Meet our Pastor's Wife: Marie Jean Mercado Pagunsan

She was born in Iligan City, Philippines to a very devout Catholic family. She graduated her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing in 1994 and loved every minute of being a nightingale. On March 1996, she applied as a volunteer nurse at Iligan Medical Center and during her orientation, she met the dashing and highly intelligent Chaplain, Junnie Ree Pagunsan who was in charge of orientation. That moment changed her life forever. She knew then that he was going to be the one and although she knew that her being a non-Adventist and his being a non-Catholic would bring a lot of challenges and hindrances to their relationship within the denomination and among their families, both were determined to find a way for love to prevail. Six months later, against all odds, they got married at a civil ceremony in September 17, 1996. But God is so good and three beautiful children followed:Jan Mikhail, Neil Owen and Shanele Aira 'Aya'.

In the year 2000 Junnie Ree left for California while she stayed behind with the children. Without her husband, the responsibilities of bringing up her children as Adventists with her devout Catholic family was challenging. Four years later, they joined him and she is now employed at VCU Health System. She used to work at the Orthopedics Units where she was given the Flamingo Award, a special award given to a nurse for excellent service. Recently, she was also given a special award at the Bone Marrow Transplant Department in recognition for excellence in nursing care as recommended by her patients to her superiors. (This was shared by her spouse without her knowledge).

This year in February, during the annual Renewal of Vows ceremony that our church, Jean and her husband were able to say their vows the way they dreamed of - and in the presence of their three lovely children and the whole church family.

Her favorite text in the Bible is found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Her favorite woman in the Bible: A Bleeding Woman of Faith. From her own words: I always love the story of the woman who was bleeding for 12 years, undiagnosed, shunned by society, exhausted and weak from anemia, yet courageous enough to walk for miles to follow Jesus.The Law forbids her, a Canaanite to touch a Jew or anyone for that matter because she was bleeding and sick. She was considered an outcast from society. But she was determined to do something. As Jesus walked by, this woman was overwhelmed by faith, reached out her hand, and touched His robe as He walked by. The Bible says, "Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." (Mark 5:29).She had the greatest faith that if only she could touch the hem of His garment, she will be well. As a woman of God, I want to have that great faith like hers. I know that in our lives, God deals with us in different ways. But we have to intentionally touch God as we tell him all our worries and cares and let him know how much we need Him. I know fully well that our God hears even the deafening silence of a humble spirit or even in the midst of the raging crowd of prayers thrown at Him. I firmly believed that my act of faith, my act of worship, my soul thirsty for Him to fill, all my cares and problems will never go unnoticed. My sins will be blotted out and He will give me a fresh start; I just have to come to Him just as I am BROKEN.

According to Pastor Junnie, as a mother, Jean is a loving mother whose number one concern is her children. Although exhausted from her night duties at the hospital, she never hesitates to ask how they are, what they're doing and what their needs are. She spends a lot of time with them during her waking hours. Family time is of utmost importance and she is a strict observer of the Sabbath. Preparation for the Sabbath takes precedence on Friday afternoons. The house cleaned, meals prepared and hearts ready for the Sabbath. She also enjoys getting together with other families on weekends for socializing knowing the importance of a living a well-balanced family life. She assumes leadership roles at Filipino "get-togethers", making sure that Filipino children do not forget their heritage and where they came from. As a woman of God, she wants to be an example to her children that if you have that great faith in God, nothing is impossible. Believing on Him completely is an attribute worth emulating.