Bobong Torralba
Member Profile
Karl P. Torralba “Bobong”
Baritone
I was raised a Catholic by my grandmother and my mother’s siblings. When I was 11, our neighbor invited me to attend a home bible study. The people there told stories from the Bible, sang praise songs, and uttered prayers straight from the heart. Deep down I was touched. Without my family knowing, I began to attend my neighbor’s church every Sunday, where I heard and learned more about the Bible and Jesus Christ. I learned to put my trust in Jesus, and slowly I began to change. My fears were gone. I stopped lying. I didn’t talk back to grandma. I really had a peace of mind and happiness in my heart because I knew that I was saved. When my folks learned that I was going to church with our neighbor, they got mad and ordered me to stop going to that church. Otherwise, they will not send me to school anymore. I had no choice but to follow them.
As the years went by, I continued to hunger for the truth about God. I tried to be contented in the Catholic religion and became active in our church’s choir ministry for more than ten years. But I was still confused. The good things that I learned from the Bible when I was 11 slowly faded away. Sin became routine in my life. I had a vile tongue, and I regularly lied to boost my self esteem. I embraced homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle, accepting it as natural. At the back of my mind I knew it was not the right thing to do, but I continued sinning. And yet I longed for the true happiness and peace of mind that I felt many years ago when I walked with the Lord. I was lost, and didn’t know who to turn to or who could help me straighten out my life.
I had been a member of The Himig Singers in 1993 but I drifted away after a couple of years. When the group came back after their Canadian tour last year, I approached kuya Bong and asked to join the Himig Gospel Singers. Little did I know that God was orchestrating the answer to my prayers! I was interviewed by Berny and Stephanie and they shared the good news of God’s love for me! The Lord renewed my faith and I recommitted myself to Jesus last January 11, 2007. From then on, I have striven by God’s grace to become faithful and worthy of God’s love and promise. Life is much easier now than before, for now I have Jesus to lean on and a group that will guide me to hold on in faith.
