From Trauma to Triumph: A Daughter Restored by the Father’s Love

The story of Aillennette Joy Marata as told to Star Maglajos

A Story of Redemption

Some testimonies whisper of God’s faithfulness. Others rise like a trumpet blast, declaring that what the enemy meant for destruction, God can rewrite for glory.

Aillennette Joy Marata, lovingly called “Ai-ai,” once ran and played within the church building, her laughter echoing through neatly arranged monoblock chairs. She grew up in a home of pastors. The church was not just where she worshiped—it was home.

Ai-ai with her parents

She knew the songs. She memorized Bible verses. She raised her small hands during worship, eyes closed, heart sincere though still childlike in understanding.

Then came the day that changed everything.

Her parents had close friendships with fellow ministers—men they prayed with, ate with, and trusted. One of those men began offering her candy.

“Come,” the old man would say gently. “I have something for you downstairs.”

The basement smelled damp. Concrete walls. Sometimes he handed her sweets—sometimes a few bills or coins.

And then, betrayal.

The first time, she did not fully understand what was happening. She froze. Her small hands trembled.

“If you tell anyone,” he whispered sharply one time, his voice no longer gentle, “I will kill your parents.”

The words sank deeper than the violence itself.

It happened again. And again. Not by a stranger in a dark alley—but by an old man who preached from a pulpit. A man she was taught to honor.

When her parents discovered the truth, grief erupted in their home. Her father wept. Her mother held her tightly, as if she could shield her from what had already been done.

They pursued justice. Legal action was filed. Medical examinations followed. Ai-ai, still a child, missed half-days of school to endure hospital visits and investigations. It was an experience no child should have to go through.

Each day, there was a knock on their door.

The offender’s children stood outside.

“Please,” they begged. “Don’t continue the case. It will destroy our family. Everyone knows us.”

Shame pressed in from all sides.

Then one day, a close friend of her father—also a pastor’s child—sat in their living room. His voice was calm but heavy.

“Think of the man’s testimony,” he said. “Think of the church.”

The room fell silent.

Eventually, her parents withdrew the case. Justice felt unfinished. The wound deepened.

As if that were not enough, in later years, Ai-ai experienced additional physical abuse from other individuals in different situations—some even leaders in the church. The places meant to be safe became places of confusion.

Soon after, their family left their former church and transferred to another church.

But though she changed churches, the trauma followed her.

The Mask of Strength

Ai-ai did not collapse outwardly. She adapted. If vulnerability had led to harm, then strength would become her shield.

She liked her hair shorter. She wore loose shirts and baggy pants. A cap almost always covered her head. She learned to ride a motorcycle confidently, hauling heavy loads across rough roads. Dust, speed, strength—it felt safer than softness.

                                                                                                                                                                              Dust, speed, strength

Inside, confusion stirred.

She found herself attracted to girls. Several “almost” relationships formed but never fully progressed. Deep within her, conviction flickered like a pilot light that refused to die.

She would lie awake at night whispering, “Lord… what is happening to me?”

Being a pastor’s child kept her rooted in church life. Surprisingly, the church did not reject her. It anchored her. Godly friendships became lifelines. There were nights of tearful confessions with trusted friends.

“I’m struggling,” she admitted once, voice shaking.

They did not condemn her. They prayed with her.

And slowly, something began to shift.

Encountering the Father’s Love

The turning point was not a conference. Not a sermon. Not even a counseling session.

It was an encounter.

During worship, as voices rose around her, she felt a whisper in her spirit—not audible, but unmistakable.

“You are Mine.”

She broke. Not because of guilt—but because of love.

For the first time, she understood God not merely as Judge or Healer—but as Father. A Father who was not distant. Not manipulative. Not threatening.

Instead, He said, “I will restore what was taken.”

When she was in high school, news came that the pastor who abused her had died.

But by then, healing had already begun. She searched her heart for hatred—but found none—only a strange, quiet surrender.

God had removed the bitterness.

In an act that startled even herself, she attended his wake. She picked up a guitar and played alongside his grandchildren in a tribute to him. As the chords rang out, she realized: God had become her justice.

Called and Capturing Light

From that place of healing, Ai-ai poured herself into ministry. She was a youth leader. A worship musician. A children’s teacher.

But one passion stood out—media ministry.

Behind a camera, she felt powerful in a different way. She captured worshippers with lifted hands. She captured tears on their cheeks. She snapped photographs of children laughing at conferences, camps.

Through her lens, broken moments became framed stories of hope.

“Maybe No One Will Pursue Me”

When friends talked about love and marriage, she smiled politely. Inside, she thought, “Maybe that’s not for me.”

She did not see herself as soft or traditionally feminine. She was practical. Independent. Strong.

After graduating from college, during another wave of identity struggle, Ai-ai prayed something bold: “Lord, if ever I marry… let it be a man who loves me the way You love me.”

The desire did not disappear. It intensified.

Unexpected Love on a Mission Trip
In 2014, Ai-ai joined a mission trip to Pangian, Malita, Davao Occidental. In the team was Kenn Stewart Aballe—“Iwat.” They were already friends; youth leaders from the same church. But something shifted on that trip.

                                                                                                                                                       Ai-ai and Iwat in their mission trip at Pangian

After a long hike under the scorching sun, everyone arrived drenched in sweat. Ai-ai grabbed a fresh shirt.

“Iwat,” she said casually, “can you stand outside to guard the door while I change?”

“Sure,” he replied. As he stood guard outside the makeshift comfort room, heart pounding unexpectedly, he stared at the trees.

“What is happening to me?” he muttered under his breath.

He quietly processed it. He started to pray about it. He went to his leaders and mentors and also to a few trusted friends, sharing the new stirrings of his heart. One day, he just had to admit it to himself: He liked her.

After that trip, Iwat became intentional with messages and calls. He did small check-ins.

“Have you eaten?”

“Did you get home safe?”

“I sent you mobile load so you could reply.”

Love began quietly—in the middle of missions.

A Patient Pursuit

When he confessed his feelings, she laughed.

“You? Like me? Stop joking.”

He was admired and handsome and three years younger. She treated him like a brother and a friend.

But he did not retreat. He served. Waited. Respected boundaries. Sought mentors. Honored church leadership.

More than four years passed. She prayed. He stayed.

Finally, on December 29, 2018, they became a couple.

Healing Within the Relationship

Love did not erase trauma overnight. There were misunderstandings. Trust walls. Silent battlesin her mind.

One evening, trembling, Ai-ai told him everything— the basement, the threats, the confusion,the identity struggle.

Silence filled the room.

Iwat could have walked away in disappointment. That was what she was expecting him to do, and Ai-ai prepared her heart for that. Then she saw tears in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry you went through that,” he said softly. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

He did not withdraw.

He leaned closer.

From that moment, she saw something deeper than romance. She saw Christ reflected in human form—patient, steady, covenantal.

A Covenant Sealed in God’s Presence
On August 30, 2020, Iwat brought her to a prayer mountain. Just the two of them. No cameras. Only God to witness.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

Ai-ai wept before answering yes. One year later, they were married on that same prayer mountain. Their first kiss happened at the altar—sealed before God.

Today, five years into marriage, they are blessed with a son named Kenn Ziv. Both Iwat and Ai-ai continue serving their church as youth leaders and in media ministry.

Ai-ai, Iwat, and Kenn Ziv

Restored, Redeemed, Rewritten

Ai-ai’s story is not only about surviving trauma. It is about a Father who restores identity. It is about a man who pursued a woman with patience that mirrored Christ.

It is also about justice surrendered to God.

What trauma tried to redefine, God reclaimed. Where shame once whispered, heaven now declares: she is a daughter.

Ai-ai’s life stands as living proof that no wound is beyond God’s healing, no confusion beyond His clarity, and no past too shattered for His redemptive rewrite.

Editor’s Note: Although this story clearly shows that God can remove perpetrators of evil from this earth, One Voice Magazine also believes that victims of rape and other heinous crimes should NOT be silenced to protect church leaders. There is a growing concern in the Body of Christ for leaders who have not been made accountable for their crimes. Much harm has been done to victims who were forced to remain silent for the sake of a church leader’s honor.