The night before Dominador Flores went to sleep, he was at the wheel of their L-300 van, shuttling the brethren to their drop-off stops after a complete Sabbath. He had a congenital weakness of the lungs, aggravated by years of working in Libya as an overseas contract worker. Years before, during his final leave from work abroad, we had all prayed that his reaction would be favorable regarding his wife Marissa’s baptism. Little did we know that he would become so dear to heart of the fellowship, and so much a part of it, even if he was not baptized. He was always working, as if there was no illness. Working on the farm, plying the tricycle route in his adopted hometown, Lipa City, even late into the night, to make sure his children Michael, Paola, and Kristine, had pocket money for the next day. He worked with dedication, no pretense at all, and hardly any words. On fellowship journeys that included overnight stays, he would be the first to volunteer with an elder to stay awake all night, as he said, "Better be cautious. We are in enemy territory." He told no one he wanted to volunteer, but always turned up wherever help was needed most. Assisting with hall preparations at the Feast, organizing packing of equipment (mildly complaining that the women didn't have coordination in stacking things in the van!), bending thick wire into hooks, inventing a way to attach flower poseys directly onto a trellis in the Feast service hall. During Passover observance on their farm, he was always the one depended on to keep the stoked fires burning. Prohibited from carrying heavy loads, he was even the one who, two months ago, piled audio equipment and matched sound cables for the Deboma-Ocampo wedding. He accompanied his family regularly on the Sabbath and in recent months even came earlier to help out at services. Only later, we found out he had an identical twin, and sisters in La Union and Pangasinan. Meeting his family and his identical twin, Diosdado, was a revelation and a great comfort. As the presiding elder dwelt on the truth about death, we once again remembered, (for how easily in life we often forget), that the day is coming when death will be defeated, and and Manong Ador will rise up in the resurrection whole and well.
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