THE JOURNEY OF A GODDESS

In college, I had a roommate named Venus. Her name meaning "Goddess of beauty," she literally is a beautiful person inside and out. She is a year younger than me, and we met at Room 310 in UPLB New Dormitory, year 2007. We had fun times together, sharing and learning in class, in school, and in life.

A year after, we moved to a new apartment, together with our dear friend Monic, and there we still managed to live happily together. Being younger than me, I was surprised how this lady taught me many lessons I needed to learn back in college. At that point, I was beginning to grow in my Christian faith as a young leader at church, and there were times we talked about spirituality.

She struggled several times and asked so many questions about the Christian faith and I've seen how she sought to find answers to her questions. In my capacity at that time, I tried to also find answers to her questions and prayed for her spiritual journey. I sincerely prayed that she will find the answers to her questions, and that God will reveal himself to her.

I finished college a year earlier than she did. We only kept in touch very seldom through social media. She eventually got her degree, passed her board exam, and came to know Christ. I was surprised and excited to learn her story, six years after we first met.


***

When she was reviewing for her board exams, she prayed to God in an empty appeal, that if God allows her to pass her board exams, she will begin to seek and know Him. It was a half-meant, self-centered prayer of a person who wanted to pass a board exam and fulfill her career aspirations in Manila.

She passed her board exams, but she forgot about her prayer and was busy looking for a job in Manila. Unfortunately she cannot find a job that will support her and her family financially. Job opportunities in Manila for her field - Nutrition - does not promise good wage vis a vis her expenses. She decided to go back to her province where she could find a job that will support her family and will require only minimal expenses for her.

She worked at a hospital with another co-worker who was also a Christian. She stayed at an apartment and all her roommates happened to be also Christians. She remembered her prayer from before she took her board exams, and realized that God made a way for her to come to know Him more. She was surrounded by people who follow the Lord. So she started attending church services from time to time, until she finally wanted to seek the Lord and know Him better.

Since then, God has revealed Himself to her and never failed to amaze her. She never thought she would work in that  place, and that in exchange for her aspirations to work in Manila, God has prepared for her something far more wonderful and meaningful. She has come to know the Lord in a different way.

Right now, she is still on a journey towards pursuing career and family aspirations, but everything never felt the same again after she has come to know the Lord deeply. She trusts God in all her decisions, and she dreams of marrying a godly man and building a godly family of her own, someday. :)

Venus is one of the many people who have inspired my journey, and her journey towards knowing Christ has touched my heart so deeply. By the time she shared me her story, I knew it is worth including in the radical journeyist's page:)

This photo was from year 2008. We visited the UPLB Botanical Garden for the first time together. Looking back at our old photos refresh the great memories we shared back in college :)

Venus and I. Some years ago :)

The ROOMMATES from UPLB NEW DORM. Room 310. L-R Monic, Me, Venus, Corine, Nikki (Missing ate Yaos here)

WHAT IS A PEACE CHURCH?

Since I was born, I have been in a church. Being born and raised by a pastor and a family that is devoted to Christ and active in the church has been both exciting and challenging. I had my own share of frustrations, confusions, and heartaches because of the fact that being raised in a Christian family is not that easy. Don't misunderstand this, but being raised in a Christian family is really not easy. It is not what most people would assume it would be if your whole family is a Christian.

But my point of writing this is getting myself clear about the "church." Church, for me, has always meant family. Church has been a place where my whole family is, and everyone else who is part of the church is also part of my family. It is a place where everyone can share their lives - celebrations, grief, and conflict. Yes, conflict. It is part of every organic being getting together. Yet, the church has been a place where conflict is seen as a point of learning, growing, and transforming the life of the individuals involved in it.

I grew up in a traditional church setting where we meet every Sunday for worship service, we meet for mid-week service or prayer meetings on Wednesdays, support group or Bible study on Saturdays, and a whole lot of activities especially meant for men, women, youth, and children. This church experience has spiced up my life in that I've been prepared for the kind of work I am doing right now. Church activities are like programs, church leaders like bosses, youth members are like my co-workers, and the whole organizational dynamics that are always challenging. Church and work have been very similar for me.

So, if church and work seemed similar for me, what then, is the distinction of a church? And what does it mean to become a peace church?

For more than a year now, I am part of a budding community we call Peace Church. We meet every Wednesday nights to study the scripture, share and reflect, and eat together. We meet some Saturdays to get together with each other's families, eat, play, reflect, and dream! We are a church. Not the traditional church setting people would expect us to be, but we are a church. We are a peace church because we all follow Jesus Christ and embrace his teachings of peace and nonviolence, and we strive to live in obedience to this teaching. Would it be sufficient description of a church? If not, then what are we?

The word church as we now know it has been originally written in the Bible as ecclesia, which meant "a body of Christians CALLED OUT of the Roman and Judean system to come together into a separate civil community." The early Christians have been an ecclesia in that they proclaimed no other king but Jesus. They were called out and were turning the world system upside down. They dethroned kings and rulers in the  minds of the people, and those whose hearts responded became citizens of God's kingdom and joined the community of believers called ecclesia.

Now, let's look at the other way around. Suppose there is a community of people following Jesus and seeking to actively and obediently respond to his nonviolent radical teachings. Suppose they work together to read the scripture and actively pursue peace in their everyday life - career, business, family, hobbies, manners. Isn't that already an ecclesia? Isn't that a church? A church is not defined by the building where they meet or the regularity of worship services and the order of worship. A church, for me, has been and always will be a family. It is a community of shared lives seeking to actively follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in every aspect of our daily living.

What else do you see a peace church to be? You can share me your experiences and opinions.

CREATIVITY AMIDST CONFUSION (STORIES FROM THE GROUND 2)

Meet Pastor Paul Villamor. Upon arriving in Ormoc City, we were at lost as to how we will go about the team's mission in finding evangelical pastors in the area. We had this person's contact number, and tried to reach him. On our second day there, he visited us at our team base, the City Tennis Court where we pitched our tents. He invited us to attend the Ormoc City Evangelical Ministerial Association (OCEMA), which happened to be set on that same morning.

We introduced the team to the pastors and each one of them recounted their stories of the typhoon experience. Pastor Paul was one of those who had the most emotional story.

The typhoon damaged his whole house and even his church. His family is now living under the rubbles. All their properties were destroyed. By the time we saw him, he said that he had only received 2 kilograms of rice and 2 cans of sardines. That was the only thing he received.

He emotionally shared to us how he saw that many of his church members and even his neighbors have far worse condition than he has. He was so hurt and devastated seeing them that way, and then he himself could not afford to help. He did not even have his own food to offer. He did not have a house to open to anybody. Being in that kind of situation breaks his heart. He said that he has survived the Cold War in Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago, but this disaster has made him feel more miserable than that.

In the succeeding days that we were there, Pastor Paul has shown to us so much creativity and helped the team in a lot of ways. He embraced the vision of justice and fairness in relief distribution during disaster response, and has since passionately lived this out while he deals with many different organizations in the province (aside from being a pastor, he is also the Provincial Coordinator of Values Formation in Leyte).

He has spent time with the team and basically became part of the family. He showed and taught us useful techniques such as opening canned goods with a spoon, and opening soda bottles with another bottle. His presence causes delight and joy to the team as he also shares his humor.

Pastor Paul is also so much dedicated to disaster response, that whenever we ask him to help us look for anything, he would right aways exhaust his resources and connections to be able to come up with results. Nobody forces him to do it, but he has an inner compassion for others that drives us all the more passionate to serve their community.

Pastor Paul is an active carrier of the gospel. He lives it out from day to day, and it has become evident for us during the short time we have interacted with him. I am pretty sure there are more people like him who, in their little ways, create a great impact to the larger community. God bless his heart!

Pastor Paul, wearing red shirt with a white vest - was taking notes of the disaster response plan during a meeting with the pastors of OCEMA

He passionately prays for God's comfort for him and his family, as well as all the other pastors in Ormoc that are also being led to comfort others.

GENEROSITY THAT SURPASSES THE STORMS (STORIES ON THE GROUND 1)

Meet Pastor Erly Garces. He is the pastor of New Harvest Turning Point. He is a member of the Ormoc Evangelical Disaster Response Network (OEDRN). The first time we met him at the meeting of the Ormoc City Evangelical Ministerial Association (OCEMA), his hand was wrapped with a handkerchief because it got injured during the typhoon.

In this photo, Pastor Erly was introducing himself to Bishop Tendero on the phone.

During that first meeting, he humorously recounts to us his own experience. Before the typhoon, he just finished building his dream house. He has saved up for it for many many years before he was able to build a nice house on top of the hill, overlooking the city. Beside his house is the church building, which is just also on its way to final construction - a nice concrete church building. Upon hearing typhoon warnings, he felt a little confident that their place on top of the hill, will be spared from extreme devastation and flooding, which he expected would be the worst effect of the typhoon.

That morning, however, when the strong typhoon landed, they were surprised to realize that the typhoon is actually in their place! The strong winds saying hello to their roof and to the walls of the church building. He and some of his church members gathered inside their church building, as they felt it was a safe spot. He joined them as the strong winds lifted the roof, slowly damaged the walls, leaving the whole church bare. He looked around and realized, "I have no more house!" He couldn't believe they were not spared by the typhoon. It wasn't flood that hit them, but the strong winds that totally devastated the church building and his own dream house. He got injured on his right hand due to debris falling on them.

The Sunday after we met him, he picked up the whole team to attend their worship service. The team felt really welcome and overwhelmed by the joyful spirit of the church as they sang praise and worship songs to the Lord, in their own language. Our team leader, kuya Dann, gave a short inspiring message to the church and everyone felt hope, felt God's presence, and a sense of peace within.

Pastor Erly and his family, standing in front of their dream house that was devastated by the typhoon in a span of a few hours (on the leftmost side of the photo is the location of the church building).

The church building where some members gathered together to seek safety because it was made of concrete. It was not spared by the strong winds, however.

Standing from where the church building is located, the whole City of Ormoc can be seen. On the morning of the typhoon, they witnessed how the whole city turned from an organized city into a devastated place.

Pastor Erly while introducing PBCI team to his church family

He could still barely move his right hand due to an injury he acquired during the onslaught of the typhoon.

That noon right after the church service, we rushed to the port to catch our noon ferry ride to Cebu City. He brought the team there and bid us a safe trip. While we were sitting on the ship waiting for it to leave, we realized we haven't eaten lunch so one of our teammates went out to buy lunch. Just right outside the ship, they saw Pastor Erly walking towards the ship ready to hand us bags of rice, chicken, and oranges. He knew we hadn't eaten lunch and he said he couldn't help but think of us so he bought lunch and went back to hand us our lunch. There we were, stunned at this pastor's thoughtfulness and generosity. None of us ever thought of buying our own lunch, but this pastor, whom we sought to comfort during this time of disaster, showed us a great deal of generosity and compassion. His genuine act of concern and care for the team moved us greatly.

A couple of days later, we were expecting thousands of relief packs from Manila and Cebu. At our new base, the roof was damaged so we had to look for tarps that we can use to cover the goods and protect them from rain. We tried to contact all the pastors from OEDRN to see if they could lead to someone who can lend us some. 

To our amazement, Pastor Erly once again offered a great deal of help. He lent us tarps that we can use to protect the goods. He was planning to give away those plastic tarps to his church members, to be used as temporary shelters. He did not hesitate to lend it to us for a couple of days because he knew it would be very useful.

Those were simple acts of generosity and genuine care, yet this pastor demonstrated to us that those values do not stop flowing even in the midst of disaster. Especially after  a disaster. His faith in God, love for his neighbors, hospitality, and generosity, are effective witness of how one can respond to a disaster. This one life has impacted many others, including mine. I am sure there are many more around us that can give life-changing witnesses. Open our eyes to them. :)

A SERENDIPITOUS JOURNEY

For many months, radical journeyist had no updates! For months I felt like there was really nothing worth writing about on my journey. Or maybe I felt dry. Or maybe I just felt lazy. Recently, however, I was inspired to write again. Here's an update on my serendipitous journey!

On the 8th of November this year, the strongest typhoon ever recorded in world history made a landfall in the Visayas region of the Philippines. We didn't have work that day due to threats of the typhoon, to ensure that everyone in the office will be with their families when the strong typhoon hits the country. Fortunately for us in Manila, the typhoon did not affect us very much. That day, I went out with friends, made new friends, and had a fun windy evening. 

Having fun with new friends in Manila on the evening before the strong typhoon hit Visayas region

The day after the typhoon, I saw news and video footage about the typhoon's effect. At first, I thought it was the same as the effect of typhoon Sendong that hit Northern Mindanao two years ago. I was there with the Disaster Response team in Cagayan de Oro in early 2012. I thought that maybe this time I could be part of a disaster response team again. On one video, I saw a clip where news anchor Ted Failon was helping a young boy pull his father's corpse out of the debris. That scene gripped my heart. I was moved. I cried. I was itched to do something. In my little capacity, I knew I could do more than pray while sitting on my office desk, sending a little amount of money, or volunteer in re-packing goods that will be sent there. 

I saw Peacebuilders Community preparing for a trip there, as they have been tested several times in disaster response in Mindanao. I wanted to be part of it. I wanted to put my Disaster Response training into good use, because I cannot help just sitting and watching videos or reading the news. I have to go there, but I had no means. I asked God to provide for what I would need: budget, physical endurance, emotional strength, and spiritual readiness. I asked the team if I could join them, and they welcomed Peace Church to join, as long as we could have our own budget for the duration of our stay there. Peace Church immediately responded and was willing to send two more people to be part of the disaster response team. The day after, we flew to Cebu and met the PBCI team from Davao... and the journey began.

Fread, Taki, and I had dinner with the Barkmans and Kuya Bryan Paler before we were sent off for this mission that would change our lives forever...

November 12th evening, we arrived in Cebu City and met PBCI team from Davao. We had a short briefing about our roles and the mission of the team on that trip. Everyone knew we only rely on God's guidance getting there and making connections. 

Waiting for our "first ferry ride to Ormoc City" on November 13th

Upon setting foot in Ormoc City, we made a courtesy call with the Local Government Unit Spokesperson and the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) Officer. We also tried to contact the evangelical pastors in the city, as we were mandated by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches to reach out to the pastors and churches in the area. In the first five days, we have been able to gather the pastors and they established the Ormoc Evangelical Disaster Response Network (OEDRN). We recommended to the CSWD a general data system to make a more efficient monitoring of the affected barangays in the city, and a relief distribution system that would also effectively monitor transparent relief distribution. The pastors were also trained with this kind of system, and we have tried to connect the local government and the evangelical network to work together in disaster response efforts throughout the whole city.

During the whole trip, the team recognized the many many lessons and surprises that God unfolds each day. He showed us many things we wouldn't have imagined, and protected us from harm as we humbly followed His direction every step of the way.

Today, I am back in Manila to fulfill my responsibilities as a working citizen. My heart, however, is back there in Visayas, crying, praying, empathizing with the thousands of people affected by the typhoon, and yet another thousands of disaster response workers who sacrifice (big or small) to be able to respond to fellow human beings who are in great need.

The 12-day journey of serendipitous incidences is up for now, but the impact it has carved in my being is lifelong, and would forever be a significant landmark in my life's journey.

I continue to pray for my teammates who are still there, for the pastors and friends I have left behind, and for the many more people who will collaborate to work justly, peacefully, while restoring the dignity of the survivors of the world's strongest typhoon.

God is in Ormoc City. God is in Tacloban City. God is in the Philippines! 

In the next few days, I will write simple stories and lessons I gathered, that maybe, somehow, might inspire others as much as it did to me. 

"My Lord definitely won't reject forever. Although He has caused grief, He will show compassion in measure with His covenant loyalty. He definitely doesn't enjoy affliction, making humans suffer." 

- Lamentations 3:31-33

HINAING

Minsa'y di mabigkas ng bibig, ang sa dibdib ay nag-aalab na damdamin.
Minsa'y di aakalain na ang kirot ay di kayang panatilihin
Maramot ang tadhana sa maralita't dukha
Masalimuot ang pag-asa sa lubhang kaawa awa

Mainam harinawa kung puro ligaya at saya
Ngunit ang lakbayin ay masukal, mapanganib at mahiwaga.
Hindi maabot ng balintanaw ang aking patutunguhan
At minsa'y napapagod, naghahanap ng masisilungan

Isang hangarin sa kasalukuyan ay makatagpo ng manlalakbay
Na ang landas na dinaraanan ay kapwa dalisay
Isang taong sa lakbayin na iyong makakapanayam
At sa patutunguhan, kapwa malinaw ang pananaw.

Minsa'y poot ang nangingibabaw sapagkat may mga kaaway
Mga panlabas na kaanyuan ay tila tupang maamo
Ngunit ang katotohana'y mga osong kumakain ng tao
Walang ibang gagawin kundi ika'y habulin

Birthday-month Blast AND AN EXPLOSION!

Last month, I have been very blessed to celebrate a month-long birthday! I spent my special day with family and friends, and had an awesome celebration with my home church.

My birthday outfit :)

Swimming treat with my Home church family :)

A few days after, I had a surprise party with Peace Church.

Peace Church/EYSA party!

The following day, we had a staff development trip in the office, and I enjoyed a three-day vacation in the beach with a lot of food and fun. On our last day was a delicious treat with my officemates at a fantastic seafood restaurant. On the last day of May, we had a super awesome treat with pizza and fun. Kaye (my officemate whose birthday was a week before mine) and I decided to end the month-long birthday celebration with a treat.

Bonding with office mates and their families :)

Last month was also full of blessing as my eldest sister, Remilyn, finished her Master's degree from the University of the Philippines-Open University.

With my sister :)

A week after that, my older brother finished his Bachelor's Degree in Ministerial Studies from the Word of Life Bible Institute. Mother's Day celebration also fell on the same day as my birthday, I couldn't ask for more!

On my brother's graduation day (missing my other sister and younger brother)

With my brother!

Also part of the blessed month is a time with my bestfriends and some youth leaders from the Mennonite church in Manila. We spent over night at the Barkman residence in Two Serendra. There we celebrated my birthday, updated each other, dreamt together, chatted, and laughed a lot!

A fun-filled overnight experience! 

Because the end of the month was awesome, I thought it's going to be a great welcome for the month of June too. On 31st of May, around 8:15PM, I was chatting with Christina and Ate Kriz at Unit 509 B, Two Serendra. Ate Kriz and I were supposed to go to the mall and shop, but then we chatted a bit, sat down for a while and enjoyed our conversation. Just seconds after we thought we should leave, we heard a loud explosion and felt the whole building shook. I literally felt that the couch I was sitting on bounced. I saw the main door flew open and I glimpsed a flash of red, which I thought was fire. The door flew shut again, and it took us around five seconds to react.

We were shocked and clueless of what happened. Darnell and Cody were in the basement watching a basketball game, and Makai was sound asleep in his room. Christina immediately thought of getting out of the house.  I tried to open the door to figure out what's going on, but I couldn't open it. The pressure from the explosion was too much, and the door frames in the building shifted. We went outside to the balcony but realized we didn't have an emergency way out from the balcony [too bad :( ] Christina was in panic, thinking of Darnell and Cody, and how they were doing in the basement. We were crying out for help, but it seemed that even the guards were shocked and didn't know what to do.

Smoke was coming inside the house through the windows, and I was already coughing and my eyes hurt. I tried to open the door again and it finally did! There were shattered glasses at the door entrance (clueless where they came from), so we remembered to wear shoes before getting out of the house. Christina already got Makai and remembered to wear shoes. I grabbed my bag which I was supposed to bring with me to the mall (luckily with my phone and wallet). Ate Kriz, the analytical thinker, thought of grabbing her laptop bag, and so she got her computer, phone, and wallet.

We ran out of the house, took the stairs, and immediately ran to the basement, where we found Darnell and Cody who had no idea what happened outside. They only heard the loud explosion. Then there was commotion, everybody wondering what happened and the after a few small conversations with people, we decided to stay at Fully Booked, where we could sit down and think of what to do.

After a couple of minutes, we went back to Serendra and some good friends led us to another friend's unit where we could safely spend the night together. Sarah and Steve's hospitality helped us have a good night rest, despite of the trauma and a bunch of people sending text messages and calling us.

In about an hour, the news has already spread on Facebook, Twitter, and TV. My family heard of it on TV news, but I immediately informed them of what happened and how we were doing.

The following day, Saturday, I had to go to work for a meeting, which is also good because I could get clothes from the office (where I live). Telling the story to my officemates also helped me in a way to release the trauma we experienced the previous night.

The Barkmans and Ate Kriz didn't have anything to with them, except what they were wearing. Luckily, friends lent some clothes and they went shopping for some basic needs.

Yesterday (four days after the explosion), they were able to get inside their unit for a couple of minutes to grab everything they wanted from inside the house. The whole building is still restricted, and only a few people could get in, with strict supervision.

So now, I have my computer back with me, and some clothes that I left there when the explosion happened. The Barkmans are doing well and feeling great with the love and care they feel from the people around them. Ate Kriz is working as usual, and all of us are analyzing and realizing the huge difference of what a crisis means to the rich and the poor in this country.

This explosion, though inconvenient and traumatic, has opened doors for ministry and witnessing as followers of Jesus in this high-end part of the country. We hope and pray that in the coming days, we would effectively show the love of Christ, the comfort and peace, as we also struggle in how we would make decisions from day to day.

I am pretty sure that this month, which started with an explosion, would be a blast!

Thanks for the prayers, everyone!