“When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars
which Thou ordaineth, What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him? - Psalm 8: 3-4.
Samuel Cordero Ada was born on November 2, 1940 in Bauan, Batangas. He is the 7th of the eight sons and daughters of Felipe Ada and Maria Teresa Cordero-Ada.
Sammy was a very kind and patient person even in his childhood. He was obedient to his parents and older brothers and sisters. One time his older brother Jose invited him to work in Taal, Batangas to shell out gunpowder from unused Japanese bullets. One day, a spark of fire ignited the mound of gunpowder in front of him. It burnt his body. As Dr. Lauro Arreglado treated him, Sammy calmly endured the pain -- only the sound of “tsk, tsk, tsk” could be heard – no wailing nor groaning. Through God’s goodness and loving care, Sammy was healed.
Sammy manifested the spiritual gift of leadership and creativity when he was the Youth Leader at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bauan. To motivate the church members to read the whole Bible, he designed a chart. He listed all the names of the church members on the left-hand side and on the top he listed names of the books of the Bible. He drew lines horizontally under the names of the members to the side of the paper. He did the vertical lines for the names of the books of the Bible. Those intersecting lines formed squares. Whenever a church member had finished reading any book of the Bible, he could color the square with the color of his choice. Sammy’s strategy worked and many church members finished reading the whole Bible!
Sammy was also an artist-- not only on paper, but also on food. He used to make “nilupak na saging” in various colors: yellow, green and violet.
His pursuit of higher education led him to Mountain View College in Bukidnon because it offered a good self-supporting program for students. He enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy of Religion course to become a pastor because he said “the Lord saved me from death in that accident in Taal”.
When his older brother Jose landed a good job as an accountant of the then prestigious Republic Bank in Escolta, Manila, he sponsored the schooling of Sammy as he had promised and because he felt he had a part in the accident when he recruited him to work in Taal. From Mountain View College, Sammy transferred to Philippine Union College in Baesa, Caloocan City, now known as Adventist University of the Philippines in Silang, Cavite.
Like his mother, Maria Teresa Cordero-Ada, he excelled in Mathematics and Accounting. At the end of one semester, Mr. Villanueva announced to the class, “For many years that I have been teaching Accounting only Samuel Ada got a grade of ‘A’!”
As a student in PUC, Sammy was Vice- President for Religious Activities of the Student Association. He was a member of the renowned Ambassadors Choir conducted by Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal, where he sang bass. Because of its fame, a Hong Kong organization invited the Ambassadors Choir to give a concert in Hong Kong. Sammy enjoyed the concert tour as it was his first time to travel outside the country. He obtained his diploma of Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy of Religion in 1965.
He served in South Central Luzon Mission as Ministerial worker in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Oriental & Occidental Mindoro, and Quezon. He met the love of his life when he was assigned in Oriental Mindoro. On November 17, 1969 , Samuel Ada and Marlyn Famisaran were united in Holy Matrimony at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro. Elder Joseph Ray Bailey, Ministerial Secretary of the North Philippine Union Mission, officiated the wedding ceremony. Their union as husband and wife produced three responsible children – Rhodney or “Jojo”, as principal of Bangkok Adventist International School; Welmar or “Bong”, as nurse in Adventist Health - Hanford; and Myla Joy, as Referral Associate at Adventist Health-Hanford.
He was ordained into the ministry in 1970. Later, he worked as Director of the Youth and Sabbath School Departments of the South-Central Luzon Mission.
Pastor Ada also served in the North Philippine Union Mission (now Conference) as Director for Youth and NSO, Health & Temperance and Voice of Prophecy Director and Radio Speaker for 11 years.
In 1988, he was elected as Executive Secretary of South-Central Luzon Mission, a position he held until 1994. From 1994 to 1997 he was Associate Director of the 1000 Missionary Movement in Silang, Cavite. After his stint with the 1000 Missionary Movement, he joyfully served South Occidental Mindoro 1 District for two years and finally ended his dedicated service to the Lord’s work in Metro Batangas District.
After his retirement from the organized work in the Philippines, Pr. Sammy & Marlyn moved to the United States of America. In 2002 he became Church Pastor of Tidewater SDA Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia until his retirement in September 2014. From Virginia, Sammy moved to Hanford, California where he served as a church elder of Armona Seventh-day Adventist Church until the time of his death.
Sammy and Marlyn celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on December 29, 2019 at the Lipa Adventist Academy in Bugtong Lipa City. Their children, daughters-in law, and grandchildren are living witnesses to the enduring love their parents shared and are forever grateful for the legacy of their Team Ministry.
On December 2014, three months after his second retirement as church pastor of Tidewater Seventh-day Adventist in Virginia Beach, he was diagnosed with the “Big C”. Right away he underwent surgery and treatment. In 2017, his doctors were ready to give up on him. The family alerted Pastors Rudy Almonte and Abel Cordero who rushed to Hanford and anointed him. A few weeks following the anointing, he slowly recovered and was able to continue treatment until mid-2019. Thus, he was able to travel to the Philippines on December 2019 and celebrate with family, former co-workers, and friends their Golden Wedding Anniversary.
As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die…” In God’s time, Pastor Sammy lost his battle with colon cancer on February 20, 2020 at 1:20pm surrounded by his family. A few minutes before he breathed his last breath, Pastor Abel Cordero committed him to the Lord through prayer. Pastor Sammy’s last few words – “uuwi na ako, uuwi na ako – thank you!” reflects his longing for that heavenly home promised in John 14: 2, 3.
He is survived by his loving wife, Marlyn Famisaran-Ada; two sons - Jojo and Bong and only daughter, Myla Joy; two daughters-in-law – Maricel and Bevan; five grandchildren - Rhynth Marc, Abigail Ashley, Shawn Jerry, Morgan Brynn and Sam Bryleigh. They are grieving now, but not without hope. They look forward to the resurrection morning when Jesus comes to call His children home. What a day that will be!
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18