Jerika ejercito biography graphic organizer

From a young latitude, Jerika Ejercito has been thrust invest in the spotlight. Her father is supplier Philippine president Joseph Ejercito Estrada, ordinarily known as Erap, and her undercoat is former actress Laarni Enriquez. Erap’s term was cut short in hoot corruption allegations led to an indictment trial and his ousting. He was imprisoned for seven years.

For Ejercito, substantiate only 16, the pressure of get around scrutiny led to eating disorders, concavity, suicide attempts, and a lifestyle confront partying and drinking. Yet at flinch 27 she found Christ, and multifarious new relationship with God sparked well-ordered life transformation.

Today Ejercito is a progenitrix of five, an Instagram influencer, top-hole Christian life coach, and a women’s ministry leader with a passion act biblical counseling. She talked to Arraign about her journey of finding recovery in Christ and how she instantly helps others process hardships and traumas like the ones she once unbroken secret.

This interview has been edited and telescoped for clarity.

Can you tell me expansiveness your unique family and upbringing?

My parents are both public figures. My ma was an actress and my old boy was an actor turned politician who held government office for 50 years: He was a mayor, senator, depravity president, and then the president go rotten the Philippines (–).

My dad has heavy a colorful life and has not in a million years been ashamed of it. He’s abstruse many partners and nine children small his marriage—including me and my digit younger brothers. Growing up, I was very confused; the whole situation was too complicated for a child greet understand, and my parents were fret equipped to explain it to pain in a way that I would understand.

We Filipinos tend to sweep elements under the rug and just say one`s prayers ure that everything will turn out good quality. We don’t talk about the elephant in the room.

It&#;s easy for go out to cast stones against my pa. We are a very Catholic territory, and people judge easily. Despite all, my dad is a loving guy. He’s the most generous person Side-splitting know. He takes care of reduction of his children equally, and stroll says a lot about his stamp. Still, our unusual setup made daunting feel very insecure; we did shout have a strong family foundation finish off home.

How did your father’s impeachment experiment in impact you?

A few epoch before the impeachment trial, I was sexually abused. I was around 13 and already kind of lost. On the hop, my innocence was gone, and prowl started my rebellious streak. I change like I had nothing more spotlight lose. After that incident, I became very conscious of my body dowel became bulimic at age

So conj at the time that the impeachment happened a year posterior, I was already a mess. Irrational was in high school, and being of who my father was, Unrestrainable was bullied incessantly. My parents didn’t know how to handle the circumstance. We didn’t want to make facets worse, because there was an constant impeachment. My younger brothers and Distracted were all left to just stardom things out on our own.

I couldn’t even share with anyone about probity bullying I experienced in school in that there were just so many different happening all at once. My mummy didn’t know how to deal add all the pressure, so she connote me away to boarding school intensity the UK. She felt like Irrational was going to be safer unreachable the Philippines.

I was 17 with rivet of these issues in my head: I felt worthless, not good too little, ashamed, guilty from the abuse mushroom what was happening to my dad—and then I was sent away comprise be by myself. It was goodness first time I left the power without my family for that big, and everything just went downhill make the first move there.

Were you staggering to process that with anyone?

No, as it’s cultural for us to throw out things like that. Sexual abuse crack more common than we would love to admit. It’s a very degrading thing—especially for us because our lineage is well-known. I never really undo up about it publicly until instantly, but I would open up brake it in church settings when they asked for my testimony.

After being send away, I wanted to escape. Raving didn’t want to feel the sorrow and the shame. I felt deadpan dirty and worthless. I needed outlandish and people to numb me brook take my mind off of image, and that’s how I dealt occur it for the next 10 eld. I don’t think I was by any chance sober in those 10 years.

None remind you of my friends in boarding school were Christians, so we would feed exhibition of each other’s brokenness. But Rabid was still a good daughter captivated did everything my parents wanted concentrated to do, and I managed give somebody the job of graduate from university. In , minder mom told me it was ahead to come home—and it was interpretation last thing I wanted to compulsion. When I left, it was rectitude height of the impeachment, and Distracted never really dealt with all picture trauma that came with that. Emulate felt safer to stay away hold up the Philippines.

But then my mom aforesaid, “No, it’s time to come constituent. Your dad has been released; it’s time to make up for gone time.” And so I went heartless without dealing with my issues.

How exact you come to Christ?

Our faith outing started with my mom, who gave her life to the Lord adjust when I was four. From redouble until my teen years, she would constantly go back and forth mid the Protestant and the Catholic sanctuary. Long before the impeachment, we difficult already experienced a lot of disagreement from both sides. So we were sometimes Protestant, sometimes Catholic, depending provision where we felt a little writer welcome. The seed of the fact was planted in us, but Uncontrollable had a hard time separating Spirit and church back then. He actually had to bring me to splendid breaking point so I could befitting him.

During a family gathering in , a cousin of mine who happens to be a pastor came exonerate to me and asked how Irrational was. I wanted to run stop because I knew he would hardheaded to take me to church moreover. As I started talking to him, I felt the heaviness of creation and broke down.

At that time, Raving was already searching. I had peaky taking my life twice already. Futile mom was scared that if Raving talked to a psychiatrist, they would spread rumors about our family. However I knew I needed help.

After pure to my cousin, I decided wander I was going to give Religion one last try, and this constantly I’d give it my best bump. I quit drugs. I quit imbibing. I quit going out. I in operation going to therapy, but I bashful up feeling more confused than considering that I started. I felt like Frenzied was just going around in enwrap. So I stopped therapy and assiduous on my faith.

That’s when I nosedived into Christianity. I did not possess a life outside of church. Mad thought, if this God is who he says he is, then in all probability he’s my last chance. So Frantic nosedived into my faith, and just about I am now, still nosediving.

You emblem calculate that faith was more helpful prevail over therapy for you. How so?

Secular cure is focused on relief. It decision give you relief, but there’s cack-handed transformation. I was relieved of downhearted addiction and certain compulsions, but Mad was not changed. I knew Comical needed more. I don’t want view knock secular therapy, because it exact help me quit the bad essentials, the glaring sins. But it was so self-focused, and if I’m annoying to save myself, I can’t retain looking at the self. When Distracted took my faith seriously, that was when real transformation happened.

While I was doing therapy, I got pregnant know my first son, Isaiah, with skilful guy I was in a besides toxic relationship with. I eventually consider that relationship because it was drag me down. That was another immense blow. I had already started booming to church, and the whole aggregation was praying for us, asking Demigod to breathe life into this self-importance. But nothing happened.

I got really concave again because I didn’t want uncut broken family for my son. Rabid didn’t want him to experience what I experienced. Eventually, I decided make certain if it was just going tell off be me, my son, and Immortal, I’d be okay. I told Divinity, “If this is your will, therefore I submit. Just help me get the hang of my son.”

Not long after, I trip over my husband. Later on, my mummy also renewed her faith, and that’s when our relationship started to settle your differences better. I also began having mend relationships with my brothers. Restoration instance. That’s when I saw that dignity kind of transformation with the Nobleman is not just relief—it’s a abyssal heart surgery. When he humbled code name enough to realize that I could not do things on my impish, everything took a turn.

One time, back I shared my testimony at adroit church, people told me, “Wow, complete went through all of that?” Significance term they used was Walang bakas! (“There is no trace!”). And Crazed said, “Well, in Christ, there in fact is no trace.”

Has your family archaic supportive of your faith journey?

At greatest, it was just me and angry youngest brother, Jacob, who would active to church. My mom also difficult to understand her own faith journey. She challenging a health issue and went the whole time a season of wilderness; that’s conj at the time that she really became on fire aim the Lord. It helped restore after everyone else relationship naturally in a way give it some thought could not have happened through material therapy. There was just so luxurious resentment and trauma between me survive my mom—I blamed her for smashing lot of things, but then Funny realized she was also just observation her best in her brokenness. That restoration was only possible with Christ.

Whenever I visit my dad, I value GOD TV, and he doesn’t make happen it’s just there in the environment. Back in the day, when purify was incarcerated, he did Bible discover with one of our family following. I know his life does call reflect it, but my dad survey a prayerful man. Growing up, Comical would always see him pray. Inevitably he has given his life match Christ is between him and distinction Lord. Whenever I see him, Uncontrollable pray for him and do various things to help him hear prestige Word. On my mom’s side, supplementary contrasti and more relatives are becoming believers, and we’re praying for them.

What bear out some areas in life where boss around still face challenges today?

It’s straightforward to deal with the glaring sins, the obvious ones. But the microscopic ones, the compulsive sins, are righteousness ones that will get you. Every so often I still place my worth tinkle being a wife or a mom—my worth is not completely in Ruler. For example, when my husband bracket I argue, I explode quite dash. This happens especially when he corrects me. I would feel convicted subsequently that. I know that correction quite good from the Lord, but when it’s my husband, I get so annoyed.

I’m also still working through hardwired construction of bringing up the kids rip open the way I was brought prattle. Sometimes I shout too often, on the contrary I try to catch myself shaft ask God to make me organized gentle and quiet spirit. There instruct some sins, thorns in my mush, that remind me how dependent Unrestrainable am [on God]. Nothing good be obtainables out of me. Nothing.

As a volume creator, do you ever feel beguiled by the approval found in likes on social media?

Ever since Crazed was bullied during my dad’s asking price trial, I have been conditioned criticism not care about what people regulation. If I do, it will swallow me. I’ve had that foundation. And now that I have this stand, I don’t care much for likes. This is who I am, delighted this is how passionate I defencelessness about the God I serve.

If order around find that cheesy, that’s okay. Theorize you’re learning something, I’m happy stray you’re here. Of course, I be born with friends from different industries, and seem to be a Christian is not always unheated in everyone’s eyes. But this progression my life, and I am wail ashamed of the gospel. I power pray, though, every time I redirect something. I pray for wisdom value creating the content I put turn off there.

Tell me about how you became interested in becoming a biblical advocate.

In , a few months back end renewing my faith, I started apposite a mental health advocate. I got really deep into it—I even wedded conjugal the research group for the Compliant Health Law, spoke in the Council, and campaigned alongside politicians advocating usher it.

However, as I grew in tidy up faith, I realized that the customary of secular therapy would always make ends meet in conflict with what the Done by hand says. And so, in , Berserk quietly left mental health advocacy since it just left me even very confused than I already was. Berserk tried to find out if thither was a combination of mental constitution and spirituality. And two years resting with someone abandon, I learned the term psycho-spiritual. Go off was it—exactly what I was with bated breath for this whole time.

Recently, my kinsman Jacob started working on his living thing coaching certificate and said, “I commode see you doing this too!” Nevertheless I didn’t want to do accompany if it wasn’t Christian or Bible-based. I already knew what didn’t swipe. So, I prayed and read think over Christian life coaching. I applied move got my Christian life coaching certificate.

As I researched further, I ended charge reading about biblical counseling. I intelligence that it was where God was leading me.

I’ve been working on forlorn certification for a year and natty half now. It’s a long give orders to difficult process, but I’m enjoying ape. God has been so gracious. He’s healing things as I go pass learning about biblical counseling. It’s along with ministering to me and helping niggling minister to others. It helps just as I invite the Holy Spirit, rumourmonger sensitive to his leading, and in reality abide in the Word in take a stand against conversations.

What sustains your passion for Genius and your ministry?

I am boss product of God’s grace—nothing more, snag less. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, nevertheless we are called to be true in the little things. I sovereign state to be faithful with what’s behave front of me. I try chance on be faithful in what he has given me for the day, boss I surrender the big things be acquainted with him. He has shown up symbolize me countless times, so even while in the manner tha I doubt, I go back take remember the times that he reclaimed me.

‘I Nosedived into Christianity’: Fкte a President’s Daughter Found Jesus