Binalikan ng Queen of Soul na si Jaya ang nangyaring pagkasunog ng bahay na tinitirhan nila sa Washington D.C. noong August 6, 2022.
Read: Jaya’s house in the U.S. burned to the ground: “But we are all safe.”
Lahad niya, “August 6 was Sabrina’s [Jaya’s daughter] 16th birthday. I was driving an hour and a half from the airport to the house, coming home from a gig in Texas.
“Pag-uwi namin, sabi ng asawa ko na there’s a surprise at home so we went in at around 4:30 in the afternoon.
“Pagdating namin, nakita namin yung birthday balloons and we had pictures. I put my bag down.
"I didn’t even go to the room and, all of a sudden, the house burned. It was burning from downstairs.
“It was an electrical issue and, thank God, we had people around the neighborhood helping us. We survived it.”
Natatandaan pa raw ni Jaya ang lahat ng pangyayari, pati ang lahat ng mga taong tumulong sa kanila.
“We are in a church here where I serve as worship singer and my husband serves as a security man.
“'Yan ang mga tao na tumulong sa amin. The church gave us something, a friend put up GoFundMe.
"So, whatever we actually earned, parang ibinalik din namin sa mga may kailangan.
"I won’t elaborate anymore but that’s kind of what happened, and God just absolutely restored us."
Inilahad ni Jaya ang pangyayari nang humarap siya sa mga miyembro ng entertainment writers sa digital media conference ng 3 Divas nitong Martes ng tanghali, October 18, 2022.
Ang 3 Divas ang concert nina Jaya, Kuh Ledesma, at Pops Fernandez sa November 12 sa Fantasy Springs Resort Casino sa Coachella Valley, California.
Maipagmamalaki nilang sila ang mga kauna-unahang Pilipino na magtatanghal sa naturang venue.
Ang 3 Divas ang isa sa mga biyayang natanggap ni Jaya mula nang masunugan sila ng tahanan.
NEW HOME
Ilang araw lamang ang nakalilipas pagkatapos nilang masunugan ay nakahanap agad ng malilipatang bahay sina Jaya.
Read: Jaya, family find new home a week after their house burned down in U.S.
Lahad niya, “Wala pa yatang ilang days, we found a house that was for sale, months before.
"Yung house na 'to is actually biglang naging for rent. And the realtor told us, because he’s Christian also, told us na, ‘Hey, it’s ready for you anytime.’
“Parang, 'Ha? Akala ko mga one year pa tayo bago maka-recover?'
"We were blessed so much more. Ang dami kong naging shows.
“Pagdating ko dito ng July 2021, non-stop na from November onwards.
"I don’t know what that was all about, maybe nasabik ang mga tao, but we recovered quite quickly."
BAYANIHAN
Napangiti si Jaya nang sabihin nitong may biglaang bayanihan na nangyari nang masunugan sila ng tahanan.
Pero higit sa lahat, ang Panginoong Diyos ang kanilang pinasasalamatan nang lubusan dahil mabilis nilang nalampasan ang pagsubok na pinagdaanan.
Saad ni Jaya, “We thanked everyone that helped us out, financially, mga letter, people gave us things, mga kaldero, I mean, literal, nagkaroon ng bayanihan dito sa nangyari.
“But I think, for whatever it’s worth, it really put our family to the test noon pa. And when the fire happened, we went through the fire with no glitch because God was present in our lives already.
“We knew exactly why He had to do that in a hindsight. Nakita namin yung purpose, to show people, I think, not to worry. Building lang ‘yan, hindi nga siya natupok.
“Ang weird nung fire, ang weird. Hindi kami nasugatan.
“We even recovered clothes. I had clothes na na-recover ko, costumes, kasi alam ni Lord, kuripot ako minsan. Ang mahal-mahal ng damit, di ba? I was able to retrieve, naglaba kami.
“Now it’s October, we’re facing fall [season], and all I can say is glory talaga to God.”