Marly was born in Manila, Philippines, and eventually moved to the US at the age of four. She grew up in Southern California and was raised in a pretty strict Christian household. At a young age, Marly held a strong belief in God’s existence, but her experience of Christianity focused more on the fear of God than the love of God. In most aspects of her life (faith, family, and school), the concept of love and acceptance felt dependent on her performance.

While Marly’s faith in Jesus wavered many times throughout her formative years, the Lord remained faithful to her. After high school, she began attending UC Santa Barbara as a Global Studies and Linguistics major. Despite the excitement of attending school in such a beautiful location, Marly found herself in a very dark season of life—deeply lacking in community, direction, and hope. She reached a very low point during a chaotic, party-filled weekend…

…then, one week later, she was invited by her Bible study leaders to a winter retreat hosted by Cru. It was there that God met Marly in her sadness and gave her a loving wake-up call. “Choose me, or choose the world. But you can’t have both.” The immeasurable weight of Christ’s love and sacrifice brought so much peace and freedom. It was this moment that compelled Marly to fully commit to walking with the Lord alongside a strong community of believers.

A lot of life has happened since then—tragic loss and joyful victories—but God has remained faithful. Marly joined Reality LA in 2013 and has loved serving with the Kids Ministry team. She met her husband, JP, through this church, and they live happily in the Valley with their dog Zorro. Marly enjoys filling her home with far too many plants, going outdoors, eating good food, and drinking strong cups of tea.