by Cyrus A. Natividad
Pastor Dumdum is a passionate evangelist in God’s vineyard.
On September 1, 2019, Sunday at about 3:30 pm, Rev. Tranquilino Dumdum was on his way home to Iloilo City from Concepcion where he preached at Brgy. Puntalis Baptist Church. He met an accident on a highway in Brgy. Santiago, Barotac Viejo. A wayward delivery man unexpectedly took over the lane, with his tricycle fastened to an iron grill pigpen, hitting Pastor Dumdum’s motorcycle.
The sudden impact threw Pastor Dumdum about two meters away; his motorcycle crumpled with his broken protective headgear. He realized that his kneecap was also broken.
He came back shortly to his consciousness with an unbearable pain felt in his leg and his body trembled. “But my spirit was unbroken”, he said. “I called on God, then my wife, relatives, and friends whose phones were out of signal. Bands of people were coming as bystanders quickly pulled me off the road. “No!” I said to one of the first aiders, “Don’t pull my legs.” I used to be a first-aider, so I got to lecture them at that fleeting moment with what has to be done first with my broken leg,” Dumdum recalls.
His church members, fellow pastors, and Centralian friends were at the Iloilo Mission Hospital in a short while. “God sent me His provision; I never looked at my hospital bill, I didn’t see the amount. I only saw the hearts of Christians and Centralians who were with me during that time of pain.” Help came pouring in from a lot of people whom Pastor Dumdum had previously helped, and from churches, he had served before.
“There were repeatedly some deep moments of regrets. A desperate thought was creeping in my mind. I thought I will end my life”, he said. “I recall a moment when I was lying on the road, waiting for the ambulance to come, and really surmised later that the Lord has enrolled me in a very difficult course of life. I believe that He would sustain me in this course, and I will be strengthened in the higher calling for God’s mission. I am reminded of Christ on the cross,” Pastor Dumdum reiterated. “I have a new lease in life now and I will be stronger than ever”, he added.
To Pastor Dumdum, “every adversity has a corresponding opportunity that comes to every man.” “God is there and He will provide me with everything I need,” he said. He is thankful for coming back gradually with a normal condition, eager to work for the Lord again.
The essence of what happened to me, Pastor Dumdum said is an insight that “Patience is not about how long I can wait, but with what kind of attitude I have while waiting.”
Pastor Dumdum is a pioneering minister of the Puntalis Baptist Church in Concepcion. According to him, the construction of Puntalis Church was funded by ‘Cast Thy Bread International’ Agency of Billy Graham in Amsterdam. Pastor Dumdum also said that he personally received the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Dollars from Billy Graham.
Pastor Tranquilino has been instrumental in the development and growth of other Churches, such as Toboso Evangelical Church in the Municipality of Toboso, Negros Occidental. The Church was founded by his father, Inocencio Dogomeo Dumdum and his mother Rosa Gantalao Mahilum. Inocencio was the first councilor of the Municipality of Toboso.
He is happily married to Josephine Galon who is also a Pastor and a College of Education Graduate. They have four children: Soula Dumdum Sanchez, Dorim Greg Dumdum, Rai Dumdum Espino and David Dumdum. All of their children are Centralians. He and his wife are residing in Zarraga, Iloilo.
Pastor Dumdum was born in Toboso on July 27, 1955. He studied in the CPU College of Theology from 1972 to 1974 and served as Pastor since 1977.