Other Photos from Korea Mission Exposure July 2006

ICPE team from four different ICPE centres around the world
Celebration of the Eucharist the the conference by different bishops and priests from different parts of the world
Time of Worship and Adoration
Praying for the Kkotongnae sisters and brothersTeaching by Patti Mansfield,participant in the Feb 1967 ‘Dusquesne Weekend’ which marked the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal.Pastor and leader in the early days of the Charismatic Renewal City of Seoul

Korea Mission Exposure and Outreach 10th – 25th July 2006

In the month of July, our team went to Korea for a short mission Exposure and Outreach. This is the third year ICPE has sent a team to organize outreaches and retreats for Catholics in Korea. ICPE’s vision for Korea is to form the Catholics to grow deeper in their relationship with God and become more effective witnesses for Christ who are there.

I had the opportunity to be a small part of this outreach at Kkottongnae. Kkottongnae, Flower Village in English is a Catholic community run by a religious congregation -brothers and sisters of Kkottongnae Sisters. They provide for the homeless and the abandoned with care and love in hope that they will realize the love of God and find peace and the children of God. The different homes in Kkottongnae cater to needy in Korea - disabled, intellectually disabled, abandoned old , homeless, the abandoned children and babies, a hospice , a school for the disabled and mentally challenged children and also a home for those with aids. Besides providing for the homeless and abandoned, there is also a university and Training Institute of love. The university provides education in social welfare and the Training Institute’s organizes programmes for youth to experience the spirit of love in Kkottongnae. (see http://www.flower-vill.com/)

During our time in Kkottongnae, we volunteered at the homes ,organized a two day retreat for the university students and a day of recollection for fulltime staff volunteers and also co-organised a three-day Holy Spirit Conference for youth from different parts of the world.

Working at the Hospice in Kkottongnae
I worked in the Hospice for the terminally ill in Kkottongnae as a volunteer for three days. During the time in the Hospice, I helped the sisters, clean the place, feed the patients, wash and change nappies, bathe and clean the patients and also to pray for them. These patients all had illnesses which are terminal and majority could not do anything by themselves and were on a life-support system to help them breathe. It was a new experience for me and God gave me graces to overcome the fears I’ve had before working at the Hospice.

Though my stint at the Hospice was very short, through this experience, I felt that God was inviting me to appreciate life and the dignity of a human. He was reminding me that every single life on this earth has dignity and He gave us this dignity. As I look at the patients who were dependent on others to feed and clean them , and whose life depended on a life-support system, I am astounded by the mystery of our life and the challenged also to appreciate my life and the dignity of others. God also showed me what compassion is and showed me how I still needed to grow in Compassion.

What impacted me the most was the dedication and love of the sisters working in the homes. I was also touched by God's love through the volunteers and the sisters, who showed me what it means to love and appreciate a human person’s life, even though they are incapable to respond with the same love.

Retreat for University Students and Volunteers.
As part of our outreach programme, we organized a two day retreat to university students and a day of recollection for fulltime staff volunteers. Our programme was aimed at refreshing and empowering the individual , providing a time for recollection and encounter with the Lord. One of the main obstacles we had during the retreat was language barrier. All our teachings, testimonies and sharings had to be translated. But despite this language barrier, God used us. It was a humbling experience for me I remember during our time of ministering, I felt very inadequate as I could not speak the language, I felt a lot of unworthiness and helplessness. So I just surrendered to God to use me and for the Holy Spirit to work through me. And God used me, through my testimony and prayer, to minister to two girls, who had later affirmed me through a translator. This was very humbling for me because although I prayed that God use me in whatever way he wants, somewhere inside me I did not really expect God to do the miracle. So it was a moment of grace for me. I realized then that I still lacked an expectant faith, that many times I pray and although I believe, I do not pray with an expectant faith.

Giving my testimony at the retreat for university students


Holy Spirit Conference for World Youth
Together the the Kkottongnae community, ICPE co-organised a Holy Spirit Conference for World Youth. The preparation for this conference began as early as Apirl this year, when our community was invited by Brother James, Superior of the Kkottongnae community to go to Korea for the outreach and conference. The main speakers for the conference were Mario Cappello, founder of ICPE, Fr Oh founder of the Kkottongnae community and leader in the Korean Charismatic Renewal Movement and Patti Mansfield who was a participant in the Feb 1967 ‘Dusquesne Weekend’ which marked the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal. She had served as a Pastor and leader in the early day of the Renewal and an author of four books. The highlights of the conference included sharings, meeting youth from Korea and other parts of the world, time of testimonies and encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Sharing a Mine entitled "Testify to Love" at the Holy Spirit Conference It was the first time seeing so many youth from different countries. We had youth from all five continents including – America, Africa, Australia and of cause Asia. What touched me most was that despite our different cultures, background and lifestyle and language .we could come together to worship God , in the Eucharist, in the time of adoration, as one in Christ. I remember there was a moment, I felt that we were all united as one body, worshiping God, and our God was a God beyond language, culture and age. I thank God for this opportunity. It was a blessed time.

Celebrating our different nationalities and cultures
Looking back and reflecting about my experiences in Korea, I cannot help but thank God. I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the Kkottongnae community and for the Kkottongnae community for their hospitality and for providing ICPE’s trip expenses. I'm very inspired by the faith and zeal of the Koreans. I believe that God is doing something great in Korea and empowering Koreans. I’m excited to see that in this part of Asia, vocations to the priesthood and religious life is booming and seminaries overflowing. As this is the third year ICPE has organized an outreach programme to Korea, I am blessed to see the fruits bore by the young adult communities which our community has reached out to. I came back from this experience refreshed by God’s mercy and compassion for his people.

Payattas Ministry

We're in full swing of our ministries here. One of the ministries which we are pioneering in the centre is Ministry to Children and an adult cell-group who live in a dumpsite called Payattas. Payatas is Manila’s largest rubbish dump site and a means of survival for some of the poorest people of Manila.It is both home and work for some 60,000 people, many of them falling victim to sickness and diseases caused by the constant burning of rubbish.
We run a weekly cell group for adults and also ministry to the children. The weekly cell group for adults has given those who come an opportunity to share their struggles and to support one another in prayer.

Having been to Payattas and meeting the people who live there, I’ve filled with gratitude and humility. I’m humbled by the faith of the people despite their living conditions and struggles to make ends meet. I realized that I can never fully understand them, their family situations and culture, their poverty is way beyond my understanding.

Long Distance Adoption programme for children in Payattas

Recently, hopeXchange(the humanitarian initiative of the ICPE mission) included a list of children in Payattas for the long distance adoption programme. This development programme aims at giving the child, the family and the community a better future. For the children in Payattas, the contributions go mainly towards providing education and financial support for a better quality of life for her family and community. Most families have no money to provide schooling for their children. Those who wish to contribute to this ministry can log on http://www.hopexchange.net/Long_Distance_Adoption.php for more information.

Prison Ministry

We’ve been assigned to various ministries for the next half a year.. I’ve been assigned to the Prison ministry and Youth Ministry. For Prison Ministry, we are currently working with the Sisters of the Holy Eucharist to provide Restorative formation to inmates at Manila’s Maximum Security Prision. The aim of this formation is to ‘restore’ the dignity of the prisoners and also to share Christ with them. The prison we visit is quite different from what we usually know of a prison. The prison compound itself is like a mini village housing more than 15000 inmates. The prisoners can ‘make their own living’ within the village by buying and selling items for daily living and to visitors. What saddened me was the extremely poor living conditions for these inmates. For me, it is also learning to share Jesus in the prison and to see Christ’s face in these inmates no matter what they have been convicted for.

"I called you to be faithful , not successful."

We have a meeting with our leaders once in two months for an evaluation of abour our formation and also an opportunity for feedback and intercession. As I prepared for this meeting, I began to reflect on what fruit I’ve bore and the consolations in the past four months. I realized that there have been many moments of desolations, struggles with community life, having to deal with conflicts in relationships etc. but yet at every desolation, there’s grace to overcome and there’s always a new learning about myself, my weakness and a new challenge to grow in a new area.

Despite the desolations, I can see God’s grace and deep within there has been peace.I’ve also learnt was ‘to be’ and ‘to waste time’ with God. That this time of formation is a time to grow more in my identify in God and to re-learn that I’m not called to be successful but to be faithful.

These past months, we were introduced to the various aspects of the ICPE spirituality as well as the Charisms of ICPE. Through the teachings, discussions and reflections, I realized that I’ve been called not just to an institution, but to a new lifestyle. This is something that I’m still learning and embracing. What it means to live fully the charisms and spirituality of a lay missionary in the ICPE community. The challenge is that I forget and that I am not just in an institution, but this is a new lifestyle that God is calling me to and a new identity he is inviting me to embrace and own.

Growing in the gift of music

I thank God for the gift of music. I can say this now, I believe that this is a gift and I’ve grown in this gift.I remember some years ago, when I was struggling to try to play the keyboard for MSC meetings, God spoke to me through a brother who reminded me that all God wanted was my heart of worship and my desires was what reatlly mattered.
I thank God for this desire to worship and for the joy in my heart whenever I play some instrument to worship him. I’m no professional in music, but I I thank God for the gift of my hands, for music and for all those who had inspired and encouraged me to grow in this area. I am aware of the responsibilities and challenges that come along with this, because much has been given and much more will be expected... But with his grace, I’m open to the many more opportunities to grow, to be used and to be humbled.

Celebrating Life

It was an Honour to celebrate my Birthday on the octave of Easter and also a community holiday! I was blessed by some brothers and sisters who made my bday extra special by celebrating my birthday in Manila bay and also a surprise party for me at our roof toop. I felt that I was celebrating new life and re-birth. Birthdays are also a time when the community gathers to honour the gift of life. I am grateful for the chance to celebrate the gift of my life with my new companions and to be blessed by their affirmations for me. I remember there were many times in the past where I could not fully appreciate my gift of life, but on this day I can say ‘Thank God for me’ with all my heart and for all that he has made me to be. This is truly a new season for me and I thank God especially for the new friendships in my life.

Youth Formation Week

We had a week of Formation for our Bagiuo Ministry. We had a week of formation for our Bagiuo Youth Group.
It was an intense week of formation for them as they prepare themselves for a two-year commitment in a new community they will be starting.
I played a supporting role during the formation by cooking, doing some creativity intercessory and also preparing youth for a mime they were going to present for their mission in Singapore and Malaysia. I was blessed to see their desire to seek God and be healed in the various areas of their life as such a young age. What impacted me most was to witness the transforming power of God’s love in their lives.

God of all Seasons

New Community....




New Friendships...


A New Season of My Life...

We should never be too preoccupied with the future,
there is no reason to be.
God is there
---Mother Teresa

15th January 2006 – March 2006 : First Quarter of my Formation in the Philippines

Greetings from the Philippines! Time really flies. I'm in my third month here. At the moment, I'm experiencing peace and appreciating the present. Here is what has been happening. Thank you for your prayers and blessings. My petition in this time is for my missionary Visa. I’ve sent in my application and I am praying that it will be approved by May. Please keep me in your prayers!

Commitment as a Community Member in formation - January 15th 2006


I arrived in Manila on the 12th Jan and on the 15th Jan 2006, I committed myself to a two year formation with the community of ICPE – Institute of World Evangelisation. It was a time of grace and blessing for me. I felt that it was a time of blessing and immense grace. The invitation to ‘look forward’ and not look back was clear for me and there was a sense of peace and excitement of all that is to come.

Manila and ICPE Philippines.
I think I have not really shared much about Manila and my formation thus far so I'd share a bit about it first. Those of you who have been here will know that Manila is really dusty and dirty. Our feet and clothes are black at the end of the day. Like the tropical country that it is, it is hot and humid most of the time but since we are living in the heart of Manila city itself, traffic and pollution is overwhelming. Crossing the road is a challenge and real test of courage. There are security guards everywhere, in the shopping malls, train stations etc. It'll take some getting used to at the start, then you realise that it's just a way of life.

Although the Philippinos are predominantly Catholic, there are many Sunday catholics and alot of people who do not have a personal encounter with the lord. There are still many devotions practiced , and my sense is that people don't really know God or experience him, but just depend on the devotions. The young people are greatly influenced by secularism. The trend is that many youths come from broken homes and many are victims of sexual abuse especially by their own parents... Many have already been invovled in pre-marital sex, abortions. Also, many young men are confused with their gender and cross dress. Just alot of brokeness. One of our ministry is to work with youth in the parish as well as a university town nearby.

There's just so much to learn about the people and local culture. For me it is also learning to accept the mindset of the philippino culture, their way of doing things; their 'rubber' time, local mannerisms/mindset. And as a Singaporean, I found it most hard to accept their inefficiencies (this is God teaching me to be humble.)

Community Member in Formation
There are altogether 15 full time missionaries in our community, from different countries, all of whom God has called. Out of these, there are 9 of who are community members in formation. This is a 2-year formation for new members of the Mission The 9 of us beginning formation are from Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Poland and Indonesia. I'm really enjoying the international community and really getting to know each other better. see the updated icpe website on the Philippines community. . I'm sharing a room with a Polish girl and we share a mini kitchenette with a Korean and Malaysian.

Nine of Us in Formation

My Roommate


We started our formation with orientation of the ICPE Mission and a brief overview of its spirituality, which we will be learning more over the next two years. We also started learning the Philippino language so that we will be able to work and reach out to more people. At our mission centre, we start the day with 7am mass at the nearest church that is a 15 minute walk away. We only have Mass in-house once a week. After that it is personal prayer time, Lauds with the community and then in-house work, lectures, study project or ministry preparation.

In these three months our teachings were mainly focused on Growing in Holiness and transformation. To put aside our ‘old ways’ of doing things, thinking and to allow God to transform us. We had several priests (such Fr Thomas Green ;p) come to give us teaching on various topics following this theme. We also have a study project each week where we are to prepare and present a teaching or reflection. So far, we studied some parts of the CCC and a reflection on “Deus Caritas Est’ – Pope’s first encyclical.

Our Ministries in the Philippines

There are several ministries which the community here embarking one. One of them is reaching out to the poor in a rubbish dump site called Payattas. We are also helping to set up a local youth Community in the University Town of Baguio (5 hrs from Manila). We have a house there and there are 15 youth who are going to start a community under the Glory of God International Covenant community. We are also starting a Leadership formation for youth of a local parish.

As members in formation, our priority is to be transformed and grow rather than ‘reaching out’. That’s why our involvement in the ministries are minimal at the moment. Nonetheless, in the Month of March, I had the privileged to share my testimony with about 40 youth in a parish and visited the prison and also spent a weekend with the youth community in Baguio.

Youth Community in Baguio and Testimony to 50 youth in parish




We also had the opportunity to share about ICPE at the El Shaddai meeting here in the Philippines. There were 10,000 people at the gathering. It was a real blessing for me – to see so so many people hunger and desire for God. It was also a new experience for me to share and present in front of so many people.



Upcoming. Your prayers required for :

1. Our week of Formation for the youth community in April
2. Our Ministry to Mothers in Payattas – a very depressed and poor rubbish dumpsite.
3. Our mission outreach to Korea in July. There will be an ICPE outreach team going to Korea to organize the Pastoral Counselling School. We are also going there as part of ICPE’s involvement in the Holy Spirit Conference for World Youth In Korea. Youth from all over the world is expected.
4. My Missionary Visa. I have applied for a 2-year Missionary visa and I am praying that it will be approved before May 2006.

March Highlights

United in Faith


A group of sisters and brothers from the community of Kkotdongnae (pronunced as Ko-tong-ae) Brothers and Sisters of Jesus, from Korea came to visit the community in March. They have set up a community here in the Philippines as well. The main purpose of their visit to the Philippines is to promote the Holy Spirit Conference of World Youth in Korea. I was very blessed by their visit. The Congregation is a community of love and salvation. It's main work is Mercy Work in Korea. They have a large facility housing the homeless, abandoned , the dying and the poor in Korea. (much like MC sisters). It is a 'Big thing' in Korea. The community was founded by Fr Oh and had only 18 members. Now there are about 4000 abandoned people in their centres and they have over 350 religious brothers and sisters in Philippines, US and Korea.


The Superior of the community, Brother James was here and he shared with us (with the help of a translator) his vision of empowering Youth in Korea and in Asia. His hope is also to gather youth in Asia , to allow them to experience God's love, give them an opportunity to experience the poor and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. This was the vision for the Holy Spirit Conference for Youth, which the cogregation is organising this year. What struck me was his passion and zeal in his Vision. He shared that he had this vision a few years ago and it is only now that it is being realised. I was very blessed. God will realise our visions for him, no matter how big and impossible it may seem at the start, just as long as we persevere and have faith. It was an invitation for me to dream 'big dreams' for God. During our time of intercession and prayer together as two different communities, I was also very touched by the unity of the spirit. Though we all prayed in different languages (The Koreans prayed in Korean), we all worshipped the same God and share the same passion and zeal to make him known. It was really moment of grace for me and I felt that God was also stirring great desires in my heart especially for Asia.. and that the world is much bigger than 'me'.

Anyway, I would like to invite you to check out the website for this conference and also to pass the word around, to invited youth you know to go. Or if you can go, also best - we can learn alot. Also, I think it will be a time of grace and experience. The conference will be held in Korea in July (21 -23). The conference is only three days but there is a pre-conference progr where youth can volunteer to work at the welfare facilities in Kkottongnae. The conference costs US50, with food and loggin provided for free. It would be super super exciting , also to be in Korea, meet Fr Oh - Founder of Kktongdnae ( I heard that he is a super anoited presider for mass.),
to experience the vitality and faithfulness of Koreans and to meet Korean youth and other youth. (and cheaper alternative to WYD). ICPE is a collaborater for this event. Our Founder Mario Cappello is the keynote speaker for the event together with two others. There will be an ICPE outreach team there. WEBSITE is : www.hcwy.org. See the videos on what is Kkottongane.

Visit by Mario


Mario, founder of the ICPE Mission also visited us in March. He shared his vision for ICPE and his ideals about community. I was very touched by his sharings and wisdom. One of the things I was most edified by was his simiplicity and humility despite being who he is and all that he has done for God. A humility which I’ve much to learn from. He also shared that his ideal of community is simply for us to gather around Jesus and to share his spirit. This was, for him, the most fundamental. Structures, time-tables, formation, ministry and work is secondary for community. After meeting him, I was affirmed of my being here with the community. I felt affirmation that I'm in the right place for now. So praise God!

March Reflection : Drinking from the dry Well

As some of you may know I went through a 'dry spell' during my 2nd month here. It was a time of immense dryness during prayer and there were hardly any consolations. Even though I was consistent in my daily prayer, I felt that God was distant. The things and thoughts that used to 'console' me no longer did and I had alot of doubts. Had to face alot of my unworthiness and weaknesses. Also, through this , I realised that learning to surrender is a life-time process and we have to keep doing it.

But God is good , I think there has been a breakthrough for me at the beginning of this week.

One of the things that consoled me was the knowing that through this dryness, God was actually teaching me to let go and to surrender. To learn to seek him and not the consolations. To put aside all my old ways of doing things, old way of praying , thinking etc. Allowing myself to be reconstructed , purified and refined, so that I only seek God. I felt that God was showing me that everything, including consolation is gift from him, not something that we can 'turn on' when we want to. This was hard for me, because, this meant that I had to take another new step to trust and be surprised by God, because now I cannot even see the things that used to 'console' me. Anyway, recently, I picked up Fr Tom Green's Drinking from the dry well , which I had not finish reading. Reflecting on the book gave me alot of encouragement and affirmed me that God was indeed taking me to a new level of surrender and prayer. To learn to seek the God of Consolations, not the Consolations of God. Thankfully also, even though there is alot of dryness during prayer, my general 'feeling' here is a sense of peace. So, for this I am grateful. :) It is still difficult for me but I am begginning to enjoy it - the challenge of contemplation and interior prayer/awarness. Fr Thomas Green, a reknowned Jesuit also came to give us a seminar last week. Meeting him was an encouraging moment for me.

One of the things that I have had to also learn over the past two months is surrendering and accepting my own weakness and inferiorities. It’s funny how in community, your weaknesses become much more apparent to you. I had to learn to accept my mixed motivations for doing things as part of me and that God can work through them. I also had to ‘put aside’ my old way of doing things, my previously known ‘accomplishments’ / ‘known and used giftings’ and to just ‘be’. I realized that the natural tendency for me, when I am faced with a ‘struggle’, is to run away and not face it. I used run away by either ‘doing something’ or ‘hide’ behind the company of friends, in my comfort zone. However, now is the time to allow God to take me deeper in prayer and discovery of who he is. To be ‘led’ by him and not to want ‘control.