Here's a profile I wrote for the Ordination's souvenir program. I feel happy, and honored that SCLC requested me to write this for him.... :)
JOSHUA ECAL CASTILLO
His most cherished dream is to become a medical doctor. But some twist
of fate and circumstances made him to walk the road less travelled.
Joshua Ecal-Castillo was born on September 24, 1970 in Catarman,
Northern Samar. He is the eldest child of Ricardo Ariola Castillo (deceased)
and Remedios Cuanico-Ecal. He was not
born in a Seventh-day Adventist family but he was baptized at the early age of
seven together with his father. They came to know the faith through an
evangelistic crusade. The rest of his
siblings were baptized in the years that followed, while his mother who comes
from a devout Jehovah’s Witnesses family was the last to be converted.
He finished elementary in Tabacuhan, Elementary School in Olongapo, and
then graduated in high school as member of the pioneer batch of Central Luzon
Adventist Academy in Bataan. He first
came to Philippine Union College (now AUP) in 1987 and took BS in Medical
Technology while working in the school’s farm department. After a year, he was asked to come home and
stop schooling.
He was out-of-school for three years.
Though it may seem that it was a meaningless period of his life, God
must have used this “idle” opportunity to make him realize what He really
intends him to do. Through his father’s
encouragement, he reluctantly joined the summer canvassing ministry in their
place. During this time of meeting other people, and sharing the printed pages, he said-- “I’ve realized
that most people are afflicted not with physical ailments but with spiritual
maladies, thus the world needs more pastors than doctors.”
In 1990, he came back to PUC (AUP) to pursue Theology.
When he finished in 1995, he chose to work in South Central Luzon
Conference as a Literature Evangelist. From 1998-2011, he went to all provinces
and to almost every place in the SCLC territory serving in various capacities
as teacher, evangelism assistant, church pastor, and district pastor. His first work assignment as a regular-denominational
worker was in Lubang Island. Like the Apostle Paul, he was so filled with
idealism and fervency in fulfilling his mission to such extent that getting
married was out of his plan. But God had
a better plan.
In 2011, he met, courted, and married Ms Sheryll Ann Manese who works
as Guidance Counselor in AUP Academy.
After their wedding, he was moved from Southern Quezon 1 where he served
as district leader for three years, to Eastern Batangas 2. On February 25, 2012, this newly married
couple is blessed with a bouncing baby boy Johann Josh who is now nine months
old, and who continues to be the couple’s unfailing source of inspiration, and
pure joy. On June 2012, he was called to
transfer to Central Luzon Conference, where he now serves as Pasay City
Adventist Academy’s school chaplain, and Bible Teacher.
His life has obviously gone through a lot of unexpected twists and
turns – from his dream of becoming a doctor to fulfilling a mission as a
pastor, from leaving south to moving north, from being joyfully single (for the
longest time) to being happily married (and unexpectedly having a child), from
CLC to SCLC to CLC again –through all these, the one thing that remains
unflinching is his love for God and His work. And so for him – his heart
resonates the words in Joshua 24:15 “As
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ” whenever, wherever, whatever!
