By Noel Serrano

Felicita M. Serrano was a faithful and fervent follower of the evangelical faith. She loved the Lord with all her heart and soul. Felicita thoroughly enjoyed being in a church service and worshipping the Lord. She often commented on the sadness that she felt deep within, when she was in Church , savoring a message and realizing that some of her children were not in attendance. She would say to herself,

"Oh, if only they were here to enjoy the presence of the Lord and get spiritually nourished" .

Felicita pushed her children to get closer to the Lord. It was a different era, as she often, pushed so hard that some of her children would rebel against her personally. She was, however, very successful in having most of her children join her in her beloved work in the Music Ministry. All three of her daughters joined her in the choir; "Echoes of Life" Two of her sons joined in later. she was so dedicated to the choir and it inspired others in the family to do the same thing.   It was interesting that Felicita asked her husband after every service, "How did the choir sound?" Felicita often hummed the singing part throughout the entire week after the selection had been sung. Felicita enjoyed learning all four voices of the choir songs. she had a particular fondness for the tenor voice, but she was able to do soprano, bass and alto.   Felicita M. Serrano declared at the end of a long, twilight tenure in the choir:

"There were times when we were singing in the Choir when our hearts were in pain due to personal experiences." "We would rejoice on the outside but our hearts were crying on the inside"

It was this dynamic that made Felicita who she was. Felicita worked as a Secretary to the choir for many long years and through the fleeting winter storms and the turbulent decade of the 1960s and 1970s, she stood firm and dedicated to this ministry. This was never unusual for this active woman of the Lord. There was a moment in time when Rev. Abelardo Berrios presented her in a service. He would often say; "Here is sister Felicita ! (emphysizing F-E-E-E-LICITA!) "she teaches, She sings!, she Preaches, she directs and she does many things for the Lord!"   Felicita M. Serrano was never a quitter. It took literally over twenty years for her to leave the Bible institute that she loved so well. she did that with some reservation and trepidation. I had asked my mother on many occasions, why did she choose to leave? She declared: " I left only when I heard from the Lord, that it was time to depart" I knew that as much as she loved teaching in the Bible institute, that she would answer to a higher calling and submitted to the Will of the Lord. This was one of her most difficult times and the future that awaited her was not yet known or felt. Felicita would endure even greater challenges that awaited her in the horizon.   As we all reflect on this 22ND year passing of this Noble woman, let us all re-examine our lives and see to it that we can contribute to the heritage of our families by maintaining the standard raised high for all families to learn from. There will always be rain and there will always be sunshine but there will never be another Felicita! May she forever rest in Peace with the Lord.