Journeying with Children

One of the highlights for me during the past months here in the Philippines is journeying with the children in Montalban. I’ve never had any prior experience teaching or journeying with Children, so this is a new experience for me. I felt that God is challenging me to embrace this new ministry which my leaders have assigned to me. I’ve learnt a lot and journeying with our children weekly – providing basic catechesis through simple activities and faith sharing, had taught me many different things and I grew in compassion and patience for those God had sent to my life. Many children come to our ministry, with an eagerness and hunger for the word of God, for our love, our embraces and our presence. They are always very excited to see us and await for our arrival early before our session begins. Through their simple faith and trust, I’ve experienced a profound consolation of God’s presence. I’ve learnt what is means to ‘love and welcome’ little children , by just simple gestures of loving them, playing with them, spending time with them and showing acceptance to who they are. I thank God for this opportunity to love his little children, and also to be invited also to be like these little children, trusting that HE can love me.

On the 15th Dec, we held a Christmas party for about 80 children beginning with a children’s mass. It was an enjoyable time. Some of these children have been part of our weekly ministry for 2 years, seeing the growth in our relationship with them brought a lot of joy. I’ve been blessed by their openness to grow spiritually, their hunger for God and their poverty of the Spirit. A total of 80 children attended the event which started with a Mass for children at the Maria Ina ng Kapayapaan Parish (Mary, Mother of Peace Church). Fr Jun, the Parish Priest was our main celebrant. During mass, we offered the Nativity made from clay and pictures prepared by the children. These items were offered as a sign of the children’s love and openness to receive the baby Jesus.

After the mass, we held a party filled with games, food and gifts. With the contribution from our sponsors, we provided each child with a set meal from Jolibee and a Christmas gift. It was a treat to see the excitement and happy faces of our children whom we’ve journeyed with over the past year. Their simplicity, eagerness and contentment with the little they have and what we provided touched our hearts. Our team was uplifted by the event and in awe to see how God provided for these children. Through them, we too experience the message of hope and joy Christ brings in this season of Christmas.

Through them, I’ve also learnt how to appreciate and be grateful for what I have, my relationships, my family and all that God had provided. Seeing their living conditions often breaks my heart and makes me question how come there can be such disparities in our world. I was often led to feel a sense of injustice for them. I pray that as I continue to serve and minister to Children, I'd grow in discovering more and more the love of God through them. I pray that I would , despite my limitations, love them as Christ had invited us to 'love the little ones'. Wishing all of you a joy-filled Christmas Season.

Time of Anointing

There have been lots happening in the past six months of my stint here in Philippines. I would like to share with you some of the ministries our community pioneered and different outreaches, through which I’ve experienced God’s faithfulness and love for his people, and for which I would like to give thanks and glory back to God.

Besides our on-going ministry with children and adults in Montalban and youth leaders formation for our parish youth, we conducted a two week seminar, the Pastoral Counseling school, and were also invited to journey with some youth from another international community. I felt God’s anointing upon our community and in my own life as I served through leading worship, teachings, supporting, journeying, using the gifts which He had provided.

In July, we conducted the Emmaus Experience. This is a two week seminar for those who are interested in having a community experience and mission exposure in the Philippines. There was two weeks of intensive teachings, sharing lives, ministering to participants from Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and the USA. Participants were exposed to different groups of people here in the Philippines. They reached out to children, university students, those in prisons, people living in slum areas and adults in our weekly ministries; through house visits, university and prison outreaches and a parish seminar. I was assisting in leading and organising this event and it was a great experience for me to see God’s hand through the way he led us in the organization of the seminar and how he transformed and touched the participants. I was again invited to take leaps in trusting and following him.




Teachings
Outreach at Parish Blessing and final mass for participants

Group Photos with Emmaus Experience participants

We also concluded the final session of our 6 months introductory language Course (Tagalog Lessons). I can now converse a little with the children whom we minister to, but I still need to improve much more in the area of language so as to be more effective in our ministries.

In August, our founders Anna and Mario visited us, I was able to spend some time with them, listening to them share their visions, stories and desires. We had teachings from both our founders and an enriching time together as a community. We also continued with our monthly Youth Leaders Formation for the Parish youth and ran a Leadership Camp for them. This was a highlight for me, as it was an outdoor camp. In the middle of a forest farm, we saw the wonders of God through his creation.

Anna, Slywia, Jeanny,Joan,Suzan,Celine,Mario

In September, we began a series of weekly outreach to youth from the Fondacio Community. We were invited to provide weekly inputs and also journey with these youth who come from different parts of Asia and are here in the Philippines for a one-year formation so that they can go back to work as pastoral workers in their respective churches. I was amazed by the way God had called and is anointing youth from Asia to do his work.




Catholic Youth from the Fondacio Community come from different parts of Southeast Asia including Mymmar, Laos, Cambodia, China, Malaysia. It was a great priviledge meeting and serving them.

In October, we had a three week Pastoral Counselling School with 35 participants. Some community members and I participated in this School. We had three international speakers focusing on different aspects of inner healing, pastoral issues to take note of when journeying with those in our ministries. I was able to look at my past and life in a new perspective, and with a great sense of gratefulness. One of the speakers – Sr Hannah, from the Beatitudes community, made an impact through her life sharing, which stirred different desires in my heart.

PCS Participants

"Youth Explosion"

>>Baguio Youth Camp. 26th – 28th May 2007, Baguio City

As part of the plan to re-evangelise, renew and ‘fire up’ Young College students in Baguio, we organized a three day camp with a dimension of evangelization and leading a radical life. All the youth who came for the camp were college students from diverse backgrounds. Some of them came because of a hunger for God, whilst some came because of fun and friends. Despite whatever reasons they had, I believed God handpicked these 50 young people to attend this camp. It was my first time ministering to philippinos from the mountain province and I was touched by how God, in his faithfulness, had led these young people to this camp to experience his love and goodness.

Our team worked well together.Because the team was small, some of us juggled between a few roles – teaching, leading worship, cell groups etc. I gave two teachings on the Holy Spirit and Radical living and had the opportunity to play the guitar in the worship team.



We witnessed how good music and sound made an impact and difference in leading people into worship. Fond of worshipping and music, myself, I enjoyed this experience. I was also touched and humbled by how God chose to use ‘the unworthy’ me and my gifts to serve him.



Aftermath….
It was moving to see the youth respond to the time we had with them, how they changed and were transformed by God’s love. Seeing the vitality and zeal in these youth, I awed by God’s presence in his people who are the future of our church.
Being on outreach had been a refreshing and enjoyable experience. I returned to Manila renewed and affirmed by our God - a God who calls, leads, guides and provides.

Finally, on a personal note, my two-year formation with the community will end in Jan08 and I am currently discerning whether I would take a two –year covenant as a covenanted member with the community. I ask that you pray for me to be open to whatever God is asking of me and to have courage to respond. I would be taking a personal discernment retreat on the last week of this month and I would appreciate if you could remember me in your prayers.

"ABBA Father”

>>Life in the Spirit Seminar for Parish Youth, 16th – 20th May 2007 , Batangas City.

As the title of the retreat suggest, it’s main focus was to allow participants to encounter God as Father. There were 25 participants for this 5 day-retreat. Most of those who attended were youth whom we have been journeying with for the past one year. Throughout the retreat, I was privileged to see these youth opening more and more of themselves to the love of the Father.

From their response to our teachings, openness in the sharing and worship sessions, it was evident that the Holy Spirit was moving and stirring in the hearts of these young people, inviting them to trust God more and more as their father and provider, despite their struggles in their families, financial situations and school.

I was moved by the power God’s love and loving embrace for His young people and humbled once again that God would use us - unworthy servants, to minister and reach out. During the final night, each youth were asked to offer up an item as a symbol of their commitment to this journey of faith.

As these youth offered up their lives, I was also challenged to renew my ‘yes’, to adopt a ‘child-like’ posture in seeing things around me and seeking God as my father.

Earthern Vessels Community Retreat in ICPE Philippines : 7th – 10th Dec 2006

Members from the local community Earthern Vessels under the Glory of God community in Singapore held their retreat here in our community. This is the first time a local community and an ICPE community under the Glory of God Covenant has come together for a retreat. During this time, I served in the kitchen Ministry. Mario, our founder was also present with us during the retreat. It was a time of renewal for me and also a time of seeing the bigger reality of being part of the Glory of God community. I also felt very priviledged to be amongst Singaporeans who are radical in their own way and who, through their witnessing are beacons of light to the pragmatic society I come from.

Emmaus Experience – two week seminar in October (1st -15th Oct)

We had two weeks of intensive teachings, sharing lives, ministering to participants from Korea, Myammar and Slovakia. We also organized a four day outreach to the Prison ministry and the children’s ministry in Payattas. I played a supporting role during this time, setting up and also doing recordings for the teachings. It brought me a lot of joy to see how God work His marvels in the lives of the participants and how we overcame our challenges, to allow God to meet us where we are at. Though Language was a big challenge, God helped us to overcome it. Participants for the Emmaus Experience 2006

Outreach at Kapayapaan Ng Ina Parish in Kasiglahan, Montalban

Baguio Concert (25th November - 1st December)

I had the privilege to serve the community in Baguio for a week. This was in preparation for our evangelistic concert to university student. The time I spent with the community there was not void of challenges as we prepared for the concert; however, as we interceded for the concert, I felt God’s assurance and peace. I also felt God’s blessing upon His people and our community. Though we all squeezed in a small house, I was blessed by the Hospitality of our youth community there and experienced God’s love in a deep way through the small community.