The Healing Journey of Sis. Bernadette “Tita Bernie” Cuevas
There are stories that move gently, and there are stories that break open the heart. The life of Sis. Bernadette “Tita Bernie” Cuevas carries both. It is a story of loss, but even more, a story of love transformed: a journey where grief did not end faith but deepened it.
Long before she was called Tita by the community, Bernie and her husband, Pinggoy, were discovering their shared mission as members of Couples for Christ. They joined their first Christian Life Program in 1985, and from that moment, their life together revolved around family, service, and faith. It was the kind of partnership rooted not just in affection, but in purpose—one that sought God’s hand in every decision.
When work took them to the province, their participation in CFC paused. “There was no Couples for Christ there yet,” she would recall years later. Still, the seed had been planted. By 1990 CFC expanded its evangelization to Camarines Norte, and a couple came knocking on their door: “We heard that you were with Couples for Christ.” That visit reawakened their call to mission. Together, they returned to serving with renewed zeal.
Then in 1992 came the day that changed everything. Pinggoy, by then a deeply transformed man of faith, was assassinated by insurgents. “It was the time he no longer carried guns, only a Bible,” Bernie shared, her voice quiet but sure. “He was so dedicated to the Lord.” His death felt impossible to understand, but it was the sudden ending of a story that seemed to just be about to begin.
For Bernie, the shock was overwhelming. “I wasn’t in my right mind,” she admits. “I wasn’t prepared for it.”
Yet, even in the darkest night, she discovered that God never leaves His people alone. “It was the community of Couples for Christ that helped us through. They were there every day—taking care of everything when I couldn’t.”
From Grief to Grace
In 1993 as her family began to heal, Bernie was invited to serve in the newly formed CFC Family Ministries. She gave a hesitant but willing yes—and as a pastoral leader for women in Singles for Christ, she guided others while quietly allowing God to guide her own heart.
Later, as her daughter joined the same ministry, Bernie transitioned to Handmaids of the Lord to continue her journey of faith. Her children, too, found their place in mission—first by joining Youth for Christ, until they became mission volunteers and eventually full-time pastoral workers.
“We all found our faith again through Couples for Christ,” she says. “Even in our pain, God called us to serve.”
Turning Work into Witnessing
Before her full-time involvement in the community, Bernie had worked as a project development officer in the Department of Health. That experience became a gift to the mission. In 1996 she helped establish CFC’s Work with the Poor program, a ministry she describes as “project development for the Lord.” She later helped build the Tekton Ministry for women’s livelihood, and the Cornerstone program to promote education for the children of the poor.
“It was still the same heart,” she says. “To serve those in need.”
In time, Bernie was called to the CFC Global Mission Center (GMC), where she handled human resources, program management, and operations. Despite leadership transitions, reorganization, and even the pandemic, her response remained steady: to pray and to persevere. “God is changing us,” she reflects. “He’s changing us for the better. He’s preparing us for a future we can’t yet see.”
Faith That Looks Forward
Even today, Tita Bernie continues to serve and dream. “I believe God will expand the work of Couples for Christ—not just physically, but even through the internet,” she says. “God wants His work to reach farther than we can imagine.”
Her story reminds us that healing is not about forgetting the past but allowing God to redeem it. Her loss became her mission; her pain, her purpose. Her journey is no longer about what was taken, but what was given. Tita Bernie is a living testament that when grief meets grace, healing multiplies.
Credits:
Written by Ara De Vero | Edited by Angeli Arellano | Photos by DM Team | Graphics by:Kelsy Labute | Layout by Jay Lucena