The signs were there in high school as well, when the student body elected him as spiritual vice-president of the student association. When Ramon graduated from high school, God performed a miracle by granting him a four year scholarship to study at Walla Walla College in the United States. Choosing to major in music, with a minor in chemistry, he pursued his dream, but others saw something else in him. His fellow students elected him to serve the international student association at Walla Walla College—as spiritual vice-president. But still, Ramon refused to heed God’s call in his life.

When he graduated from college, Ramon began his career in music and served as minister of music at the Central Filipino Church in Los Angeles while pursuing graduate studies in music at California State University. His choirs soon gained a reputation for excellence with performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Crystal Cathedral as well as appearances and recordings with various musical stars, including such luminaries as Stevie Wonder. Ramon’s 120-voice children’s choir toured the United States and Canada, pausing along the way to sing at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Indianapolis, Indiana.

However, the congregation he served recognized other gifts as well, and occasionally invited him to speak for their worship services. One day after one of his sermons, a doctor came up to Ramon and said she was being impressed by God to call him to the pastoral ministry. She laid the offer on the table—if he would accept the call, she and her husband, who was also a physician, would pay his way through seminary training.

Convicted of his need to fully surrender his will to God, Ramon finally accepted the call to be a pastor, but the road was not without its challenges. When he graduated from seminary, the Southern California Conference informed him there were no openings for pastors at that time. Instead of sitting around waiting for a “call,” he followed God’s lead and founded the InterValley Seventh-day Adventist Church in the foothills of Monrovia, overlooking the city of Los Angeles. The challenge of building a church “from the ground up” was an invaluable experience that taught him the value of practical discipleship in a way that his theological training never anticipated. That lesson has been the foundation of his ministry ever since.

During that time, Ramon and his wife, Rae Ann, were praying that God would open the way for her to pursue an optometry career in the United States. Through another miracle, she was accepted into the program of the Illinois College of Optometry. It was clear they would have to move to Chicago, but where would Ramon work? The Illinois Conference made it clear no openings were available. So they went down on their knees again.

While they prayed, God impressed upon the Hinsdale Seventh-day Adventist Church, the largest congregation in the Conference, the need for another pastor. It didn’t make any sense because they already had a full staff. But amazingly, when the request was presented to the Conference, it was granted and an opening was created where once there was none! God had worked yet another miracle in response to Ramon’s and Rae Ann’s faith and obedience to His call.

Ramon was serving the Hinsdale church when a call came from Mac McAllister, head elder of the First Fort Wayne Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was aware that Ramon was happy where he was and not looking to move, but he felt impressed by the providence of God to place the call anyway. After discussing the logic of the move, Ramon and Rae Ann felt it made more sense to stay where they were, but God’s ways are not always our ways.

The next morning, as Ramon was preparing to inform the Indiana Conference of his family’s decision to turn down the call, he checked his email and there at the top of the list was a piece of junk mail that had somehow made it through the filter into his mailbox. When he opened it, these words jumped out at him: “My most influential professor moved from high-paying, powerful jobs at some of the nation’s largest investment companies to teach at a small college in Indiana. He desired to seek and act on God’s will, even when it meant giving up a lot. He moved his family across country to teach and influence business students. I respect decisions like his. They go against the grain of what we’re supposed to do. They show true character and wisdom of what’s important in life.”

It was clear that God was calling once again, and this time, Ramon was ready to answer His call. Today, Pastor Ulangca serves the First Fort Wayne Seventh-day Adventist Church as a leader who is committed to helping others answer God’s call in their lives to fulfill the Gospel Commission to the world. He continues to pursue his own personal growth through a doctoral program in pastoral ministry as Rae Ann begins her optometry practice. Their two sons, Randall and Richard, are excellent students at the church school. They love this congregation and are excited about the potential God has placed within it for His glory! Time will only tell why the Lord called Pastor Ulangca to Fort Wayne, but one thing is clear—God is the Power in his life.