It was a Saturday night in Cebu, Philippines when Tania Delinila a freshman from majoring in graphic design, faced a challenge that tested her faith and testimony in Christ. Her father was away for work, and she was tasked to buy a list of things they needed. Finding out her family only had less than a dollar left, Delinila worried if they could attend church the next day and have the groceries they needed to get by.
Delinila’s mother urged her to buy the things they needed and said they would find a way to go to church the next day. Delinila started to pray as she headed to the small store in their neighborhood and proceeded to buy charcoal. She noticed how the prices had changed and became anxious because she still needed to buy food for her family.
In the middle of it all, she heard a small voice telling her to continue buying the things they needed. Delinila was about to pay for the diapers, water and sardines when she felt a lump in her pocket. She noticed she had five extra 20 peso bills. It was enough to pay for the fare for church in the morning.
How they found her story
In Delinila’s Young Women’s class, in 2012, they were asked to share a valuable experience that happened during the past week. She decided to talk about what happened to her the night before.
“Coincidentally there were people from Utah who came to our stake because they wanted to write a story in the Liahona about the youth from the Philippines,” recalled Delinila.
“At that time, our stake had five wards, and each ward had a representative. The experience was still fresh and my young women leaders recommended me, so we had an interview,” Delinila said.
The writers went back to the United States, and Delinila later discovered she got featured in the Liahona. She shared how the writers came back shortly because they decided to make a video about her experience.
A few months after the video, “Pure and Simple Faith,” was published online, a fellow Filipina living in the United States reached out to her family. She recalled not knowing the person but because the woman knew a member in her ward she was able to reach out. Delinila shared, “She wanted to help so she bought us groceries. That was a big blessing.”
It did not occur to Delinila how the video would reach people from different parts of the world. “I guess I wasn’t really tech savvy. Back then, I didn’t really use Facebook, and I didn’t understand how YouTube worked. I guess it dawned on me more when I served my mission and people would recognize me from the video. It didn’t hit right away,” she said.
Recalling when she watched the video, Sierie Caduada, a freshman from the Philippines studying psychology, said she found out Delinila was the girl in the video and in the same mission as her. “We were talking about it in the class, and she was very quiet about it. She did not want to tell anyone. Eventually my trainer told me, and then we watched her video,” Caduada said.
Caduada said, “I was surprised and amazed at the same time because I remember the story when it was first shown a couple of years back. That story of hers helped me [because] it was faith promoting and faith building.”
The desire to attend college
A few months before Delinila came back from her service in the Philippines Cauayan Mission, she and her family started discussing her desire to go to college.
She shared, “I wasn’t sure if I could go to college, but my parents didn’t want me to worry. They told me everything’s okay.”
However, when Delinila finished her mission, she soon realized she could not go to college due to financial constraints. Delinila said initially she “was really disappointed. I thought I gave my best during my mission. [I thought], ‘Okay, this is my reward. I can’t go to college. That’s the only thing I want to happen next in my life.’”
On May 1, 2017, just a few days after coming back from her mission, Delinila found herself crying after looking at different scholarships and colleges.
“I knew I couldn’t go to a university so I was looking for a state college where I could go. Then suddenly an email popped up. It was an email from the family of my companion.
“They said, ‘We saw your video, and we felt impressed to reach out to you. If you want, we can help you if you want to go to school there or if you want to go to BYU–Hawaii.’”
“While reading the email, I was just bawling inside the internet café. I said, ‘Okay, this is my chance to go to college,’” said Delinila. After finding out she had the opportunity to pursue college, she did her research on IWORK and she prepared to come to Hawaii.
Delinila’s companion, Anna Allen from Utah, recalled how Delinila mentioned she wanted to go to college after serving a mission. “I knew education was really important to her. She has done so much for me as my companion and as my friend. So my family and I were happy to help her get her foot in the door at BYUH and help her start her journey there.”
Enjoying college
When Delinila found out about the IWORK program, her application was a month late and was rejected. She reapplied again for Spring 2018 and was admitted however without the IWORK scholarship. It was during her third try when she found out she was accepted and received a scholarship as well.
She said, “It’s all in His perfect timing. If I came here earlier, I wouldn’t have met my batchmates. They are really my close friends.”
“After receiving the email from my companion’s family and after praying, I felt that confirmation that this was the place where I would continue to grow, and I’m not disappointed. It’s a great place to learn and to grow academically,” said Delinila.
During her free days, Delinila said she finds herself painting. “I’m not really good at drawing, but my favorite medium is watercolor. My roommate and my friends would always just find me inside my room [painting]. It helps when I go out, look at the beach and just notice the colors,” she shared.
Bea Suyod, a freshman from the Philippines studying accounting, said she and Delinila became close friends after the Christmas break. Suyod enjoyed talking to her and shared how trustworthy Delinila is. Suyod also said Delinila’s personality stood out to her. “She’s brave, courageous, and she does what she wants to do. She’s not afraid of trying things she likes.”
Allen shared how happy she and her family feel for Delinila. “I feel so honored my family could help Tania. I hope Tania always remembers how endless her potential is, how amazing she is, and how loved she is by so many.”
The biggest lesson Delinila said she learned was to trust in Heavenly Father’s timing. “There were so many blessings in my life I wanted right now, right away, but he kept on delaying the blessings. Looking back at those moments where I was waiting, inside I was murmuring and impatient, but a few years later, I saw those were the most defining moments of my life and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Writer: Esther Insigne