For nearly six years, Dr. Manuel [man-well] Bellosillo [belo-sil-oh] served as a medical missionary at Buea (boo-ya) Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in the African country of Cameroon.

Dr. Bellosillo and his wife, Elma, were just months from completing their term of service. Those six years at Buea were only part of a 25-year mission service career for Dr. Bellosillo.

“Everytime we asked for help, he was ready to help this person, to help this hospital. He was always a dedicated Doctor.”

Dr. Bellosillo began his medical career in Calbayog [cal-bay-og] City and later in Palawan [pal-AH-win] in the Philippines. Soon after being confirmed as a certified family physician, he and his family accepted a call to Africa.

They served for 11 years at Yuka [yoo-kuh] Adventist Hospital in a remote area some 550 miles or 990 kilometers east of Lusaka [loo-sah-kah], Zambia’s capital. For a time, he was the only doctor at the hospital and therefore on call around the clock. The call to mission service was a way of life for Manuel and Elma.

From Zambia, they moved to Kanye Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in Botswana, then, for the next five years they served at Scheer [sheer] Memorial Hospital in Nepal. From Nepal they journeyed back to Africa to serve at Batouri [bat-oor-ee] Adventist Hospital in Cameroon before moving to Buea Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in 2014.

Regardless of where he served, Dr. Bellosillo would encourage his patients to read the Bible so they could be prepared for Jesus’ soon coming. In addition, he served as a church elder and a Sabbath School teacher as well as organizing outreach programs in various countries.

In early May, 2020, Dr. Bellosillo contracted malaria, and tests later showed he also had contracted COVID-19. On June 17, 2020, Dr. Manual Bellosillo fell asleep in Jesus. He was the first active international missionary for the Seventh-day Adventist church to succumb to the pandemic sweeping the world.

Like many Adventist missionaries, Dr. Bellosillo was serving far from his homeland and family because he had answered Jesus’ call by saying, “I Will Go.”

Dr. Bellosillo leaves two daughters, , both physicians at Palawan Adventist Hospital, and a son, , a laboratory scientist.

As we know all too well, COVID-19 has killed millions. And we have also lost many Adventist believers and church workers--our colleagues in mission--to the pandemic.

Like Dr. Bellosillo, these dedicated workers fell in the line of duty carrying a message of hope to a dying world—a message of hope in His soon return.

Let us remember…

that God leaves us on earth

to encounter storms and conflicts,

to perfect Christian character,

to become better acquainted with God our Father

and Christ our Elder Brother,

and to do work for the Master

in winning many souls to Christ,

that with glad heart we may hear the words,

“Well done, good and faithful servant;

enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

(Ellen White, The Review and Herald, October 25, 1881; ChS 274.3)