God’s grace is greater than our pain, His love is greater than our hatred, and His forgiveness can reach even the most broken hearts,” Operio said. “Through Him reconciliation is possible, and lives can be transformed.”

As he remembers the anniversary of his brother’s death, he continues to carry two memories: the painful loss of someone he loved and the unexpected encounter with the man responsible. One reminds him of the grief his family endured. The other reminds him of the forgiveness he found possible through his faith in Jesus Christ.

“Today, as I remember the loss of my brother, I am also reminded of the brother God allowed me to find through the ministry of reconciliation,” he said.

The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site.