Longing for Her Celestial Future

Alba Talavera had a faith that taught her family and others that goodbye is only temporary if you are in Christ.

Jesus often rebuked people for their lack of faith. I have a feeling He wouldn’t have done that to Alba Talavera.

Bernadette Cruz, Alba’s daughter and a faithful member of my church, would often tell me about her mother’s devotion to Christ and The Salvation Army. She introduced us years ago, but our greeting was quick. I saw Alba again earlier this year when she visited my church, and the elders prayed over her after she’d received a sobering cancer diagnosis.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

—Revelation 21:4

I felt like I knew a little about Alba as we gathered to pray. A longtime former Salvation Army officer with a joyful demeanor, Alba, who was 75, impressed us all with her astounding faith, positive outlook, and hopefulness about eternity. She talked of her “celestial future” not in the abstract, but as someone looking forward to a trip—and certain of her destination. I remember wishing that everyone in our congregation had as much faith as her.

The elders are used to praying with people in a variety of circumstances, but in this case, this spunky, diminutive woman actually encouraged us. She left such an impression that I found myself thinking about her words days later.

I was certain she had a message that would resonate with others going through trials and grief, but I didn’t want to intrude on her privacy. I let it go in the moment, but the Holy Spirit kept nudging me to revisit the issue. When I texted Bernadette some weeks later to ask for her mother’s number, she told me she had been thinking the same thing. This was a story that needed to be told.

Eyes fixed on Jesus

I soon met Alba at her senior living facility in Kingston, N.Y., where she regularly shared Christ with others. Right away, she let me know this: Regardless of the outcome, she said, “my hope is in Christ.”

“It’s all in God’s time,” Alba said. “If He grants me 15 more years, that’s great. If not, that’s 15 more years I’ll be with Him. That’s my outlook, and more than anything, I just want to share my faith with people.”

Alba continued, “I’m waiting for something better, something else that’s going to transpire. There is no other hope. I’m not going to go to Hell. I know that for sure.”

Doctors told Bernadette in February that Alba, diagnosed with abdominal cancer, had six months to live.

“We looked at each other, held hands, cried, and prayed because she and I are aware that this earthly life is not forever,” Alba recalled. “Knowing a possible time frame gives you a different perspective to celebrate each healthy day you are blessed with. I have an awesome list of prayer warriors and family members who are praying with me through this journey, but my most intimate moments are my solitude, daily devotions, and time spent with the Lord.”

Alba soldiered on through a chemo­therapy regimen that drained her of energy and caused painful side effects. At one point, she stopped treatments. Despite it all, including a painful hose implanted in her chest, Alba told those in her Salvation Army Bible study that her relationship with Christ was a “10 out of 10.” She spent time watching Christian television and maintained a vigorous devotional life, while sharing Christ’s love with her neighbors.

“My whole life has been serving the Lord,” she said. “Now that I may be at the end, I’m waiting. That’s the hope I give to my family and to everyone I come across. I’m trying to stay positive. Reading the Word and spending time in prayer keeps me going. Doing my devotions and the intimate times with the Lord are very fulfilling. He’s very present. The Holy Spirit is very present.”

Leaving a legacy

I was heartbroken when I heard Alba had been promoted to Glory on August 31. I texted Bernadette that her mother’s memory would live on, as well as her example as a godly Christian woman. Bernadette said Alba was a shining light for Jesus in her closing days to everyone around her.

“They’d look at her and marvel at the fact she was able to push through every step of the way, especially when she continuously hit another bump in the road,” Bernadette said. “The bottom line is ultimately they knew she was continually pointing them to Christ as her source of power and strength and her Savior. There was no denying where she stood with her faith.

“God was everything to her. He changed her life forever and she wanted to make sure people knew that. She left no doubt.”

Alba Talavera, center, with her arm around daughter Bernadette Cruz, gets together with loved ones in June 2025. Alba taught them that Jesus is the way.

Alba told her family that while we will face trouble in this world, a relation­ship with Christ is paramount, and He is preparing a place for those who believe in Him.

“She taught us all that Jesus is the only way and that’s what I’ve understood my whole life living with her and her being my mom,” Bernadette said.

Alba’s son-in-law, Jose Cruz, said Alba was a bold Christian witness wherever she went, testifying even to physicians, medical staff, and fellow patients.

“She was steadfast in her faith,” Jose said. “She always found a way to somehow bring up the Bible and Jesus Christ. It was always in the front of her mind.”

A messenger for Christ

Alba had hoped to live long enough to share the holidays with her family. She knew that this is a tough time of year for people who miss loved ones, but Alba believed it also presents opportunities to tell others about Christ’s birth and why He came—to die for the sins of the world (see “Hope in Christ,” p. 27).

“It’s the biggest time of year that we are pointed to the love of God because we’re celebrating His son’s birthday,” Alba said. “He came to die for us on the Cross, but He didn’t stay dead. He came back to life and gives us that hope of eternal life. That’s all we have to bank on.”

In all her pain, Alba clung to the words of Philippians 1:21 in her final days: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

When I asked Alba what she most looked forward to in eternity, her eyes lit up as she answered: seeing Jesus, departed loved ones, Christ’s apostles, and friends and colleagues she knew in The Salvation Army who would be waiting for her arrival.

Alba also quoted Revelation 21 and longed to go where there would be no more tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain. Most of all, she wanted a new, glorified body like Christ’s that wouldn’t fail her.

“I look forward to that,” she said. “That’s what gives me hope—that I’m not going to have all this going on physically anymore should I be taken. We go to church all these years and that’s our hope, isn’t it? If I die, I’m going to be with Jesus. I’ll be in Heaven. Jesus said that to the thief on the Cross. That’s my faith. I ask people, ‘Where is your faith?’ That’s mine.”

A Life of Faithfulness

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” —Hebrews 11:1

Alba Talavera was born near San Juan in Puerto Rico, and her family came stateside when she was 4. She was raised in Manhattan, attended a Pentecostal church, and became a teen mom in the 1960s, which didn’t go over well in her community. She thought she was the “worst of the worst” until she read the account of Jesus and the woman at the well from John 4.

“When I learned that Jesus loved this woman and didn’t cast any judgments against her, it just changed my life,” she said. “Then I went to Bible studies and prayer meetings and community worship. That’s vital to keep that going. It’s not a one-time decision. You have to feed your faith. For me, it was Christ all that time. I fell, I got picked up. I fell, I got picked up. It’s amazing to me to this day.”

She was just 17 when she started working in the finance department for The Salvation Army’s Greater New York Division and completed her high school education in night school. She knew little about The Salvation Army beyond its thrift stores as she rode the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan each day.

Alba and Bernadette in the 1970s. The two always had a close relationship. Bernadette was Alba’s first child.

An officer and fellow employee relentlessly urged Alba to attend the Brooklyn Citadel Corps, where Alba’s daughter attended Sunbeams, Sunday school, youth programs, and Star Lake Camp.

Her life took a dramatic turn when her corps officer urged her to attend the Army’s 1978 International Congress at Madison Square Garden. Alba heard the call to officer­ship, despite not totally understanding how God could use a newly divorced single mom. She yielded and entered the College for Office Training (CFOT) and was commissioned in 1980.

Alba met her second husband in her first appointment in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and entered the CFOT again in 1982, this time as a cadet-spouse.

She and her husband spent 17 years in the field doing Adult Rehabilitation Center work before the couple divorced in 2000.

From 2000 to 2023, Alba lived in Dunkirk, N.Y., still serving God as she taught in youth ministries at the local Salvation Army.

“I remained in the vicinity of my last appointment and became an employee with its school districts, which allowed me to stay connected with the youth of the community,” Alba said.

Alba’s passion was to teach children and young people about Christ.

“She always had a knack for sharing Bible stories and her faith in a unique way that would grab their attention,” said Alba’s son-in-law, Jose Cruz. “She would make it relatable to whatever was going on in the day and age.”

During the Pokemon craze, for example, she engaged young people by telling them about “a real superhero who walked on water” and performed other miracles.

“Once she grabbed their attention, they were all in, and she would hold it and mold it and set it up for the next meeting,” Jose said. “She had this gift with children. She was blessed with that. Not everyone can do that. She was just a fascinating woman.”

Alba moved to Kingston, N.Y., in 2023 to be near family. She continued working with the local schools and worshiping and serving at The Salvation Army.

“You can always serve God,” Alba said. “I love working with youth. I see myself in them, having been a single mom.”

Photos courtesy of Bernadette Cruz