acts29

Peacebuilding Workshop for Adults

2012-01-17T10:42:00.002+08:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/78477450/Peace-Building-Workshop

Youth Speak!

2012-01-10T13:58:00.000+08:00

This year acts29 is launching a program called Youth Speak!

Youth Speak! is a program for schools and youth groups.

Every term acts29 will invite individuals/teams to speak to young people

on how we can communicate hope and be agents of change.

This term we are pleased to have Paul Petrus, a young man and peacebuilder from Papua New Guinea. Paul works for the Archbishop of Mt Hagen (in PNG) as a researcher.

He hails from the Western Highlands of PNG and is the first university graduate from his village.

Paul will be sharing to young people at school assemblies on:

Active Citizenship and Peacebuilding

Paul will also be speaking to Catholic youth groups on what peacebuilding is about

Some of the issues he will cover

1) What is conflict, violence and peace?

2) Levels of conflict

3) Conflicts in the world and in families

4) Why conflicts

5) Skills of peacebuilders

6) Fundamentals for Catholic peacebuilders

6) How can we respond and be Communicators of Hope?

Speaking Dates: Jan 30 - Feb 9

If you would like to invite Paul to your school or group,

kindly contact us. sherlyn@acts29mission.com

Baptism

2012-01-10T13:41:00.000+08:00

Outreach to Anawim December 23 2011

2012-01-10T13:21:00.001+08:00

2011-12-13T16:42:00.000+08:00

HeartSpeaks

Appeal for funds $160, 000 SGD to give kids a home

2011-12-07T16:35:00.000+08:00

Dear friends,
after much deliberation over the past couple of years, acts29 has decided to take our mission one step further. This year we took in another 4 children/teens into our formation house. There are 5 now. And we have another 5 on our waiting list. The kids we are taking in are orphans, abandoned or from struggling single-parent homes. Interestingly, we did not seek these kids out. They are coming to us and asking for a home. And those we have asked are in dire need of help. As more kids are coming forward, we need more help to keep our mission going!

To effectively serve the needs of the poor, we have decided to register as an NGO (Foundation) in the Philippines. We need 1 million pesos (about $30, 000 SGD) in an approved bank to be an NGO. This will take place in the first quarter of 2012.

To rehabiltate the kids effectively, we are looking to buy a hectare plot of land which will comprise little satellite homes, a main building (activity centre/dining/kitchen and chapel) and a vegetable farm. The land and construction will cost $130,000 SGD.

Of the 5 with us, 4 are in formal school and at the top of their levels. The 5th kid will take an entrance exam to enter high school in February

The purpose of our formation house: to form the children and teens to Know God, Love God and Serve God.

At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.

We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in."

Hungry not only for bread - but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing - but naked of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks - but homeless because of rejection.
- Mother Teresa

Help us to provide a home for these kids. To make a donation for this cause, kindly email sherlyn@acts29mission.org

6 months missioner as house parent

2011-12-06T12:27:00.001+08:00

acts29 is opening its 2nd formation house for 5 children this January.
We are looking for a Catholic single/couple to take on the role as houseparent/s for 6 months

Age: 25 years and above
Strong Catholic faith
Able to cook and manage the household
Oversee to the daily menu and nourishment/health of the residents
Able to share the faith and God's love
Able to work together with acts29 team in the Philippines.
Willing to learn to speak Filipino during the 6 months

Provided: Lodging and meals

Please email sherlyn@acts29mission.org

June Mission Trip 2012

2011-11-14T14:05:00.000+08:00

5 Days: May 26 - 30

Who:
Family groups and sponsors of acts29 kids

Award ceremony for scholars
Mother's Camp for acts29 Mother's Support Group (Payatas)

Cost:
1. Accomodation (Volunteer House) and Food*:
Adult Rate: $50 per person per day
Student Rate: $30 per person per day
*Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

2. Airfare est: $300 (Cebu/Tiger/Jetstar)

Total cost estimate: $500

Closing Date of Registration: December 30, 2011

How to Register:
Drop us an email at enquiry@acts29mission.org or sherlyn@acts29mission.org and state the date of the mission trip you are signing up for.
We will then get in touch with you.

Briefing and Preparation Days:
to be confirmed
QnA
Q: What if I cannot commit to all 7 days?
A: If you can make it for 4 days or more during the period of Feb 16-23, you can still participate in this trip.

Q: I am not Catholic. Can I still go with the group on the mission?
A: acts29 is a Catholic mission community and we welcome non-Catholics who are interested to know more about our mission. If you are willing to observe our prayer time and participate in all the other activities, we welcome you.

Q: If I cannot make it to the briefinging/preparation meetings can I join the trip?
A:The briefing and preparation meetings are conducted to sensitize one to the culture and life of our neighbours. It is important that participants attend at least 2 out of the 3 meetings.

Q: What is the minimum age?
A: We accept participants 16 years and above, provided they have been overseas on their own before and can take care of themselves. Participants below 21 years old will require consent from their parents.

March Mission Trip 2012

2011-11-14T13:57:00.002+08:00

7 days: March 10 - 17
Facilitate and Coach

Who: Youths and Adults
to work directly with students of Paaralang Pantao (Payatas)
A Sports Carnival for the children to learn about sports and games

Cost:
1. Accomodation (Volunteer House) and Food*:
Adult Rate: $50 per person per day
Student Rate: $30 per person per day
*Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

2. Airfare est: $300 (Cebu/Tiger/Jetstar)

Total cost estimate: $500

Closing Date of Registration: December 30, 2011

How to Register:
Drop us an email at enquiry@acts29mission.org or sherlyn@acts29mission.org and state the date of the mission trip you are signing up for.
We will then get in touch with you.

Briefing and Preparation Days:
to be confirmed

QnA
Q: What if I cannot commit to all 7 days?
A: If you can make it for 4 days or more during the period of Feb 16-23, you can still participate in this trip.

Q: I am not Catholic. Can I still go with the group on the mission?
A: acts29 is a Catholic mission community and we welcome non-Catholics who are interested to know more about our mission. If you are willing to observe our prayer time and participate in all the other activities, we welcome you.

Q: If I cannot make it to the briefinging/preparation meetings can I join the trip?
A:The briefing and preparation meetings are conducted to sensitize one to the culture and life of our neighbours. It is important that participants attend at least 2 out of the 3 meetings.

Q: What is the minimum age?
A: We accept participants 16 years and above, provided they have been overseas on their own before and can take care of themselves. Participants below 21 years old will require consent from their parents.

February Mission Trip 2012

2011-11-14T13:37:00.001+08:00

7 days: February 16-23
Launch of TB program in Payatas
Medical Mission Trip
Health Camp for Parents

Who: Medical doctors, Medical students, Nurses, Nursing students, volunteers interested to assist
Cost:
1. Accomodation (Volunteer House) and Food*:
Adult Rate: $50 per person per day
Student Rate: $30 per person per day
*Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

2. Airfare est: $300 (Cebu/Tiger/Jetstar)

Total cost estimate: $500

Closing Date of Registration: December 30, 2011

How to Register:
Drop us an email at enquiry@acts29mission.org or sherlyn@acts29mission.org and state the date of the mission trip you are signing up for.
We will then get in touch with you.

Briefing and Preparation Days:
1. January 6 Friday, 730pm - 930pm
2. January 20 Friday, 730pm - 930pm
3. February 10 Friday, 730pm - 93pm Mass and Sending Off

QnA
Q: What if I cannot commit to all 7 days?
A: If you can make it for 4 days or more during the period of Feb 16-23, you can still participate in this trip.

Q: I am not Catholic. Can I still go with the group on the mission?
A: acts29 is a Catholic mission community and we welcome non-Catholics who are interested to know more about our mission. If you are willing to observe our prayer time and participate in all the other activities, we welcome you.

Q: If I cannot make it to the briefinging/preparation meetings can I join the trip?
A:The briefing and preparation meetings are conducted to sensitize one to the culture and life of our neighbours. It is important that participants attend at least 2 out of the 3 meetings.

Q: What is the minimum age?
A: We accept participants 16 years and above, provided they have been overseas on their own before and can take care of themselves. Participants below 21 years old will require consent from their parents.

2011-11-13T21:25:00.001+08:00

Dear friends,
do visit our online shop http://acts29shop.wordpress.com

See you there!

What does mission mean to me?

2011-10-29T00:16:00.000+08:00

I went back to the 1st basic question and that is "what do I seek?"

We are all searching for something... because innately we are looking for something to fill our hearts. We may be looking everywhere and conceiving every possible dream and ambition to attain what we think our heart so desires and that searching brings us on a journey through life.

However, there is in all of us a deeper reality, (often buried under the peels and moulted skins of one's life journey) one that is deeply connected to our existence and being, and that reality is God the Father's love for us.

Until we allow ourselves to experience God's love, can we then grow into the persons we were created to be and bring forth from the depth of that God experience - the Child of God within ourselves.

Today, as all the past "todays" have been, our world continues to look for signs because we want to see Jesus. And our hearts remain restless unless we see Jesus. Or in St Augustine's words: "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you".

So Mission Sunday reminds me of the call to serve. As a community who have experienced the love of God in our lives we should work to make Jesus visible to others. The reality of Jesus in our lives should continue to be lived in our community, in our society and in our world.

We are called to be witnesses of His love and to communicate hope. Our world and our generation more so is obsessed with getting connected. We are in someway connected all the time. Connected to a mobile network or a wireless network, connected to FB or MSN or yahoo or to our email server. If we could, we might even want to stay connected 24/7.

In this 2nd millenium, let Mission Sunday also remind us to stay continuously connected to God.
Let us take advantage of the free wi-fi He's given us... we can pray all day, all the time, any day any time...

Easter and a growing mission

2011-04-25T12:52:00.005+08:00

Dear friends, on behalf of acts29 I would like to wish you a joyous Easter!

It's been awhile since our last post. No, we've not been idle. In fact we've been busier than ever.

This December we welcomed the following people on board our acts29 mission team!

1. Eugene Basquinaz joined us as a missioner and full-time supervisor.

2. Teresa San Miguel, our full-time house mother.

3. And we're happy to welcome back on our team once again, Maylene Grace Batol as our Philippines advisor.

2010 was a tough year. Our mission goals were put to the test and there were heartbreaks along the way.

Nicassio our 12 year old resident decided to leave our community house and headed back to Payatas. On the brigther side of things, Joannie our 20 year old resident, came back from Payatas to live with us again. And she is looking forward to resume her studies this June. This Lent we also welcome a brood of siblings from Payatas into our home.

Jerlyn Dolloso, 16. Gelenito Dolloso 12. Jimboy, 10 and little Julian 7 years old.

Thanks to the support of well-wishers and like-minded missioners, we were also able to purchase a unit in Erap City and will be building our Volunteer Centre there. However, rebuilding the unit to a double storey hospitality centre is really going to cost! But at the same time, we want to offer our visiting missioners and volunteers a conducive environment of rest and prayer during their very busy and hectic time with us.

We are also now starting a funraising project to buy another plot of land to build up our centre there. The centre will be a 3 storey building, equipped with a library (to encourage reading in the community, medical clinic (for medical missions and visiting doctors/nurses ) and most importantly a prayer room. The centre will also be our community home and we will be conducting prayers from Taize on a regular basis for the larger ecumenical community.

It's not been easy seeing to all the needs of the kids and youths, but Eugene has come up with a great programme. Most importantly the faith of our kids and youths come first. Some day, they will leave our home, when they want to and when they are ready to... so what do we hope they take with them? That in time with acts29 they have come to know God, love God and serve God.

We also wrapped up the school year in the 1st week of April and all the scholars managed to meet the target to hold on to their scholarship. Special mention goes to Clover for overall excellent academic achievement!

Tomorrow, our scholars will start on their summer swimming program. We wish them all the best!

We are also very grateful to the support for parishioners from Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. Through their advent fundraiser (to buy nativity story books for the kids in Payatas and Erap), we discovered there weren't such books written in Filipino for kids. Perhaps because such words would be too deep for kids to understand. May has put together a simple version of the Nativity Story. We are now waiting for June to come. So the kids can hear the story told to them and illustrate their favourite parts of the story. Then, the printing will take place and this December 350 kids will receive the Nativity Story with their very own illustrations.

This June we will also be conducting a medical mission for all kids from Paaralang Pantao (Payatas and Erap). Mainly, there will be deworming, TB testing, and overall health check.

How to Help

1. Long term - Volunteers/Missioners with an attitude for mission for 6 months to 1 year to provide faith formation

2. Short term - Volunteers/Missioners with an attitude for mission to conduct children's rights sessions

3. Donations - $100, 000 for building of acts29 centre and volunteer centre, $500 - medical mission, daily lunch program for Paaralang Pantao

4. Sponsor our scholarship program - $300 a year for elementary and $400 a year for high school. There are bright kids with a desire to learn in need of sponsorship for formal education

5. Sponsor our birth certificate project - a handful of our kids still have no birth certs and wont be able to start school this June.

T0 contact us directly, you can email enquiries@acts29mission.org or sherlyn@acts29mission.org

God's peace be with you!

Sherlyn

Our Updates

2010-05-23T23:12:00.004+08:00

Time flies! and yes we've all been very busy! with work... with school... etc
but we have not forgotten the mission.

Have been working to get the scholarship going. we have 3 more kids on the list in need of sponsors. and 4 scholarships to be renewed.

Our scholars did pretty well! So Congrats to Joannie, Nic, Mary Jane and Angela! Joannie moves up to Year 2 high school. Nic and Mary Jane to Grade 3 elementary and Angela to Grade 2 elementary.

For May and us here too, our hearts broke many times this past year 2009/2010. We're very to say we've come to the end of the road and we have decided that there's really not much else we can do for Pepito aka JP. JP didn't quite go along with the rules and expectations we had for him. which were study, go to school everyday and be home by 6pm (cos it's dark then). Even Tita couldn't help him come to his senses. But seriously I don't blame him. Sad to say, Payatas is not a place for a kid to grow up in esp where role models are few. So Pepito cut classes, went to work in a junk shop... dyed his hair... etc... The most heart-breaking thing of all was his sister couldn't take him in to her home. We know what he really wants. That is to live with the sister or at least live next to her. hence his shift tot he junkshop beside her home. The sister asked for help too. So we thought the best thing for a hardened child like Pepito was to send him away to rehab. i think of the lyrics "tried to make me go to rehab but I say no no no" Well, when all was finally decided, the sister adds a little info she never told us before. JP had a granny and an aunt who would never allow him to be sent to a rehab home! WHAT??? She didnt tell us he had relatives who would have a say in managing him before??? so that was when we decided ok!!!! we can't go on. She, the granny or the aunt has to take over not us. It's just not fair for JP who will always be bitter and ask why not his own family? Well, I miss JP...

Our problems didn't end there. There was Nic too! at one point he wasnt coming hom for a few days. The one year deal we had with the kids was almost up. The Malaras kids did keep to their end of the deal. Jovelyn kept the place clean and did the housework. Joannie and Nic did go to school daily if not almost everyday. And despite Nic's nonsense (which I can sum up as entering teenage rebelliousness and also a cry for a family), he was studying. So that was the deal. they kept it and we decided do or die it was time they moved! Thanks to the quick work of May, the kids moved into Erap City in May.. hehe Seems now they've adjusted. Nic likes it. Has made new friends. Ate Terry is living with them, supervising Nic and they are going to church too! yeah!!! 3 cheers for Ate Terry....

Another Sad thing.. but yet for the better... I believe. May has moved on :)... She's no longer "working" with acts29.. but still very much apart of acts29. still meeting the kids on saturdays and seeing to their budget and needs. We'll leave May a space here to tell us more about her new adventures. :)

acts29 has the intention of buying a place in Erap and extending our project.. expanding the scholarship program... and recruiting volunteers for at least 6 months to serve there. Anyone interested.. with a heart for mission can shout out to us here on our blog or email us.

30hour FAST A Sense of Humanity

2010-02-24T11:34:00.004+08:00

The 30hour FAST will be held once more at Church of the Holy Spirit, 13 March

The past 3 FASTS have been catered to teens and this year we decided to open it to young adults. Of course, adults are welcomed too! Minimum age is 17 years old.

In previous FAST, the program had games, aspects of social justice, Praise and Worship. Things were alot more fast paced and noisy too!

For this year's FAST we will slow down to breathe and reflect, to be silent, to pray. That explains the minimum age of 17 years. If there are teens who still like to come back for the FAST again and are not 17 yet, and you are able to take a good ol' retreat, you're most welcomed to FAST with us.

The FAST leads us back to what Lent is all about. We want to remind one another that Lent is not just about fasting, prayer and almsgiving. But there's a reason behind why we do what we do. Lent is about our baptism. It is about conversion and renewing our lives. The prophet Joel announces a solemn journey that will help us turn back to God.

Maybe we're ok. We're good Catholics. We've not forsaken God. But often the demands of life seem larger than the meaning of life itself. Perhaps we can say that our humanity does take a toil on our spiriuality. So let us be led as Jesus was led, be nourished as Jesus was nourished.

We invite you, who would like to experience a deeper sense of your humanity, you who are 10 or 100 years old, who would like to share your human journey with others, to come, to FAST.

A place to call home

2010-02-23T23:37:00.012+08:00

In a whilst time, we'll have a place to call home. It's a small house in a beautiful place (I call "my colorado"). The kids are always asking when they're going to shift. May faces their many questions. And she's working fast to get the paper work done. The home will be bought this March when we go down. We'll pay for the title of the house 1st. Payment for the land rights will follow later on. Renovations will start once the former owners shift out in the 1st week of April.

When we're there this March, we'll have to settle on the materials, the tilings, the staircase, partitions, shelvings, toilet bowl, cooking stove... lotsss... and of course the actual renovation costings and floor plan, since we will be making it a proper double-storey house with sky garden :) Lord, please bless the house, all who live in it now, all who will be living in it, all who will be visiting it and all who will be working on it! :)

I see a

double-storey painted house

where lives unfold

and children grow

Christ, the head of this household.

The ground floor is a place of welcome,

where meals are prepared

and the day's events are shared.

Prayers are said,

people are blessed

and the hungry are fed.

The second floor is a place of study,

a little library,

for one to learn and read

about the world around and beyond.

It's also a place of rest

where tired feet go and bodies a'slumber

till a new day awakens

The third floor, is really a rooftop,

a cherished sky garden

where the morning sun is greeted

by ginger and onions,

eggplants abundant.

Here the evening sky is marvelled

the stars light up the darkness

and the moon shows off her illuminated glow.

Here we'll wait all night

for another meteorite shower.

the front porch

part of the living room

other half of the living room

the stairs and the makeshift ceiling

the makeshift 2nd floor

outside the kitchen

the kitchen

the CR (toilet)

December Advent Mission Trip

2010-01-30T00:28:00.010+08:00

Christmas has come and gone. I realized I've still not uploaded the Advent Mission Trip pics from Payatas. Looking through it, it feels like Christmas all over again!

We took the older kids to Manila Ocean Park. When they got off the bus, all there was at the car park area was this small little grass area where we were to play some games before going into the Park. The kids thought this place was IT! They were going "Oh My God"! and were in awe of the place. This is what they saw.

May said, "Oh my! When we take them to the real Ocean Park, I think they will really faint."
Here are the kids loss for words

We also took Nic and our lost sheep JP to Erap City with us and spent time with them. The most memorable thing for everyone was the stars whizzing past us as we sat on the roof top one night. More than 20 shooting stars appeared. It felt like the heavens were watching over us that night and the 2 boys made endless wishes! We only found out the next day thatwe had witnessed a meteor shower. Super cool!

Pick the cutest cupid:

30hour FAST IS BACK

2010-01-22T21:03:00.002+08:00

YES THE 30HOUR FAST IS BACK! This will be the 4th FAST.

This year the FAST will be held on the 4th Sunday of Lent.

It will kick off on 13th March in the morning and end with Eucharistic Celebration at 530pm on 14th March.

Venue: Church of the Holy Spirit (Attic)
along Upper Thomson Road

Registration fee: $10 (Students: $5)
Other Contribution: 1 sack of rice

Open to: 16 years and above (Youths - Young Adults)

Note: This is a 30 hour-stay in event. 30hours without food, 30hours in solidarity with the poor.

Watch this site for more updates!

PROGRAMME UPDATE,

INSPIRING SPEAKERS

AND MORE...

Post-Typhoon Ketsana Updates

2010-01-22T20:50:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile since we last gave an update on the victims of Typhoon Ketsana living in Montalban area. We were in Payatas in December and met 3 famillies there who had lost their homes during the typhoon. They were living in Tempecil (Montalban) and their children study in Paaralang Pantao. They shared their experiences with us.

Most of the families affected by Ketsana/Ondoy in that area have since relocated to higher ground within the same area where it is much safer. The area has already been designated for another relocation project. The housing authorities, however, have allowed the victims to seek shelter there temporarily for 3 months after which they'll be relocated to another area. I think it's San Isidro, just before Anawim.

Most people have picked up and moved on with their lives. We're amazed by their resilience to move forward. Of course life is not the same. Defintely harder but they are coping. Many families were very happy with the relief aid they had received from us, especially the utensils and sleeping mats. Some are still in need of pots and woks and borrow from neighbours. Oops! we forgot about that.

The medical mission went very well. With about 1000 seeking treatment. There was a Singaporean doctor and Japanese doctors and Filipino doctors too. The people were very grateful for the meds. Thank you ACCT (Archdiocesan Crisis Coordination Team)

Once again, we'd like to thank all the wonderful and generous Singaporeans who helped! :)

How to Overcome a Calamity

2009-10-05T22:36:00.008+08:00

How does one overcome? How does one continue on with life? I'm back from Manila and already I'm exhausted. What more for those who have lost everything? How does one sleep at night on muddy ground with pieces of debris as shelter?

How does one wait? There's nothing else that can be done except to wait for clothes and food to arrive, if ever they were to arrive... From knowng to not knowing. From having to nothing. There were no goodbyes, no time to let go. Just as the day 26 September 2009 goes off never to return again so are lives changed forever.

This past week I've experienced the power of "overcome". A man lost his house in Isang Dakot, Payatas. Yet when we saw him at the end of the week, he was sitting in wooden makeshift home, next to the very house that had been washed out to the creek. How?

Maycool and Syndey lost their home. The floors can't be seen as it's covered in layers of mud. No one would have guessed where the kitchen, living room and dining room once were. Yet they came to Paaralang Pantao and helped sort the relief aid for the others. We would never have guessed they were victims of Ondoy who had to flee for their lives.

Yet not everyone is as resilient and as ready to overcome. How can they when they've spent their lives building their dreams into reality? Start all over again? Dream all over again?

There are many people who want you to dream and they want to help you make your dream a reality. Whatever Ondoy or earthquake or tsunami has snatched away... no one can ever take your dream away. After every storm comes a rainbow. You know what? It's up to each of us to give of ourselves so that the rainbow can be as beautiful as it was made to be.

acts29 wishes to acknowledge the efforts of people who have been part of that rainbow connection, to give hope when hope was lost.

1. The many who gave more than 300kg (and still counting) of relief aid.
2. Timothy Ho, Jeremy Nonis and Herman Lopez who collected and packed the aid.
3. Paul Goh, Colin Seet, Gerry Teo, Eward G who gave their time, their determination to get all our boxes on to the flight.
4. Terence and Phyllis Spykerman for the VAN!
5. Jasmine from Church of St Anthony's who dared!
6. Youth Ministry Office at CAYC who gave us the space for collection of aid.
7. Raymond and all at Caritas for their quick and effective support
8. Gerald the travel agent who's motto was "Fly us 1st, pay later!"
9. Catholic doctors who gave medical aid
10. Laura from Catholic Nurses Guild who never says no to all our requests!
12. Pascual Laboratories (Philippines) for medical supplies
13. Willie Cheng and ACCT for responding to our appeal for aid
14. Drs John and Priscilla Lee. What an amazing team!
15. Evelyn and family... for taking the 4000 purification tablets to Manila.
16. The logistics help at Payatas: Julian, Kuya Dave and Mr. Loydy.
There's no road you can't get to and no box too heavy!
17. All teacher volunteers at Paaralang Pantao who walk in the heavy rains, through the mud to get to the families. In the toughest of times, you still give big warm smiles.
18. The de-facto medical mission i/c: Dr Christine Carbon who has made the medical missions a possibility.
19. Cathy and Jay Reyes. You believe in prayer and you believe there's always a way.
20. May Batol, our beloved coordinator. Even in your medical condition, you have given priority to the relief efforts. You hopped into Paaralang Pantao. Your hop gave hope.
21. Fr Terence Pereira, our spiritual director, who dares us to dream.
21. Letitia B Reyes. For dreaming... for building... Paaralang Pantao (School for Humanity) for 21 years. Even when others have given up, you have never stopped dreaming.

Please note:
Collection of relief aid is on-going till Friday 9th Octobe 8pm. Drop off point: Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre, No2 Lorong Low Koon, Upp Serangoon Road. *LABEL all bags/boxes acts29

1. Blankets
2. Plastic Plates, Forks and Spoons
3. Clothes (Only Casual Wear)
*No office wear, winter jackets, revealing outfits, cultural costumes, swimming costumes, badly stained.
4. Slipppers/walking or rubber shoes
*No high heels, leather shoes, ladies' boots
5. Soap bars
6. family sized straw mats (not single beach mats) for sleeping

10th October Saturday evening community Mass
All are welcome
There will be a Eucharistic celebration at 7pm, Caritas 9th Floor (Catholic Welfare Building, Waterloo Street) to pray for the victims of Ondoy and Sumatra earthquake.
Celebrant: Fr David Garcia, O.P.

Pictures of Erap City after Ondoy and relief aid

2009-10-05T02:30:00.002+08:00

On the way home on SQ 919

2009-10-05T00:46:00.000+08:00

At an altitude of 11,887m & going at ground speeds 3 times faster than your usual F1 car, we sit comfortably after delivering almost 300kilos of relief aid to Manila. We had gone to see the damage by Ondoy in parts of Erap & Payatas. Houses near creeks were flooded and even knocked over. Livestock and valuables were swept away by the raging currents.
The children enjoy swimming in the muddy waters but the parents can only count the losses incurred. Most families continue to show the resilient Filipino spirit, swiftly moving on to rebuild their houses nearby and salvage what little remains.
We arrived on Thurs night and headed to Payatas.
On Friday, we assisted in the sorting out of the items. Families affected would be given 1 bag of rice with 3 cans of sardines and a bag of clothes. In the evening, the teachers in Payatas informed the victims that the aid could be collected at Paaralang Pantao. First to arrive was Baby Jane with her mum and brother, a familiar face indeed. We went on to distribute the food and clothes as Teen gave medical consultation.
Saturday’s upon us and everyone is preparing for Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) while we head to Erap to distribute the aid. Here, more families are affected and more need medical attention.
In the afternoon, we head out to assess the damage done. The once peaceful creek has now become a raging monsoon drain. And homes can be seen floating across the river. People can be seen crossing the river, wading through the currents. On another side, a house is seen partially on land, and the rest in the creek. Further up, in the home of teacher Maycool, we see more damage. Their 7 pigs & 5 goats were swept away as water levels rose and their home knee deep in mud.
Aid is slow to reach such areas and plans to rebuild washed-away homes is wishful thinking if left sorely to the government. Our presence is only a small contribution but my hope is that the family will be sustained through the unimaginably difficult period. We will now work to provide medication for the families.

Daryl Spykerman

Video of Ondoy hitting Erap City on 26th September

2009-10-05T00:31:00.002+08:00

2009-10-04T00:58:00.000+08:00

A sharing from Nadine Tolibas, friend volunteer (Paaralang Pantao)

more updates from Manila...

2009-10-02T22:37:00.000+08:00

At 4pm, the rains started pouring here in our place. Papa just arrived. He said floods are already knee deep in Fairview. I need to rush to buy groceries. People seem to be in the worry mode. Bread is almost out stock in SM Fairview Mall.

I received a text message from Nadine Tolibas, she’s one of volunteers who went to Erap today. She shared that she had seen many houses washed out by the floods. She mentioned the need for the people to transfer to higher grounds before the new Typhoon Pepeng comes. She shared that her worries, what if they don’t evacuate.

Many people are very much concerned now and wish to donate. Tomorrow Nadine’s friend Julius and their family will be sending donations and relief goods as well. Many of our neighbors are calling; they’ll bring in some clothes for Payatas and Erap as well.

8:30 pm. Just now I receive a text message from Sherlyn, they spent the day packing relief items and visited the Fire House. They were doing good packing more relief items until 8:00pm, until electricity was cut out. She is also asking updates about typhoon Pepeng. I told her typhoon hits Bicol Region now, Metro Manila is in Signal No. 1

Yes, everything happens for a reason, with no electricity in Payatas I just wish my friends do find a cozy spot to rest now. For surely, tomorrow will be a full day.

As for your friend here, I am still in “house arrest” as per doctor’s advice. I have allergies and nursing an infected wound on my feet. The reason might be: rest and relax… God is in control.

Today is the feast of our Holy Guardian Angels too. I’ve been witnessing so many angels and hearing so much news from here and out there in Singapore! 

Take care everyone and please hold on to our mutual prayers that this typhoon wouldn’t hit our country and may the people who are suffering now, in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Samoa receive all the graces that they need.

Updates from manila

2009-10-02T20:44:00.004+08:00

Daryl and Sherlyn arrived at Paaralang Pantao, Payatas together with all of the 14 boxes at 11pm last night. Also at the school were 15 sacks of 50kg of rice. They spent the next morning packing the rice, plates, clothes, blankets and towels which was planned to be distributed to the families in Isang Dakot at lower Payatas, where they still have not recieved aid, in the afternoon. However, they were unable to do so because of the rain. 1 death has been confirmed there. They are expecting boxes of canned sardines to arrive from a factory. Getting portable water is still a problem. The plan for Saturday is to go to Erap to give aid to the families there. North Luzon was on signal 4 alert and Payatas on signal 2 alert in the afternoon. They are expecting super typhoon Pepeng to hit metro manila at 9pm. Everyone has to be home to prepare and power will be shut off in places prone to flooding. Arroyo held a national disaster council meeting in Cainta. A state of calamity has been declared allowing the local government to access their local calamity funds. Across the nation prices of food and other stuff will be controlled. The confirmed death toll in the afternoon was 280 according to DSWD. The government will sponser the burial of the dead. Other problems that have arised from this natural disaster are firstly the shortage of portable toilets at the evacuation centres and secondly health problems mainly respirtory infections and diarrhea.

Manila! Manila!

2009-10-01T22:06:00.000+08:00

We have landed! at 825pm. SQ was ahead of time!!!
We cleared Customs... The officers there were great! 2 people 14 boxes 288kg! Yeah...
the aid is now on the way to Payatas
We're eating at Macs now.. waiting for super typhoon.

Please pray it doesn't come.
Tomorrow morning we head for Payatas. We will spend the day packing and getting ready for distribution.
Dr Tin and friends in MEC will meet in Payatas and start distributing aid to those in Isang Dakot.
It's in the valley between the real mountain and the dumpsite mountain.

Saturday we go to Erap. When we have time we'll post details of those students who have lost their homes and those whose homes have been damaged.

Gerry, the plates are a great idea!!!

God bless.

48 Hours and Counting

2009-10-01T21:59:00.000+08:00

48hours ago, my friend asked us to pray. But we thought we could pray and do more. So the clock started ticking. Wednesday morning the plan fell in place. An impossible plan.. but oh well just give it a shot.

Wednesday morning , ICA started processing my new passport.

11am we’re booked on SQ 916.

1230pm, the details of what was happening in Erap City reached us. Isang Dakot still no news but we that it had been by by Ondoy and at least one kid had died.

3pm, we got the list of things needed for relief from Jay and sent out an appeal for aid, cash and kind to all out contacts. We don’t know what to expect. Maybe 40kg? Maybe more? Someone in SQ is able to give us another 10kg more. We have 60kg of baggage allowance.

5pm Our phones start ringing non-stop and msgs flood our Inboxes.

530pm my dad dropped off new large boxes for the collection at CAYC.

By 6pm we had gotten in touch with people like Jeremy, Herman, Tim to help with the collection and packing. Herman helped us to rent a van. Daryl’s dad would drive it so we could go round and pick up donation too.

7pm Catholic Nurses Guild inform us they are trying to get meds. Catholic doctors are ready to give Panadol which is great because the people there are getting fevers, coughs and colds.

8pm onwards Donations started rolling in to the Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Centre at Lorong Low Koon. Youth Ministry Office kindly gave us the space for the donations to be dropped off.

Friday

830am the rental van is picked up. Daryl’s dad knows the boss. We get a discount.

930am We’re picking up things from Yishun, Katong Convent, clinics, Sengkang. And my new passport too!

1230pm We reach CAYC. Herman has packed 10boxes weighing an average of 15kg each. The donations that have come in overnight were startling. We still have boxes being dropped off at the airport for us. There is more stuff that have not been packed. No time. No space.

The Van leaves. The Van gets lost. The van is carrying the 10 boxes of cargo and the 2 passengers for the flight. My 2nd favourite mantra, Everything happens for a reason... In times like this... just believe. Plus lots of people praying for us.

130pm We arrive at T2. The counter just closed. We can’t check in. We miss our flight.... Stick to the mantra – Everything happens for a reason.

2pm We manage to change our tickets. We’ll take the next flight out. SQ 918 at 505pm. There’s a BIG PROBLEM... we have too many boxes! We managed to push our allowance to 90kg. We can only take 4 boxes.

205pm Lord we’re tired. Never mind the 14boxes (yes 4 more were added at the airport). We have clothes, blankets, footwear, 100plates, about 10 000 slabs of Panadol and 100 lightsticks. But the people who had joined us at the airport were more determined than me. And I have to mention their names here: Gerry Teo, Paul Goh, Colin Seet, Jeremy Nonis and Edward G (who happened to be in the airport) These people were not taking ‘no’ for an answer. They wanted as many things to get to the 130-150 displaced families.

We start calling people. Who can help? A SATS girl appears. A St Anthony’s youth. I have to mention her name! What an angel! Jasmine. She helps us. She’s as steely as the rest. The duty manager comes down. He sees our deed of donation.

230pm We’re checked in, all 288kg of us.

48hours after the appeal to pray...

245pm Me: “Jay we have 288kg of aid coming in at 8pm. Are you ready for it?”

Jay: “Ok we can arrange that. I’ll change the van to a truck.”

What's acts29 plans after Ondoy

2009-10-01T01:03:00.000+08:00

In order of Priority: Almost 150 families require aid and shelter.

1) Get to Isang Dakot and survey damage. Then Erap City. These are 2 places where students from Paaralang Pantao live. In acts29 we're commited to Simplicity, Solidarity and Mission. So yes, we will walk in solidarity with those affected and give the support needed.

2) Get food rations and water supply and distribute (together with the other things we have brought).
Tita and the teachers who know the residents best will decide who gets what. We are bringing clothes, towels, blankets, footwear, Dettol. Generous doctors here are giving us almost 16, 000 tablets of Panadol to help those with fevers. (as requested by the school).

3) Get 1st aid supplies in Manila and treat all those with wounds. We are so blessed to have Dr Christine Carbon (Tin) join us there and she'll see to those in need of medical attention.Tin is also one of two doctors there who have been driving the previous medical missions (e.g TB testing).

4) Find immediate temporary shelter for those who are still on the streets.

5) Interview the families affected both in Isang Dakot and Erap City and assess their immediate needs.

5) Go out to other parts of Montalban and see what help is needed.

Long term Plan (not finalised yet)
1) construction of houses for the displaced on safer grounds
2) livelihood project

Over in Singapore after Ondoy

2009-10-01T00:37:00.001+08:00

Since we began our appeal for aid yesterday, my phone has been ringing off the hook the whole day. Everyone's asking lots of questions and want to know more.

So here's what happened before the appeal. The papers have been publishing over the weekend about Typhoon Kestana. We got reports about how bad things were in Manila. But we didn't hear anything from May, Jay and everyone else. So you know how sometimes the news reports focus on just one little area but the whole of Luzon continues on in oblivion. By Monday we started to see pics of familiar places flooded, familiar names. We tried to contact May. Couldnt reach her. So we thought it wasn't that bad since they weren't calling us. Then we heard \Rizal province had been affected and a small alarm went off. Then by Monday night there was a mention of Montalban and by then alarm bells were ringing loud and clear. By Tuesday morning we were on the net and news was coming out about Montalban and very familiar names. San Jose, Sub Urban... then Erap City! My hair stood on end. http://paradoxicleyline.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/montalban-under-state-of-calamity/
Desperately called Mayb. By this time, she too was trying to contact me.

May was on MSN. So was Jay. May, our dear coordinator, is stuck at home. She can't walk for the past week due to an infected wound from an accident. Being at home the whole weekend, she too was unaware of the damage outside her home... as you would have read from her posts. By Tuesday afternoon, finally there was word from Erap City. Ate Baby had come out to Payatas to see Tita to get help for teachers who had lost their homes. She wasn't able to say much. Communication network in Payatas not that great either. But what we knew was Erap City was hit, homes have been destroyed. There's no electricity and no water.
but it was not submerged.Also no aid was coming into those areas affected.

Still very sketchy. May now had a new job description for the rest of the coming days. Stay home, by the phone and on the net and update everyone, connect everyone (Jay, me, Daryl, the rest of acts29, Ate Baby, etc) and pass info on.. Great plan right?

I thought of perhaps of going during the weekend or the following week. But then Jay came online and asked me to pray for the teachers and students who lost their homes. Jay would not say something like that unless he really needed us to pray! So that's when I decided... I will go to Manila asap and ask whoever in the exco could go. Then Jay tells me he plans to check out the situation in Erap on Wed morning... that means Jay doesnt go to work on Wed?? which is like the whole day already gone cos he would stop by Payatas, pick up Tita and then go to Erap and so on.

So I told Jay we would come on Thursday afternoon. and he said he would pick us up and take the day off too. Take Thursday off too? Woh. Now I'm not just hearing things and seeing things from the media.

So bit by bit May gets news and things start to look bad. teachers only have roofs. houses washed away. only mud left. people living on the streets. no electicity still. no drinking water. By tuesday evening, we had started asking around for things like blankets, clothes, etc as requested by Jay

By Tuesday night, we were ready to book our airtickets. Daryl could go. Debbie not sure.. too much work but would try and me, yes. thanks to iggy.. life saver.. who is free enough these coming 4 days to take over all my classes. At 10pm, I was suddenly reminded of my passport. Only had 5 months validity. Oh no! what do I do? I started calling people. Asking them if they had tried renewing in a day. Everyone laughed.. yes Daryl too.. I remember his words, "Who do you think you are?"... no one's going to give you a new passport in 24hours. I went to bed sad. But one of my favourite t-shirts says, "Look who's behind me all the way."... Jesus.. ok just trust in Him.

Today (Wed morning) 830am I am at ICA. This time i'ts my turn to ask Jay to pray for me. The outcome? They are giving me a new passport! I collect it at 10am tomorrow and I can make it in time to catch the afternoon flight. The people at ICA are really great for being so kind and understanding. T

1230pm! finally Jay calls. He's checked Erap out. He's got pics too. There are places in Erap where the mud is as high going from the waist to the neck. The whole isle on the creek is gone. About 50 families have nothing left but mud in place of houses. People are reusing water and taking water from the creek. there some volunteers giving out aid but not much. Seems to be that all our students (150 of them) can be accounted for.
Sadly in Payastas Lower dumpsite has been hit too. the place is Isang Dakot. We had youths who had homestay there. Jay was not able to get there. Not much word from there. Other than 30 families live there and their homes are destroyed.

This is the way to Isang Dakot (in the background)

We pray for the safety of everyone. We will be on our way tomorrow afternoon and arrive in Manila by 545pm. I trust Singapore Airlines to get me there before the sunsets.

Erap City's Creek After Ondoy

2009-10-01T00:01:00.000+08:00

Pictures of Erap City's creek before Ondoy

2009-09-30T23:59:00.000+08:00

There's a little isle on this creek. The people rely on these bridges they've made to get to real land.

Almost 50 families were squatting here.

13 of Paaralang Pantao students lived on this isle.

On rainy days, kids living here won't go to school cos the creek will be swollen and they can't cross these bridges.

Last year I asked a resident living on the isle what would happen if there was a flood.

He replied that they would lose everything. Maybe even their lives.

This family's home is one of the 1st houses we past when we walk towards Kasiglahan.

The boy is one of our students.

Further Updates from Paaralang Pantao (from Jay's email)

2009-09-30T19:40:00.000+08:00

This morning Jay and Tita Letty head to Paaralang Pantao (Erap) to assess the needs of the many people affected by the typhoon “Ondoy.” So far he confirmed that 50 families lost their houses due to flash floods, 13 of these families have children studying in our school in Erap. Our teachers Maykool and Sydney were among those whose houses were not spared. Jay confirmed around 50 more houses currently submerged in waist to chest deep mud. Majority of the residents started going back their homes and begin cleaning up, slowly moving on.

In Payatas, lower dumpsite (Isang Dakot) there are about 30 families who have been hit hard by the flooding as well.

Critical needs are:
1. Clothing
2. Sleeping Mats
3. Safe Drinking Water
4. Medicines (for cough, colds, flu), and topical treatments for wounds.
5. Food (preferably canned goods and rice).

Further message form Jay:

- managed to solicit 10 x 50kg bag of rice (good enough for 100 families if we give them 5kg each) Next week, I'll be talking to some people who are importing construction materials... affected families will need help to rebuild their houses but hopefully this time, in a safer location.

In behalf of Mrs. Leticia Reyes, our tita letty, I wish to thank you very much for all your prayers and suuport. Tommorow our acts29 friends Sherlyn, Daryl and Debbie will be coming over to help provide assistance to those in need. We are very grateful the support of the many organizations there in Singapore for the promptness of your actions and well meaning endeavors for all the typhoon vicitms here in our country.

God bless and more power!

Sandakot: "A Handful..."

2009-09-29T23:12:00.000+08:00

What Sandakot area looks like…

Sandakot is tagalong word for “a handful.” I sense that the place live by its name, simply because people there seem to embrace life and even try hard to survive even with “a handful.”

I experienced going there a few times with Teacher Jane when we were giving medicines for the kids supported by the TB Program. This place is another area in Payatas where one can sense a feel of the “community” because people know each other very well and people so familiar with one another’s life stories. Many people there can even identify the kids without birth certificates.
I remember the Balanquit siblings, Benito and Anna, “Beauty”, Reynante, Carlo and Teresa. They are just some of the many students that I’ve met the last time I went there, very active and cheerful playing and proud to show off their houses. I remember the houses there made of cardboard and the house with a mosquito net for a wall. I remember the very narrow alleys that serve as playground for the rugged kids around. We’re thinking one lighted cigarette can almost bring the whole place down. Sandakot is near Erwin’s place one of our scholars before too. It rests very near the dumpsite, Payatas version of a land down under. Going there I felt proud of the kids who can attend classes in Paaralang Pantao everyday. Truly, the kids showed great perseverance and strength to be able to walk and trek the rough roads.

Tonight I receive a text message from Teacher Jane, the people of Sandakot are now slowly going back from the relocation sites in Payatas. I wonder if there’s anything left…even a handful…

of courage, strength, endurace, hope….

Typhoon "Ondoy" in a blink of an eye

2009-09-29T23:08:00.000+08:00

It took me a while to to grasp the reality of the recent storm “Ondoy”. I was at home last Saturday comfortable and lazy. My friends kept sending messages about the flooded streets Manila, Ortigas and Makati, worst they were exhausted and hungry. At the back of my mind I was thinking, what’s new? Everytime a typhoon hits the Philippines we hear tragedies—floods, people drowning, houses collapsing, landslides, accidents side by side. But this rain was far from the ordinary. It has been 2 days already and it seems like he rains wouldn’t even stop. The clouds were thick and dark and at 3pm it looks like it’s almost night time.

I decided go to SM Fairview to buy groceries. But the roads were impassable. What I’ve seen was enough to confirm that something had definitely gone wrong. We cannot come out of our place (Lagro Subd.) because the main roads were all flooded. It’s our first time to experience such flooding in our area which is much higher than any area in Quezon City.

Some friends kept on messaging about the flooded areas and how they were walking on the streets and stranded. We cannot do anything but hope they’ll be home soon to rest. It was a silent evening.

Electricity and phone lines were down in our area from Saturday to Monday.

The next day, I managed to get some news. I stayed in my friends’ house to watch the news because we don’t have electricity yet. And yes, what we’ve seen happening in areas so near to us was a shocking experience.

Fairview’s flood reached to chest levels. Fairview Elementary School was flooded. Houses in the creek side near Lagro were washed out. Flood waters reached 2 story houses in SSS Village and nearby subdivision. There were thousands of people on top of the roofs waiting for rescues. So many cities were submerged in water, Marikina, Pasig, Malabon, Manila area and the government wasn’t ready to provide assistance. There were very limited rubber boats for rescuing. Manila in itself is too big, together with its surrounding cities. There were text messages coming from the nearby provinces like Bulacan, but there were no means to reach the people. In the news people were just too helpless to see people drowning, getting electrecuted or cars being washed out. Most of the people in the affected areas fought for survival.For once we felt there were no barriers between the rich and the poor.Afluent villages were not even spared. The shanty's along creeks were washed out and to date many are still missing.

In Largo we were safe, we are in higher grounds but the surrounding areas are so much in need of relief, food and rescue. We’ve seen in the news many volunteers rescuing, sending life vest, boats and providing assistance. It is a comforting moment. But the efforts are not enough.. There were still places unreached and many people in need up to now.

How about Paaralang Pantao children? Payatas? Erap City?

Typhoon: Paaralang Pantao Updates!

2009-09-29T22:17:00.000+08:00

This morning I receive a message from Ate Baby. She told me the floods did not reach the school in Erap but it hit many houses located near the creek. Some of our students live in the area. Two of our teachers, Sydney and Maykool (siblings) lost their homes to the flood. They are now in need of assistance and support.

In Erap City Sub-urban Village families are in need of water, food and clothing. The teachers went on their way this afternoon to check the homes of our students. They have witnessed how the mud and water almost washed the houses. The people are in need of the basics: food, water and clothing. To this moment there were no relief and relocation going on. Some of the families pitched make-shift tents on the alleys and sidewalks and some found shelter with their neighbors who managed to survive the floods.

The lower areas in Payatas were affected as well. People are now settling in basketball courts and schools and waiting for relief goods and relocation. In Bagong Silangan, a place near Sandakot Area, Payatas, it has been reported that 20 people died. Many houses have been washed out as well. Classes have been suspended till Monday. Up to now we don’t have any news on the plights of our individual students. We hope they’re all safe from this tragedy.

We are in need of volunteers who can help reach out to those in need in montalban and Payatas:
1. People badly needing food, drinking water and clothing
2. First aid and medicines
3. Blankets, toiletries and cleaning material to help them clean up their homes

Tomorrow Jay will be going to Erap City to see what more we can do to assist. Mutual prayers,
May

The best birthday present ever!!!

2009-06-18T23:43:00.003+08:00

1050pm It's been a busy day. I've been trying to prepare for a talk but things keep cropping up the whole week!

11pm I have a talk to give tomorrow! and I'm looking at my whiteboard. It says FMM 5.30pm. "Who is Jesus to You?" that's all it says... I recieved this invitation to speak 2 months ago. I prepared way in advance. Saved my script in my laptop. Then prepared other talks and sessions I had to give. In June, I would pull out the "Who is Jesus to You?" script and edit it, refine it, go through it.

So Who is Jesus to Me? Right now, I'm thinking he was watching when my laptop crashed. He probably smiled when I was overwhelmed with grief over the loss of my laptop and he probably laughed, seeing me desperately try to get another laptop. And he probably laughed even more when he saw I had forgotten that my "Who is Jesus to You?" script was gone, along with the laptop.

1110pm Gee.. I can't remember what I had prepared! I seem to have done so many other things in the past 2 months. I remember things like "Jesus will always stretch out his hands and catch you when you fall. Jesus saves." but it seems so long ago. Do these words burn in my heart now as they did 2 months ago? No.. oh dear. I have nothing for tomorrow. Die lah... Sinking....

1115pm Email recieved from Philippines. It's from May our mission coordinator there.. blah blah blah.. Pepito didnt go to school for 3 days.. what?? Can I smack him.. blah blah blah. birth certs to all Payatas kids.. What???!!!

1120.. Hi May ... Pepito what???? ... oh ok.. let him adjust to the new school routine... what?! his 2 rats are now seVVVen!?!?.. can we get someone to take them away when he's not around?? heeheeheehee... Just joking... Birth Cert Registration Office WHATTTT??? pinch me! is this a dream?? They're coming to Payatas! Every kid in Payatas from zero years and up will get a free Birth Cert (real authentic one approved by Government!) on 25th June and 26th June.. all they need to do is come over to Paaralang Pantao for the processing by the officers! Wow! this is a dream come true! This is my best birthday present ever!!!!

Who is Jesus to me??? Yeah he let my world go a little topsy turvy when my laptop crashed... but he always comes through for me. I can spend my whole life trying to explain him, comprehend him, figuring him out but it would be beyond my lifetime and my ability to fully grasp him with my mind. You want to experience Jesus? You want to know Jesus? Don't waste your time proving him. Just open your heart and invite him. Welcome him into your life. Embrace him, Try him. Open your heart to him.

This Sunday's Gospel reading ends with, "Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

Who can this be? Who can move the Birth Cert Office to come to Payatas? It's like a whole mountain has been moved.

I know there are so many people out there who are reading our blog, our stories, our mission. You might ask how is it possible? How are we able to move everyday? How are we able to raise the funds to support the mission? Who's really behind us? What makes us keep going? What makes our mission grow? If you're looking for logical explanation, secret formulas, names of big sponsors. The truth is, we don't have any of that. Our answer is Jesus.

I feel a little anxious.. Tomorrow what am I going to talk about? But I think in just one hour, Jesus has given me enough of things to talk about. :)

Because We Love You

2009-05-30T21:18:00.006+08:00

Dear Joannie, Nic (Nicasio formerly) and JP (Pepito formerly) you're all growing up so fast! Joannie you're growing into a confident young lady. You're already like a little Ate May, watching out for the little ones around you. Nic you're becoming a thoughtful young man. :) and JP still cheeky but you're learning to share.

Joannie don't be afraid to share the great love you have for Jesus with others! Life's going to be different from here on. High school can be challenging, especially with the "fraternities" and peer pressure. When things get tough, always remember your dreams! You've come this far! You've already achieved what you once thought was impossible! Keep on working towards your dreams. We'll always be here to give you the support you need :)

Nic I know life's been hard for you. You've lost the people you love most and I know you still miss them. It's also not been so easy to adjust to this new life and to the new school. No more Paaralang Pantao. But you know what? You inspire me! Because with every obstacle you meet, you've put your trust in Jesus and you prayed "Jesus don't abandon me". And He's not abandoned you. He never will and we won't either. Thank you for giving Singapura a place to call home too :)

JP I can recognise your laugh anywhere anytime. You know why? Cos you're special. There's only one JP and no one can ever replace you. I know you've missed out on so many things before and I know you want so many things now. Sometimes you get upset because Ate May or I say "no". We say "no" because we love you. Maybe you don't understand why we don't give you everything you want, but someday you will. We love you and that's why we helped you get rid of the 1000 ants in your drawer and washed your clothes for you :) and hug you when you're sad. and send you to school and sometimes we scold you only because we want the best for you. We are your family and this is a place you can always call home :)

You know what else? Kuya Alvin is so happy to be with all of you. I never see him smile so much! haha :) and NO he's not angry, he's just quiet! He never washed clothes before but he did it for JP! Wow! and the next time he comes back he'll even cook fried chicken for all of you! :)

Nic and JP, be good ok??? :)

I hope the 3 of you will stick together through thick and thin and keep on supporting each other and always be there for Jovelyn too. Jovelyn I was so touched when you responded when I talked to you! I know you're not ready yet. But I know someday when you're ready you'll talk and step out to see the world. I want to take you to Ate May's place in Bataan where the sea is so beautiful. Where you can see fishing boats and walk on the beach. I hope we can all go with you one day :)

I'll see you very soon for ice-cream... :)

Introducing our Fire House (Payatas)

2009-05-19T02:05:00.005+08:00

Dear friends,
acts29 is happy to introduce to your our communinty home, Fire House. We rented a small unit, just 20sqm, in Payatas this March and welcomed our 1st few residents.

We were at 1st stunned at the choice of name. We had asked our little residents to come up with a name, expecting more traditional choices. However the name Fire House was chosen by these somewhat prophetic and contemplative residents.

On deeper reflection the name aptly reminds us of the presence of God in all our lives. The symbol of fire throughout the Old and New Testatment represents the presence of God's glory. In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit when what seemed like tongues of fire descended upon them. 6 years ago at the beginning of our mission, we recognised the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Our Fire House members have also recognised the same Holy Spirit working in their lives.

None of us expected that when we first said "Yes" to Jesus (to let the little ones come to Him or when we 1st commited to the food project), we would one day be saying "Yes" to our Fire House.

Our House is first and foremost a sanctuary, a place of refuge. It is a shelter for tired and weary little feet, for coarse rough little hands, for broken hearts and broken dreams looking for healing and a new life, a new beginning. 4 pairs or feet, 4 pairs of hands, 4 broken hearts walked through the door of this House in March and began a new life, a life filled with hope.

We've only just begun. With your support and prayers, we'll continue to provide shelter, food and family structure through our community house to homeless and at-risk children and teens.

It is with our sincerest and deepest gratitude to each and everyone of our extended community, all those who have been supporting us... that we wish to say THANK YOU - for your prayer, for your word of affirmation, for buying our t-shirts or bakwa, your donation, your pledge to our food project and to the education sponsorship, your time to read this blog or our website and for sharing our mission with others. Thank you for saying "Yes" to this call to serve. However little you may think you have contributed to our mission, it has gone a long way to make Jesus known and loved through the 100 kids we serve every day at 1pm (lunch), through the kids recently baptised and to be baptised this year, through the TB kids who are on the road to recovery, through the kids who are saying NO to drugs, through the kids who now have birth certificates and are getting ready for formal school this June, and through the 4 lives who now have a home, a hope and a future.

Thanks be to God!

Ps/ Photos of our Fire House will be uploaded next week when we're back from Payatas

Yes Lord Yes Lord Yes Yes lord

2009-05-15T00:59:00.002+08:00

This is a recent reflection of Mayb (Payatas Coordinator) which echoes very much our thoughts and feelings in the mission. Thank you May! :)

Dear Lord,
It’s been more than 3 years since the very day I said YES to Your call to serve. Tonight I hear a voice in my heart, asking how things have been, how Your love has been revealed. I recalled the many fears I have when I said, okay Lord. YES, I recalled the uneasy feelings, the insecurities as I trek the road to the school. My playful heart imagined a scene that the things around me are not as what they may seem to be. Perhaps beneath the dark and dirty creek that I see was a blue river, perhaps beneath the shabby ragged men and women were noble and valiant people. Perhaps within the frail and under nourished kid is a wise individual. Perhaps beneath the poverty lies an abundance of some sort of a thing. I remember breathing within me hope. I remember telling You, I surrender, I let go. Make me Your instrument. I remember the thought, Your words, You are near, You are in everything.
You led me to many tiny hearts. I survived the deepest pains because you showed me their smiles, their hearts - full of simplicity, full of acceptance, full of contentment. I envied them at the same time a part of me, wanted to carry them far away from what seemed to be real. Muddy, dirty, poor, sad, weak; what others say hopeless realities. Yet thinking about what lies beyond this seeming poverty helped me Lord in the journey. Yes Lord, You are always greater. You are always beyond what my senses can offer. You helped me wonder, You helped me touched the things I can’t imagine to hold. Sometimes, you helped me walked on water and witnessed heartfelt miracles. You woke me up in the reality of Hope and the reality that with every insecurity lies a mightier and greater Truth, which you have revealed to the young, to the weak and the poor. And tonight I remember how You have held me tightly through the gift of this community, to the many hands and fateful encounters. You have brought me to a paradise full of little hearts and flickers of lights. You are greater than all things. You are our strength and courage. You are our patience and refuge. So keep me. Hold me. Help me remember the wonderful moments that You graced me in this journey.

And we continue to say Yes to this call to serve

What kids say about our food program

2009-04-16T23:51:00.004+08:00

ARJAY MOGOL 6 years old
“Masarap ang pagkain sa school. Paborito ko ang chicken, sopas at sotanghon. Salamat dahil tinutulungan nyo kami at sa aming pag-aaral din.”

Food in school is delicious. My favourite is fird chicken, macaroni soup and sotanghon.
Thank you for helping us. Thank you for teaching us also.

JAMES BORCE 6 years old
“Feeding? Ah Kainan. Gusto ko ng mongo, itlog, sotanghon, chicken, ang dami. Thank you ate Day-day. Thank you sa lahat ng tumutulung para makakain kami. Masaya ako at tinuturuan nyo din kami.

“ Feeding, for me feeding is Eating time! I like mongo vegetable, eggs, sotanghon, chicken, I have many favorites. Thank you everyone for helping us so we can eat well. Thank you ate Day-day (our cook). I am happy because you are also teaching us.

LORAINE H. BORROMEO 6 years old“
Gusto ko ng kalabasa, baboy at isda.” Salamat dahil binibigyan nyo kami ng pagkain.

“I like to eat squash, pork and fish..” Thank you very much because you always give us food.

CRYSTAL ROSE B. ARCA 6 years old
Salamat dahil nakakakain kami ng mabuti ditto sa school.

“Thank you very much because in school we always eat well.”

CRYSTAL MAE SAPIAN 5 years old
Kumakain ako ng pagpag sa bahay, halo halo taba ng baboy, at buto. Gusto ko ang pagkain ditto sa school, masarap, mongo, adobo, chicken, sinigang. Salamat sa pagbibigay nyo sa amin ng pagkain.

At home I eat pagpag, mix pork fats and bones. I like the food in school, it’s delicious. I like adobo, chicken, sinigang. Thank you for giving us food in school.

LORD AMBERLAND MEDINA 11. years old
Gusto ko kumain ng sopas at chicken, masarap sila. Nakakatulong ang masusustansyang pagkain ditto sa school. Thank you ate and kuya.

I like to eat macaroni soup and chicken, it’s delicious. Eating nutritious food here in school is very helpful. Thank you very much Ates and kuyas.

RESTY TOLENTINO 6 years old

Gusto ko ng fried chicken ksi may ketchup. Masustansya ang kinkain naming ditto. Thank you kasi naging malusog kami.

I like fried chicken because it has ketchup. Food in school is nutritious. Thank you because we are growing healthier.

ALBERT DELA CRUZ 9 years old

Gusto ko ng ketchup at fried chicken, sopas at kalabasa. Masasarap at masusustansya po sila. Salamat po at tinutulungan nyo kami para makakain kami ng mabuti.

I like ketchup and fried chicken, macaroni soup and squash. We are eatinf delision and nutritious food in school. Thank you very much for helping us eat well.

ANABEL DELA CRUZ 7 years old

Salamat at nakakain kaming mabuti, salamat sa mga tumutulung. Gustong-gusto ko ng fried chicken

Thank you because we are eating well, thank you for helping us. I really like to eat fried chicken.

ANGELA GOLONDRINA 8 years old
Madalas ako kumain ng gulay sa bahay. Dito sa school madaming pagkain, Salamat sa mga tulong ninyo sa amin.

At home we always eat vegetables. Here in school we have plenty of food with many varieties. Thank you for helping us.

ABIGAIL MACANTAN 6 years old
Gusto ko ng kanin, gulay, isda, fried chicken.. Salamat pos a inyong lahat na nagbibigay ng tulong sa amin.

I like to eat rice, vegetables, fish, fried chicken. Thank you everyone from giving and helping us.

After a hearty meal these kids are ready to strike a pose!

The kids who gave their views with the best cook in Payatas, Ate Daday! :)

Little Thank Yous from our Kids

2009-04-16T23:45:00.002+08:00

Mary Jane's Message:
"In school I clean and play. I want to be a teacher someday. Thank you for sending me money so I can study."

Erwin's Message: "Erwin is cleaning. Erwin's favorite subjects are Erglish and Math. He dreams of becoming a soldier one day. Kuya Rey (Raimas) thank you very much for helpingErwin study."

Fasting opens our eyes

2009-03-06T01:24:00.000+08:00

Fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live.

In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes: “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him – how does the love of God abide in him?” (3,17).
By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger.
It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving.
From the beginning, this has been the hallmark of the Christian community, in which special collections were taken up (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27), the faithful being invited to give to the poor what had been set aside from their fast.
This practice needs to be rediscovered and encouraged again in our day, especially during the liturgical season of Lent. It is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us to make the complete gift of self to God
May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor.

Excerpt taken from: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081211_lent-2009_en.html

Prayer, Almsgiving, Fasting

2009-02-24T14:13:00.002+08:00

Dear Youths,
Acts29 invites you to journey with us this season of Lent all the way to Easter.
His Holiness Pope Benedict the 16th is inviting all of us to a time of PRAYER, ALMSGIVING AND FASTING.

Youth Meetings during LENT. This Sat meeting will be held at Caritas, 9th floor, Catholic Welfare building. For youths 14 years and above.

30hour FAST
The 30hour FAST is on 7th-8th March, Church of the Holy Spirit. 14years old and above are welcomed to join us! To register email: 30hourfast@gmail.com.

What you need to know:
1. Kindly download Sponsor My Fast form and get your family and friends to sponsor your FAST. Money from this donation will help fund the FAST and the rest of the proceeds will go to Catholic Charities Week.
2. Sponsor My FAST forms must be given to the registration team on 7th March.
3. Registered Participants who do not show up on the day of the FAST are required to pay $10 (to cover the cost of the FAST.
4. Registration of attendance begins at 1130am, 4th floor Holy Spirit Church attic. FAST briefing is at 12pm and FAST pledge will be taken at 1230pm

What will be given during the FAST:
1. White tshirt for you to design your own FAST t-shirt which participants will wear for the FAST
2. FAST booklet
3. Drink breaks
4. Light dinner after Mass (Eucharistic Celebration)
5. Acknowledgement of Participation (certificate)

What you need to bring:
1. sleeping bag
2. jacket
3. toothbrush/toothepaste and small face towel
4. shorts for games/outdoor activities
5. Jeans/skirt and shoes for Mass

Who cannot FAST/participate
5. Participants who are late for the briefing and the pledge
6. Participants who are ill on the day of the FAST
7. Participants who require food in order to take medication
8. Participants who are going out during the FAST (for medical safety)

God gives us everything we need to do His will

2009-02-12T01:57:00.009+08:00

We are now in our 2nd month of 2009 and our mission is alive and kicking in case you're wondering as it's been a little quiet on the blog.

We have many things to thank the Lord for. Our fundraising efforts have been good! We've been praying hard. We've raised enough money to see through the 5th year of our food project and have sent the last installment (Jan to March). We are grateful to all our benefactors whom God have sent our way. Without their support and prayers, our mission would have been futile. As our 5 year mark came to and end, we also had a change of guards with a new finance team taking over the food project, probably for the next 5 years. By Easter, the new team would have started raising funds for the feeding in the new school year.

The medical mission in December has also brought good news. Some of the children there who were diagnosed with tubercolosis are now receiving medication for it and it is free. We want to thank the children from Church of St Ignatius who gave the TB fund, thus making it possible for us to get the vials needed for the PPT testing (tubercolosis testing) of 100 children and Xrays of a few kids done. An answered prayer!

Our Payatas co-ordinator, Mayb, has worked extremely hard, serving the Lord and his people in Payatas. For 2009, Mayb has managed to negotiate for free registration of birth certificates for the children. While there is still some cost involved, it is not going to be as much as what we paid for in 2008. Another answered prayer.

Our little ones in Payatas who are at-risk and are now in Payatas C Elementary have adjusted into formal school and are doing well! Erwin and Mary Jane are in the top class of Grade 1. Nicasio and Pepito are classmates in Grade 1. They're also attending school regularly and bugging Mayb for more tuition :) Joannie who starts high school this June is all excited as she never thought she would be able to afford to go to school. The reason these kids are in school and realizing their dream to study is thanks to the generous sponsors who have come forward to sponsor their education. For 9000 pesos ($300 sing dollars), these children have enough pocket money, school transport and materials for the whole year. They no longer need to work in the dumpsite. Thank you! God is answering all our prayers!

We still have many prayers for our mission and we believe that God will continue to provide for us and lead us to build His kingdom.

Our Angel Network is expanding. We're starting a street outreach to the homeless. Ironically, we're homeless too! However this experience has taught us that we can still serve and be a community despite the challenges ahead. If anything, we see our homelessness actually strengthening our community! We're looking for a place. preferably free or with reasonable rent where we can hold our meetings, build a music ministry and store our mission miscellaneous stuff (the things to send overseas). We continue to trust in the Lord to provide for our needs according to his riches and glory.

We also offer to the Lord the challenges we are encountering within our families. We need to continually offer the peace of Christ to our families even when His Peace may be rejected or unwanted. We also offer our prayers to Mayb whose father has been unwell and for her sister who is due in May. It's not easy to serve the Payatas Mission and also to care for the family members. I am so thankful that Mayb is holding up so well despite the difficulties before her. And Tito (Mayb's father) is such a loving and supportive dad! I'm sure God is touched with the gift of the mission car! :)

A couple of weeks ago, we suffered a loss and we're still in the process of mourning the loss of Uncle Joseph, an elderly, we had adopted under our local mission "Angel Network". We were supposed to be having our recollection. So in the midst of the recollection, there was the visit to the mortuary, the wake and the funeral. I realize that our recollection was not our program but God's. God showed us just what he wanted us to reflect on - Angel Network, the elderly destitute, our purpose.

Our interaction with the elderly destitute started back in Anawim, Philippines. The old people there touched our hearts. I didnt feel sorry for them or had pity for them. I respected the way they lived. Despite being abandoned or having no one to care for them, they did not complain or give up on life. And they aged with grace and dignity because they were in a community where they were valued. Eventually, the ones I was very attached to passed away. I realized that I began to close my heart to the others because I feared having to lose another friend. I guess this is my struggle but now I'm willing to take that step to re-experience the Anawim here in Singapore.

We knew some day that the elderly we've adopted would pass away. We just didnt expect it to be now. As young people we think we have all the time in the world to make a difference. In truth, we don't. The elderly may not be here tomorrow. The elderly destitute here can still lead meaningful lives like how we've seen in Anawim. It's up to us to affirm them that God's plan of love is still being offered to them.

I realize that what we've accomplished so far is beyond our own abilities. I don't know how it is that our Payatas mission is growing and we have a kids' Baptism program to implement. I also don't know how it is that the Angel Network with the elderly is still moving along, even though we struggle to speak the dialect. If I knew that some elderly would pass away and the police would call on us to collect his body, I would not have had the courage to say 'yes' to Angel Network. But somehow he's given us the grace to do His will. Perhaps you're reading this and wondering if you should join acts29 :) and you're fearful that you would not have what it takes. You're in the same boat as us... Just believe that God will give you everything you need to do His will and continue His mission :)

The Great Commandment, the Great Commission

2009-01-22T01:06:00.002+08:00

It's not that difficult to be a good Christian. Jesus' teachings were simple and his instructions were simple too. But it is we who make his teachings and instructions complicated and difficult to follow. We put obstacles before us and give opportunities to the devil to weaken our faith.

The Catechism program for teens in our churches can sometimes be rather complicated. Some churches have textbooks. Some churches have complicated Catechists. Teens are simple folks. Too much teaching can end up with only a little going into their hearts.

While it is good to teach our teens important stuff like how to read the Bible and what is Eucharist and sacraments, etc... we 1st need go take stock of the faith condition of our teens. Teaching the above things are not important if in the 1st place they have no faith. Often in every Catechism class there are more teens with little or zero faith than teens with faith. Many teens think this is what Confirmation means - "this one is a Catholic, confirm... this one may be not be Catholic, cannot confirm." Teens need people to come down to their level and share their faith(both ways).

So let's keep things simple the way Jesus did.

Number 1: the Great Commandment. Always go back to this. Love.. Love God because God loves us... young people want to experience God's love but they don't know how to open their hearts to him. Especially if they've been hurt and have locked up their heart and built a fortress around it. Only God can undo their hurt, heal their wound and love them perfectly.

Number 2: the Great Commission. Serve God. Make Disciples. If young people know and believe God loves them unconditionally, they will go all out to serve Him. We should not wait till the coming of Confirmation Day before we tell them about the Great Commission. We should tell them about this Commission all the time. Because God calls them to serve Him.

The Great Commandment and the Great Commission is for everyone to embrace not just teens. We can share this with our family, our friends, classmates or colleagues, neighbours. Talk about the Great Commandment. Talk about the Great Commission. The more we talk about it, the more people will know it... the more we will live it, the great commandment, the great commission!

The Greatest Love John 13:4

2009-01-22T00:04:00.003+08:00

The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them.
We know that Jesus gave his life for us... Now the question is for us to answer. If Jesus is our friend and we love him.. the greatest expression of our love would be to give our life for him.

Not literally to end our life as that would be the opposite of loving him. But giving our life over to him.
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise

When Simon Peter gave up fishing and followed Jesus, he gave his life over to Jesus. When Paul gave up persecuting Christians, he gave his life over to Jesus.

For those of us who love Jesus then know that Jesus gives us a task, to lay down our life for him. When God gives us a task he always provides everything for us to be able to accomplish it. It may seem tough to lay down our life for Jesus. Perhaps even impossible. God wants us to follow him like Peter and Paul did. God wants to use us just as he did with Peter and Paul. In actual fact, it's not impossible because God will make a way for us just like how he made a way for Peter and Paul. Peter spoke 600 words and converted 3000 people converted(people who didn't understand the language he spoke in yet they heard him speak in their own languages). Paul preached to the Gentiles even though he was a prisoner in Rome. Despite his imprisonment, he spoke about the Kingdom of God and taught about Jesus boldly and freely.

Some of us love Jesus by giving him 5 minutes a day. Some of us love Jesus by giving him $1 a week. We know we can give him more but we won't because we dare not empty ourselves to him. We're afraid that if we empty ourselves, we have nothing left for ourselves. So we make sure we keep 50% and give him 50%. and then we wait for God to give us his 50% But God doesn't and so we give him another 10% (we're left with 40%).. Hoping God would pour back 60%... but he doesn't. Why? Because God wants to give us 100%!!! 100% of his love, his joy, his peace.

At the wedding in Cana, Jesus put back 100% wine into empty wine jars. The new wine he gave tasted even better than the previous wine. If we have the desire to give our life for Jesus, we have to give him our 100%.

An Ordinary Day for an Ordinary Time

2009-01-18T17:53:00.005+08:00

Christmas is over. We've entered into the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. 2009 is here to stay and January will soon be over. The ordinariness of life has taken over. One such ordinary activity we often engage in during the start of the year is we struggle to keep up with New Year resolutions. Many of us, even little kids in school, have set their goals for the year, making projections. The students would have set exam targets and those taking major exams are already preparing for the Day of their 1st actual paper (sometime in Oct). Some adults are making arrangements in case they get retrenched or looking for other jobs. Soon the Budget for 2009 will be released. Singaporeans everywhere are anticipating the budget and waiting for the GST rebates to come in.

So it seems the year has just started but from the plans that have been made, it seems we already know what to expect for the rest of 2009! It's as if we've lived through 2009. We're obsessed with managing everything esp. our time. I wonder if we're good responsible stewards.. or if all our plannings are done out of fear.. fear of the unknown future... So whatever comes our way... we have what we need to survive... We don't anything to want to rock our goals for an ordinary year.

Today's readings are close to my heart. For one, the story of Samuel brings me back to the time when as a hyperactive 10 year old, my siblings were exhausted out and I had no one to play with. While looking for geckos to freeze (then to thaw beside my sleeping sisters), I chanced upon a dusty Bible at the bottom of the shelf. While flipping though the pages I came across the story of Samuel and his famous words "Speak Lord your servant is listening". I marvelled at this little boy... and wondered how interesting it would be if God too would speak to me! I would have someone to interact with when everyone was too dead-tired to play with me. And so I prayed, "Speak Lord your servant is listening (and I'm very bored)". What do you sound like God? (Do you have a deep low voice like my dad? Or a loud voice like my mum?) In order to remember the prayer of Samuel I named by teddy bear, Samuel. I've kept to Samuel's prayer since then. Not a day has gone past, when I've felt bored or alone. God always finds ways to entertain and amuse me. God always finds ways to show off his works that leave me marvelled and in awe. God always finds ways to keep me busy and yet out of trouble.

The Gospel is also special because it led me to discover mission. The disciples asked, "Master where do you live?" and Jesus replied, "Come and See". In wanting to see how Jesus lived, I searched here and there. As a teen I was able to travel alot at very low rates (like $20 to $50, sometimes for free). I went to Disneyland. I rode all the rides all day. I went to Europe, saw Buckingham, Eiffel Tower, went to a mountain in Switzerland. I had a good time. I went to Australia, I went horse-riding and rode in a hot-air balloon. I had a good time. I went to Tokyo and watched sumo!!! I like sumo and I had a good time. I did the ordinary things a visitor would have done.

Then one day I went to a place like none other. A massive place where the mountains were made of rubbish, where I opened my mouth and a fly flew in and then flew out, where it was always smoky and musty, where there was no running water, where a lady had a heart-atack and nowhere to go and where undernourished children worked for long hours in dangerous conditions for a pittance. I didn't have a good time. But at the same time I didn't want to go home. The un-ordinary encounter of the people had begun to change my outlook of what ordinary should be.

We set goals, projections, resolutions to determine our future. The commitment each day to stay on track in meeting our targets, achieving standards, to be approved and accepted by others in the hope of having a successful and prosperous future can often rob us of loving Jesus in our ordinary lives.

We may percieve ourselves to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind people. But the reality of who we are in such a competitive world can be found in how others encounter us. Do the people we interact with daily go away with a sense of joy? Do they feel loved because we have gone out of way to be loving? Do they have peace because we have peace? Do they strive to be kind because they have been moved by our kindness? Before this ordinary day ends, perhaps we can take stock of what fruits we have borne from previous years?

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever. If time brings about change, change that we cannot prevent, then Jesus brings about consistency. Jesus gives us consistent joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In order to enjoy his consistency, we have to be consistent in our relatioship with him. Let him show you what he can do with your ordinary time and your ordinary life. Let's not worry about the "what ifs" and have any fear of the future. Let us spend the year loving Jesus. God does not give the future, He only gives the present, moment by moment.

Have a fruitful year!

Chinese New Year Outreach

2009-01-13T10:42:00.003+08:00

acts29 will be having a Chinese New Year Outreach on 31st Jan Saturday from 930am to 1130am. We need volunteers for this event and hopefully these volunteers after the CNY outreach would like to continue a 1 year outreach program.

Those interested to volunteer for the outreach can email me at:
sherlyn@acts29mission.org

Who are we reaching out to?
Households in 1 room rental flats in Toa Payoh
Mostly elderly living alone

What will we be doing there?
As we have collated data on the households we'll be visit them and get to know them.

What do we need?
We need volunteers who can go around to befriend the residents.
We need donations of foodstuff.
1. Bread (white or wholemeal)
2. Fruits
3. Coffee/Tea
check back here as we update the list this week

What do we need to do before the outreach?
Those who have signed up as volunteers need to pick up some dialect. Teochew/Hokkien/Cantonese. Volunteers will be assigned to the various households according to the dialects they can communicate in.

What words should a volunteer learn in dialect?
Volunteers should be able to converse in simple dialect. Volunteers should be able to introduce themselves (name, where they live, why they are here, what they are currently doing e.g. study or work)

How are you?
Have you eaten?
What is your name?
What do you like to eat?
What do you do during the day?
What do you like to do?
How can I help you?

What happens after the visit?
Each adopted household will have their own individual needs. We'll come up with a year plan based on what we know about the households. Hopefully enough volunteers can come forward to take up a one year commitment.

If you're free on Saturday morning, please sign up and use this opportunity to love God's people! :)

Year 2009: From Worship to Living the Good News

2009-01-03T22:37:00.006+08:00

These are the readings from 1st of January...
…“May Yahweh bless and keep you!
May Yahweh let his face shine on you, and be gracious to you!
May Yahweh look kindly on you, and give you his peace!
In that way shall they put my name on the people of Israel and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27

He came born of woman and subject to the Law,
in order to redeem the subjects of the Law,
that we might receive adoption as children of God.
And because you are children, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of his Son
which cries out: Abba! That is Father.
You yourself are no longer a slave but a son or daughter,
and yours is the inheritance by God’s grace.
Galatians 4:4-7

We're human in the flesh and human in the soul. We belong in the physical world and we also belong in the spiritual world. We know about the physical world. In our physical world, there's war and famine and poverty. There's also science and discovery. There's greed and money and status and power... we face global warming, pollution, animals face extinction... so that's the physical world...

then what is the spiritual world? In our baptism we recieve the person of the Holy Spirit in our lives who lives in us... We don't have to look beyond the physical world for the spiritual or for heaven/kingdom of God. We only need to look deep within ourselves where the Holy Spirit resides. How is that possible?

Because we are the children of God and it is by the Holy Spirit in us that we can call "Abba! Father!"

When we're troubled or distressed we look to the phyiscal world for peace and healing and joy. We also turn to people for help. We turn to money or people with money! But we should 1st look within us, our spiritual world, the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life.

Turning to the Holy Spirit does not mean that suddenly one will have money, or relationship with people will be ok immediately. It does not mean that life will become better. In fact life may get more difficult.. But life will be more bearable. because the Holy Spirit will give us the strength to face challenges we never thought we could handle. The Holy Spirit will give us the peace to look at our problems in a new way. The Holy Spirit will give us the wisdom to find solutions to our needs. the Holy Spirit's recovery program is not good for just 1 day. His program is good for a life time. The physical world is about nano-seconds and instant response, the time of chronos. the Holy Spirit works in the time of Kairos, His time, God's time.

As children of God, as sons and daughters of God, we should examine how we have been living in the past as people of the physical world and convert to be true children of God, putting God as our priority.

How to start doing so? Let us make our time of worship a priority we give to God each day. Set one hour a day to give to God. Let it be the 1st thing we arrange in our schedule and let everything else revolved around that hour of worship. Our studies or work should not be the centre of our lives and everything flows from it. Our entertainment and games should not be the centre. Our worship should be the centre and our life (our work/studies/relationships/etc) flows from it.

I know for many, the hour of worship will be at 10pm or when we have nothing else to do(after the TV show, after homework, just before I sleep). As long as we live in this manner, with this attitude, allowing the physical world to take priority before God, we will struggle to experience the presence of God in our lives.

Joy of Christmas and the December Mission

2009-01-03T22:14:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile since we've had a new post on this blog. My apologies! Also sorry to all those who emailed us at our website. We've been getting so much spam that seveal of your emails was treated as spam mails and I realized it today! oops. to those who have emailed us via our web email address: enquiry@acts29mission.org and have not gotten a reply from us, your email may have been treated as spam and got deleted in the process! so do email us again or tag us so we know and will look out for your emails..

How do we stop all the spams??? as of Nov till now, I've just cleared 500 of them! Tired as I am...after going thru all the emails... I'm determined to post something up here today! tonite!

I was in the Philippines for 3 weeks from November till December and came home for Christmas which is nice because I don't always spend Christmas in Singapore. Lately I've been celebrating it in the Philippines.

Christmas in the Philippines is very different from Christmas in Singapore.
I enjoy attending the 9 days of Simbang Gabi. Christmas in the Philippines is simple. On Christmas Eve, I attend the midnight Mass with friends and their family and we head home for Noche Buena. I was determined this year to make Christmas a meaningful one! One spent with family and friends at home! not in a restaurant! and have home-cooked meal.

In 2007 many acts29 members were in Singapore so we able to have everyday evening advent reflections as a community before Christmas. In 2008, it was difficult as some were still in Payatas and came home late. This year (actually last year haha 2008) my family had a nice dinner at home! I cooked a couple of the dishes like frikadellen and macaroni salad.. hmmm. wat else??

After Mass (some attended midnight Mass), acts29 gathered at my place. We had a Christmas Prayer session after at about 130am. We exchanged Christmas presents with our secret Christmas buddy. Then we stayed up the whole night and spent time together...

December Mission went well I guess. We had a day of TB awareness with the kids. then we had another day of TB awareness with the parents. In Payatas, many people get TB and yup they die of it. Like Nicasio's mum. the Health Centre in Payatas gives free sputum tests and free xrays but of course they're slow to work on it... the residents also don't really want to go for such tests as it's troublesome, they know little about TB and they don't want people to know they have TB which is silly cos TB spreads easily. So TB is now a problem in Payatas. The good thing that came out from the mission is that the Barangay Office is ready to expel residents who refuse to get tested and treated for TB if their kids have been diagnosed with it.
So we're happy that the authorities are joining in the fight against TB.

The medical mission went well. The local doctors came in and did tests on the kids for TB. about 7 kids are now confirmed with TB and their parents and siblings are expected to get tested. If the adults agree to get treated then we will also provide medication for the kids.

the good, the bad, the ugly of Singaporeans on a mission trip

2008-12-15T22:53:00.002+08:00

In November and December we opened up Paaralang Pantao to various groups from Singapore who were keen to experience mission. Perhaps you're thinking of being part of a mission trip one day.. well here are things to consider.

Why would you come on this mission trip?
"I want to experience what a mission trip is like..." If this is your reason, don't come for one for the sake of the locals!!! It sounds more like such a person is here to look, see as a tourist would. To be an observer looking in from the outside. From a missionary's view, that's just rude. The poor, the disdavantaged, the locals are not some kind of exhibits so rich people can go look at.

Sign up for a mission trip because you want to share Jesus!!!

Plan, plan, plan
We had 2 different groups of students join us. One in November, one in December.
The group which came in November had started preparing for their trip since September. They came for 6 days and they had a program for 6 days. They prepared their itinerary well. They also came in during the week rather than a weekend so lessons were on.

The second group decided got their tickets only in November and then a few postponed the trip and came 2 days later. So some had only 5 days and the others had only 3 or 4 days. What's more interesting, they were here over a weekend. During the weekends, school does not function. So there's little the group can do on Sat and Sun.
The 2nd group had no itinerary either for their 3-5 days stay.

Prepare, prepare, prepare!
The 1st group that came in November spent one month in preparation. learning about the culture of the Philippines. They learnt basic Tagalog. They also put together worksheets and lesson plans.

When there were last minute changes, the group could adapt and make the changes. When there was no school, the group did their reflection and sharings. They spent time with the teachers of the school and got to know them too.

The 2nd group had little preparation and were lost most of their time there, especially during the weekend.

Simplicity Simplicity Simplicity!
The 1st group that came with us understood the environment they were in. Of course, they had difficulty getting used to sleeping on the floor and using the CR. But after a couple of days they got used to it.

As much as they wanted to go around and see the place, they respected and understood the rules of the school. So they went out only when a local teacher could take them to the shops or walk around the place. They didn't ask to go to the malls. They didnt bring much money and even if they did, they didn't show it.

The 2nd group was not used to the place, the CR, etc. They complained. The teachers and even the principal felt embarrased that they couldn't afford better logdings for our pampered Singaporeans. They were not happy they couldn't go wandering around and they wanted to go to the malls.

Sensitivity and Dignity!
One of the most shocking things we encountered from our Singaporean visitors occured during this December. I'm so shocked that it took place. Unfortunately I was not there to witness it. I can only apologise to the community there that this had happened.

1 or 2 Singaporeans had decided to play Santa Claus to the kids in the area. They had gone out to the nearby shops and bought toys for the kids. When they got back, they started distributing them to the kids who were of course very happy! Then more kids wanted toys and apparently some kids got upset they didnt get toys. Now because the christmas giving had already started, the adult/s had to out to get more toys for all the kids.

Why is this shocking and even disgusting for something ugly like this to happen on a mission trip? We, rich people, have no right to steal the identity of the poor! We have no right to pity them or feel sorry for them! and go out and buy things for them and give out these things to them. The poor have their dignity! The poor should never grow up and have such a memory of their childhood where rich people came and gave them things! how crippling it is for one's sense of self-worth and esteem!

We should never leave on a mission trip with boxes full of toys and clothes to distribute to poor people! Sensitivity is needed! We bring in school supplies and materials for education. We bring in clothes and toys because we have a project. Like a fundraising project. So the poor can help raisefunds for their school by buying the items like clothes and toys all at very affordable prices for the poor. So that at the end of the day, the poor can say I contributed to the school, I paid for these clothes and these toys! So that parents can have the dignity of having given something to their kid which they had bought.

Poor communities do not need rich people like you and me, to come in for the short term and give them free things. They need long-lasting projects that will give them the support they need to build up their dignity and pride!

I'm very proud of the teens who gave their hearts to children and elderly they met. I'm very proud of the youths who came and dialogued with the community, with the teachers and principal. Kudos to those who helped with the Taas Noo Campaign (anti drug campaign). Congratulations to those who prepared for TB Awareness and supported our TB testing. I'm touched that there were those who lived in Simplicity for all their days there, never once complaining about the CR or the floor they slept on or the food. I'm so glad for all those who came and shared Jesus with each other and with the locals there, through their sharings, conversations, their programs, etc.

Mission is not an action. Mission is not a task. Mission is a process. To those who are reading this and if you were one of those who had been here November or December, you'll realize that mission is not easy. Mission does not take place in 3 days or 6 days or even 14 days. Mission takes place over the course of a lifetime and beyond.

Don't just go for mission and look see. That's not mission. Mission is not about
"going there for 5 days.. to do alot of things!" Mission is NOT humanitarian work!

If you're really interested in mission even after reading this... come join acts29. just email us at enquiry@acts29mission.org

Tribute to Tita Neneng of Anawim

2008-11-12T18:35:00.008+08:00

When acts29 was starting out, we stumbled on a place situated in remote Montalban. Among the hills and rice fields was a 5 hectare plot of land. The plot of land is called Anawim. Anwawim means "the poor of the Lord". This place provides shelter for the elderly abandoned. Here the elderly live in nipa huts or in brick buildings.

When we first came here we fell in love with the place, the old people and with a strong wise silver-haired lady, Tita Neneng, the mother of the centre.

Anawim has always been our home in the mountains. At the end of our mission in Payatas, this is where we retreat as a community to live together and pray together before heading back to Singapore. Else we come here at the end of our 1st week in Payatas to reflect on the continuing mission back in Payatas. Often we find so much peace and joy that we struggle to return to Payatas or even home.

We stay in one of the nipa huts. Every morning we wake up before 6 and a panaromic view of hills and rice fields greets us. Birds busy building nests fly around in song. We have so many fond memories of this place. Like the 1st time ever Francis sang his heart out in front of St Francis of Assis, not knowing Jarvis was sitting behind. This was where we'd always take our long "walk with the Holy Spirit" and spend the day in silence. This is where we learnt to bathe using a water pump and fetched water everyday for our hut. This is where I started to eat liver and lady's fingers and pumpkin and egg plants. This is the place where Cha taught us to sing our 1st Tagalog song, Sa Araw Ng Pasko. This is the place where we encountered the elderly, the abandoned, the dying. Our hearts get broken each time we return. 1st Chris passed away, sweet Chris barely 30 years old who had lost his sight and wa slurring. Eventually he was bed-ridden. I remember us describing the sunset and sunrise to him. Our hearts broke when Lola Decay passed away. The lola whose hair I had cut ad who would always say "Love Me". Everyday she would just grab us and hug us! There was Lola Bibing an ex-school teacher who would always introduce herself as "only sixteen, never been kissed". Lola Bacion, who remembered my full name and address. Each time there were Singaporeans, she would ask if they knew me.

There was my "Mi Amore". Lolo Lito. and so many other lolas and lolos who loved us and welcomed us into their Anawim.

Next Saturday we will be visiting Anawim. I know Tita Naneng would love to have Good Morning Towels and Tiger Balm! I was going to buy it for her this evening.

I cannot imagine going back to Anawim and not see Tita Neneng there in her usual seat beside the door of the kitchen. Last time we went there because we missed her and Anawim so much. We saw Anawim from Erap City. And as crazy Singaporeans, we did not hesitate. we walked straight to Anawim. Never mind there was a three bamboo wide unsteady bridge to cross over the ravine. Never mind that we had to walk across the rice fields in our flip-flops or sandals, bitten by red ants, ankles covered in mud.
When we reached Anawim, dirty and muddy, she didnt ask us any questions. She just hugged us! Got hot Batangas coffee out (as if she knew we were coming!) and lots of warm pandesal, soft drinks! She got us to wash up! Gave me a new pair of slippers cos my disappeared somewhere in the mud! That was our lola, our friend!

I love going down in the mornings and afternoons and evenings to pray the Rosary with the lolos and lolas. Tita Neneng would always get us to lead. This was a great challenge for those who didnt know how to pray the Rosary. After an experience in Anawim, one will know how to lead the Rosary confidently. During merienda time or in the evenings, Tita Neneng would share with us how God provides for Anawim. Newcomers would sit close to her listening to her stories. And the older ones never get tired. Each year when we come, we'd always ask, "Tita tell the story of Anawim". And it was so uplifting to listen to stories of faith and providence... God's love alive in our world.

Thank you Tita for the Batangas coffee, for the ma sarap meals, for the stories and for your love!

With Tita Neneng at Anawim's 8th Anniversary

http://bosanchez.ph/heaven-has-delicious-tinola-today/

Quo Vadis Weekend

2008-11-10T23:37:00.003+08:00

Hey acts29
these are the details of this weekend's Quo Vadis? (means where are you going?)
Saturday morning: Meet at 138 line Amk Interchange. 8am. Fr David will be there.

We'll proceed to Seletar Resevoir for morning walk/trek/hike
After the hike, we'll travel to Changi Jetty for lunch get foodstuffs. Then catch the boat to Pulau Ubin/Camp Nordin. Please note that handphone reception at Nordin is not very good. Your network might switch to Malaysian one if you have auto-roam. If no autoroam, there may be no network.

What you need to bring for the weekend. Please keep your bag small and light because we have camping equipment to distribute!
1. shoes/sandals for hiking in the jungle
2. poncho or raincoat
3. 1.5l bottle filled with water
4. extra clothes (and for swimming too)
5. sleeping bag
6. towel/toiletries (share/keep it light)
7. own fork/spoon/mug/plate or bowl
8. Divine office!!! (DUN FORGET!!!)
9. Torch light

Camping equipment
1. Tent 1 (Sherlyn)
2. Tent 2 (Jocelyn)
3. mess tins (Sherlyn, Terence, Alvin, Daryl, Iggy)
4. Sulphur powder (Alvin)
5. Army repellant (Alvin)
6. Kerosene (Daryl)
7. Solid Fuel (Alvin)
8. Raffia String (Johnny)
9. can opener (Sherlyn)
10. Swiss army knife (Johhny.. duh)
11. Lighters/matchskticks (Iggy)
12. Aluminium foil (Iggy)

Foodstuffs (buy at Changi)
1. potaotes
2. mash potatoes
3. hot dogs
4. maggi mee
5. eggs
6. bread
7. milo
8. marshmallows
9. chocolate
10. chips

How much?
1. Boat ride: $2.50 one way ($5 2-way)
2. Food contributon: $5-$10

We will strike tent/break camp by noon so you can attend Sunday sunset mass.

2009 Paaralang Pantao T-shirt now on sale $10

2008-10-28T00:20:00.001+08:00

TB, scoliosis and more depressing news

2008-10-25T20:52:00.003+08:00

Recently someone asked me how we could be so optimistic about the situation with the kids in Payatas? Let's take stock of the negative developments in the last 6 months:
1. Nicasio and sisters have lost both parents. We know the mum died of TB.
2. Nicasio and sisters are diagnosed with TB and need at least 6 months medication.
3. Nicasio has scoliosis
4. Pepito, Nicasio's Best Friend is suspected to have TB too. So he'll go for a medical examination this coming week.
5. 20 other kids are suspected to have TB. so there'll be another medical mission in November to test for it.
6. Erwin sill has no one to sponsor his education for the year which costs $300.
7. We've lost Joshua. His mum has taken him out of school and he's most likely at work somewhere.
8. We've lost Arnil who's now working in the dumpsite and according to the other chidren, he smokes.

Other negatives with Payatas:
1. Children exposed to immoral danger such as drugs/porn/abuse (physical, sexual)
2. Children taken out of school to work as scavengers/dumptruck assistants or recruited by drug lords/prostitution houses/gangs
3. Children's parents can't afford to get them a birth certificate because the legal procedure is costly and time consuming (est a 2 month cat and mouse affair)
and the list goes on....

Our greatest worry today:
We weren't able to raise enough funds/pledges this year for the food project so we have only about 2k left till last till Dec. We don't know what to expect in January.
The cost of running the feeding project for one month for an estimate of 80-100 children for 20 school days/month is $1000. If our feeding project doesn't go through after January, the kids will fall out and work in the dumpsite.

Our greatest nightmare:
That any of them gets into an accident and follows the same fate as Marvin.

Our dilemma:
Recently the Lord blessed us with some donation from a group of very generous kids. they gave $400. We wanted to add this to the feeding project which would cover about 8 days of lunches. On the other hand we received news that there's a TB problem. So in the end we chose to allocate the money for a TB Fund at least to get meds for the kids who need it.

The positive side:
If we keep working/keep the food project running... etc
1. the kids will learn to read and write (an essential element of modern society)
2. the kids will learn about Jesus and are prepared for their Baptism next Easter
3. the kids will eventually get their birth certificates, study hard in formal schools and make it some day.

The odds are stacked against us. Many times of course we feel like quitting, giving up. At times we've felt so helpless amidst the sea of poverty. Other times, we feel frustrated because the commnity does nothing about the grave immorality existing in their area even though they know it's wrong and bad. Frustration because for every obstacle overcomed there's another larger one in front.

We need a lot of hope, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. We believe in having hope and passing hope on to others. Hope is not a feeling, an emotion or something like a wish that is magical. Hope is within one's reach. Hope is real and concrete that we can all have, a light that calls out the path which we could not have seen in the dark. Hope is having peace within, from knowing the peace of Christ.

So TB, scoliosis and more depressing news are not enough to take away the peace that Christ gives from knowing Him.

Another reality game for your mission!

2008-10-22T22:12:00.002+08:00

This is a game for Fastfood nation!
Learn how to run one of the world's largest corporations - MacDonald's....

Try not to get sacked! Make money for the company!!! so we can have more burgers!!!Enjoy

http://www.mcvideogame.com/

World Mission Day Online Game

2008-10-20T23:32:00.002+08:00

World Mission Day was just this Sunday. For those of us who have the luxury to sit in front of our laptops/desktops ever so often to play online games, how about trying out this virtual reality game, Third World Farmer.

It's really challenging. You're in a family of 4 and you need to survive! The 1st time I played it, I was ambitious thinking i could afford to send the son to school. I mean, it's school rite! all kids need to go to school. In the meantime the dad and mum would plant corn that harvested just about $20. As the game goes on, the reality of this 3rd world family sinks in! Oh Man! No one can predict when my corn is going to be destroyed, when are the droughts or if anyone will steal my one and only chicken. in the end desperate i take a deal to store waste chemicals. Sadly, one famiy after another ends up dead! Another time I played this game, i was so desparate to keep my family alive, i made a deal with a poppy salesman and grew opium. Though my conscious pricked, we were able to afford an animal to plough the fields and grow lots of peanuts.

What advice I can give is: think as if you're really in rd world situation! Marry off your members when you can, make sure the new spouse moves to the farm, and have baby when possible... cos the life expectancy is pretty short! so you'll be playing for a few generations!

The game is really an eye-opener!!! Try it!
http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

World Mission Day

2008-10-19T22:29:00.004+08:00

Hey everyone!
Today we celebrate World Mission Day. Let us remember Missionaries all over the world who continue to offer their lives to be witnesses of Christ's love today.
Maybe some of you are thinking about becoming missionaries. in the next 3 posts are 3 interviews of people who share with us what they do, the struggles they encounter and their drive to keep going.

As missionaries, let us look at the signs of the times. Today's signs are not very good and the world forecasts gloomy days ahead. World leaders, finance experts and the man on the street all say the future is bleak. Large financial insitutions have crashed. There are retirees who have lost all their money in one night. This afternoon at 99cents Sushi, a group of 50 to 60 year old (babyboomers) ladies were having lunch and sharing their views over the financial crisis. One lady remarked as I walked past, "We've always been taught to invest, not save. Invest, invest. Don't save!" (P.S/ They did not look like ladies who would NOT have dined at 99cents sushi)

When I reached home, I opened the letterbox and recieved a nice gift from Singapore Power. The Power bill! From Oct we are now paying 21% more than before. I would gladly support this! Sure! let's save electricity right? but Singapore's energy source is 80% natural gas. An interesting fact, I recently discovered. Hmmmm.... Apparently the rates for natural gas is tied to the rates of oil prices! Sounds ridiculous? Does our country really need this 21% increase in electricity bills at such a time? And thanks Singtel... heard you guys are in the works to raise your charges too.

I wonder if water tax will increase too? There's a 30% water conservation tax. While we are often told that Singapore does not have enough water, interestingly we have a lot of rainfall. Enough to supply our country's demand for water according to experts.. you can google this out for yourself. Well, Singapore is really small right? and how many months in a year are considered wet days? In the past couple of months it's been raining and raining with some dry hot days in between. How do I know? I need to time my laundry. I get good sun at least twice a week now! According to a friend, November and December is going to bring more rain. How about a break on the water charges for those months? hehe.

It's been bad news one after another right? 1st there was the China milk scare. Then the current financial crisis. But before this... food prices were soaring! and so was the cost of oil! Thankfully food prices are coming down and oil has gotten cheaper by today's standards. Chocolate lovers can take heart to know that they can still afford to indulge in a little chocolate. It seems that chocolate prices have fallen at supermarkets. I'm not a chocolate-friendly person but this is what I noticed. And the chocolates aren't even from China. Oops! Maybe they're old stock from Australia and elsewhere which stores couldnt get rid off till the China products were taken off the shelf? hehe.. check the expiry date ya? haha Oh yes and taxi fares went up! Maybe to some Singaporeans living in Serangoon Gardens, it's the foreign workers dormitory coming up. In today's Crime Watch there's a special section on how to deal with foreign workers! Oh man!!!

I just received a text message. Someone died at a friend's block. Probably suicide! People! don't jump off buildings, don't jump off trains! Don't kill yourself! If you can hang in there for five years, things will get better! That's what Donald Trump said. be in bankruptcy or cancer.

The lesson to be learnt from all this is THIS: Nothing is certain! When I bought insurance with AIA, I never knew that they would be in hot soup some day! We spend so much making elaborate plans! what do we do with our material objects??? invest? save? the world would be a happy place if we could all live like St Francis of Assisi who said something like this: if you have something you worry you lose it. If you have nothing, you have no worry of losing it. In today's context, we stock up and we hoard. We possess, we own. We stamp our title over everything that is ours and we protect what is ours so that no one can take what is ours away from us. We don't think of collaborating, sharing or co-operating. How about sharing resources? Like having a common kitchen, sharing a community fridge with the neighbours or share electrical appliances so the community can conserve energy?
But in this world, community is impossible? Every man for himself? Can we structure our lives to be interdepdent on each other? At family level, within the community and among countries... Often greed gets in the way!

But nothing is certain. we can never be 100% certain of anything! except ONE THING!!! AND IT IS THIS ONE THING THAT WE SHOULD THEN BUILD OUR LIVES UPON! Jesus Christ, yesterday, today, forever.

How can we be missionaries today? Invest our time and effort and energy to know God. Invest in prayer time! Because prayer gives us that inward strength and grace and wisdom to trust in God. When the storms come and the heavy winds rush against us, we will stand strong because we have invested in a solid rock foundation! When we know God, we know where to go to seek him to be our refuge, our shelter, our fortress in times such as these. Invest, invest, invest in a life with Jesus!

And don't forget Save, save, save. Remember Jesus Saves! There are people all around us who are waiting for Hope to come! These people for the longest time in their lives have wished and wished. Wishing is magical. Wishing is not going to help anyone. Wishing gives no solution. But HOPE is concrete. Hope is having a way out of the tunnel. Hope is having a plan. Hope is certain. Hope is J-E-S-U-S.

Let's strive to be contemplative missionaries who take time to pray and listen to the Spirit at work in our lives and in the world. Let us also strive to be prophetic missionaries who speak the Truth to others and to the world. Let us not be in it for popularity rankings or for honours. Often the truth hurts and is even rejected. Our world has changed so drastically, the biggest change ever, in the last 100 years. Including the greatest amount of injustice, violence, poverty and suffering! Yup it's all in this last century. And the injustice, violence, poverty and suffering is set to increase unless we speak and echo the truth!

Meet Father Tomasz, Turkmenistan (Interview with Missionary)

2008-10-19T22:18:00.002+08:00

I am from The Congregation Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. I am from Poland and I have been a priest since 1997. I arrived in Turkmenistan on 10th March 2000. From the moment I have entered the Oblates Congregation I always wanted to work on missions. The truth is that I have never dreamt about Turkmenistan because I didn’t know much about that country. Madagascar was my biggest dream, but after 2 years of work in Poland my Province offered to me Turkmenistan as a place for my mission and I decided to go there immediately.

Turkmenistan is very young country existing from 1991, emerged into independence from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Turkmenistan never existed on the maps before; this is totally new country not a rebirth of the old one. The country with its capital in Ashgabat is located in Central Asia bordering with Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea. The area of Turkmenistan is 488,100 km2 but much of the country (80 %) is covered by desert known as Kara Kum (“Black Sands”). Population of the country is about 4 million, there are two official languages Turkmen and Russian.

The Catholic mission has been opened in autumn 1997. Two missionaries Oblates arrived from Poland. Father Andrzej Madej OMI was appointed as the Superior of the Mission Sui Iuris by the Pope. (He is an ordinary for Turkmenistan), and father Radoslaw Zmidrowicz OMI. They were first catholic priests to arrive here after 80 years absence of a priest. Before that there was a priest in this area but only for one year, never before and never after that.

This is why we start from scratch. When after 2 years I arrived to Turkmenistan as a 3rd Oblate, there was already a group of about 20 catechumens preparing for baptism. At present whole community is about 80 people, and for past 6 years only 2 priests are working here. Until this day Catholic Church hasn’t been accepted by the country. This is why our official statute is diplomatic mission.

As I already mention our work has dual character and we share our duties into work in diplomatic corps and pastoral work. Besides everyday Mass on which there are between ten and twenty people present, we have regular meetings with people who are preparing for the sacrament of christening and regular religious educations for adults who are already christened. The whole preparation for the christening takes about 3 years. Besides that we take part in diplomatic life, we are obligate to attend all kinds of official meetings. We also try to help people in everyday life and we lead small Caritas.

The struggles of the young people in Turkmenistan are mainly the same as the struggles of the Catholic youths. First of all it is lack of prospects for the future, there is no good education, no cultural entertainment. There are a lot of young intelligent people who have no chance to study, system is constructed in such a way that unable personal development of average person.

When we began our mission in Turkmenistan one of our Fathers gave us such an advice: Low profile. In present conditions high development of our mission is impossible. We have no registration and because of that we have some restrictions, this is why to keep low profile is the best solution. What keeps me going is growing community and living faith among neophytes.

Uplifting moments in my mission were all kinds of visits of different guests and evangelizing groups. We had such groups in Ashgabat few times already. Because we are a church in separation (the closest church is about 1500 km in Uzbekistan) visits of other priests, evangelizing groups and laypeople are very helpful and give us proof of living faith.

My message to youths engaged in mission: The most important is to not lose heart when the first time things go wrong. We can not expect too much and we have to do our job and not to be discouraged when the fruits of our labor don’t come immediately. One day they are going to be visible anyway………….

Fr Tomasz in blue jacket

Meet Paul Petrus (Interview with Missionary)

2008-10-19T22:08:00.002+08:00

Papua New Guinea is one of the four Melanesian countries (PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands). PNG received Independence from Australia in 16th September, 1975. PNG has four regions, New Guinea Islands, Momase, Papua and the Highlands. I am from the Highlands region in a province called Western Highlands.
PNG is one of the interesting countries in the world because it has over 800 languages with a variety of cultures.

My work: I am a freelance researcher. Currently I am doing research for the Catholic Archdiocese of Mt. Hagen in my province. Mainly collecting oral histories for the church. I am also a Radio announcer and programmer in our local Catholic Radio.

Challenges I Face: Working as a layman in the Church is very challenging. Seeing my school mates working in big offices with higher pay makes me tempted to leave the church and apply for a job in those big offices. Therefore, I struggle to earn a living with the little money that I earn. Having in mind the roles and responsibilities in the societies and the high expectations from the people. Working with limited resources, overloaded with roles and responsibilities in the church is quite challenging.

What keeps me going: When I realize the value of my work towards the people now and in the future it motivates me. And also when I receive positive comments from my boss or other people it encourages me to continue.
I have a aim and desire that I would like to see my people and country develop and my input seem to have a vital contribution.

My hope for the young people in PNG is that, more than 50% of them should be educated in the year 2010. But most importantly more than 70% of the young people should receive a tertiary qualification in the year 2020. If that is possible then the development of our society and the country is possible in all aspects.

Mission means working in any field that you are qualified in with your heart and mind for the good of the majority of the population in your community. The outcome of your mission can be achieved at present or in the future.

Paul with Sherlyn

Meet Marie Mondu (Interview with Missionary)

2008-10-19T21:50:00.003+08:00

Hi my name is Marie, I am 26 years old and working with Caritas Australia on the STI Managment Program as a research officer. My mother is from the highlands of New Guinea (Enga Province) and my dad is from the coasts (Madang Province).

Papua New Guinea is a very diverse country, rich in culture, and natural vegetation. We have more than 700 different indigeneous languages! 19 provinces and almost 5 billion people. People's physical upmake are very different just like our cultures. Some of our people from the islands and southern part of PNG look more like micronesians. My people are more aggressive, short and stocky. There is an island full of very dark people who look like African's - The Bukas. Each province have their own staple food. PNG is indeed diversed.

95% of these populations are Christians, the churches that dominate are Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran and United Church. We have so many other postelates churches springing up every year as well. 97% of land is customarily owned. 85% of people live in rural communities, villages and are subsistent farmers.

HIV is a growing socio-economic issue in the country right now. We have an infection prevalence rate of 1.6%, which the data is not fully accurate or representative. Our country is rough, rugged and there is no effective data system in place for accuracy in this kind of work. I do HIV research and try to minimise stigma and discrimination by educating people. I have a strong voice for women rights and issues as we are still suffering from male dominated prejudice.

I travel alot and as a female, I worry all the time of being raped, robbed or end up dead in an accident. Air travel is quite expensive and we travel by road mainly. I think that's the greatest challenge. I think personally, I'm suffering from starting up a relationship, as I'm constantly moving around and no boyfriend would like that. So that's the sacrifice I had to make for this job.

I don't know the spirit of volunteerism I suppose. I've learnt that it makes me trully happy when I give something to the little people, people who have not had a chance to go to school like I did. Besides I love traveling and meeting new people. I guess people and places generally amaze me. If you look close enough you can see how great God is when you look at the myriads of people and places you've experienced in your life...

I hope through the church we could administer programs that would involve many out- of-job youths, to make sense of their lives. It's really a desperate situation now as we have a high number of young people dropping out of school every single year. It's hard to instil hope and give a mission to hopeless youths. We need your prayers in that.

I see mission as a job, task or obligation I must commit to, to make the world a better place to live in. In laymen's term, it is mostly a compassionate action. It can be a paid thing or volunteer job but the most important aspect of reaching out to others encompasses 'SELFLESSNESS -and something to DO WITH THE HEART'.

From left: Mayb, Sherlyn, Marie, Dominica, Daryl

Our angel, Jesper Uaje

2008-10-12T16:23:00.004+08:00

Dear Friends,
our 4 year old friend Jesper Uaje who was staying in Erap City passed away yesterday morning. Jesper was diagnosed with Ependaymomma brain tumor a couple of years ago. Jesper was an active baby but lost his sight around the age of 2 years and eventually his hearing. He also could not walk eventually. His grandma Norma who was seeing to all his needs was able to get help from a charity organization and Jesper eventually went for treatment at the Children's Hospital this year.

He underwent an operation recently and was able to hear again. However, he slipped into a coma some time after. As he has returned home to God our Father, we know that this baby is free from the terrible pain attacks he used to suffer. May he look down on us and watch over us like a little angel. Let's also lift up Norma in our prayers. She had such a devoted and unwavering love and cared for him every moment in his time of need. May the Lord strengthen her and be her comfort as she griefs the loss of her beloved grandson.

I feel sad that he has passed away. Just a couple of days ago someone gave us money to buy presents for the kids during our mission in December. The first child I thought of was Jesper. I had hoped to see him this December. But I know that God has his reasons and knows what is best for his beloved. Goodbye Jesper. Thank you for your beautiful smile. Even though you never saw us or heard our voices, we'll always remember you :)

Earth Speaks this Saturday

2008-09-29T15:33:00.001+08:00

Dear Friends,
Are you aware that Vatican has added 7 new modern mortal sins? In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Girotti said he thought the most dangerous areas for committing new types of sins lay in the fields of bio-ethics and ecology. “You offend God not only by stealing, taking the Lord's name in vain or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments that manipulate DNA or harm embryos,” said Bishop Girotti, according to L’Osservatore.

The bishop classified as social sins drug abuse, "morally dubious" experiments such as embryonic stem cell research, polluting the environment, excessive wealth, contributing to income inequality, and creating poverty.

The seven social sins are:
1. "Bioethical” violations such as birth control
2. "Morally dubious" experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment !!!!!!!
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty

This Saturday 4th October, acts29 invites you to Earth Speaks? What is Earth Speaks about?
As you can guess by its name, Earth Speaks is a presentation-discussion-sharing on environmental concerns.

This is open to all Catholics because the Earth is our responsibility. For too long, many of us have taken Caring for the Environment as an option! For too long we have heard our friends and family say “Oh! I’m not interested in that topic!”

“Before it’s too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth,” he said. “We need a decisive ‘yes’ to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible.” Pope Benedict 16th at September 2007 Mass in Loreto.

Do bring your friends down! See you then!
Venue: 55 Waterloo St, Catholic Welfare Services Building, 9th floor (CSCC)
Nearest MRT stations: City Hall/Bugis, Location: next to SMU/behind Church of Sts Peter and Paul
Date: 4th October
Time: 4-6pm
Free Of Charge

Presenter: Fr David Garcia (O.P)

God bless

A Reflection on Nagasaki and Hiroshima - Fr Michel Siegel

2008-09-29T15:27:00.003+08:00

From http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/~mseigel/

A good deal of time has passed since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The so-called baby-boom generation, born after the war, are now grandparents. For more than fifty per cent of the world today, Nagasaki and Hiroshima are events that happened not only before they were born, but before their parents were born. We have all grown up acquainted with the fact of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But we may be im danger of forgetting. Last Wednesday, the anniversary of Hiroshima, I paged through the Age, the Herald-Sun and The Australian to see how much coverage would be given to this anniversary of the bomb. I was extremely disappointed. Neither the Herald-Sun nor The Australian made any reference to the fact that the day was the anniversary of Hiroshima. The Age had one article—and that was a commentary that actually justified the bombing.

My own first encounter with a bomb victim was a woman in my first parish in Tokyo. She was just outside Hiroshima at the time of the bomb. She was unhurt by it. But her sister was in the city and she went in to the city to look for her sister. As she saw the condition of people, she became desperate in her quest for her sister. She ignored and even literally pushed aside all others regardless of the degree of their suffering. Her behaviour of that day has left her with an image of herself as a cruel and heartless woman. Perhaps she was on that day—but she was faced with a situation that no human being should have to face.

Many years ago I read an estimate that in Hiroshima, 80% of the medical personnel died in the first one 6000th of a second. I am not sure if it is the hopelessness of facing such devastation without medical personnel or the suddenness of it all that most affected me, but I have never forgotten that statistic. I have no idea how accurate it is. It is obviously an estimate, not an actual measurement. But it is equally as obvious that something very akin to that statistic must be true.

The story of Barefoot Gen recounts an experience that seems to have been shared by a good number of people: a person is talking with a friend or acquaintance; a momentary flash of white light causes them to blink; when they open their eyes the friend has disappeared; then comes the blast force and the surviving person must struggle for their own lives but the inexplicable disappearance of the person they were talking to leaves them in a state of mental consternation for some time. This happened wherever people were talking in a situation where one was protected from the radiation and the other exposed to it, in close enough proximity to the epicenter for the radiation to instantaneously reduce the exposed person to a shadow.

I have heard the experience of the grandmother of a friend who, on her way to work that morning, walked under an underpass. When she entered the underpass, the city was intact and normal. When she came out it was gone. She does not mention a white flash or the blast. I don’t know if she was aware of these. Significantly, too, she does not use any expression like “a smoking ruin” to describe Hiroshima after the bomb. She simply says it was gone.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not the greatest tragedies that humanity has experienced. If we include natural disasters, the destruction of Pompeii by the eruption of Vesuvius, in three days killed roughly double the number killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale into insignificance against the Black Death, and against the potato famine in Ireland, and many other tragedies of human history.

Other human acts of inhumanity also vastly overshadow the dropping of the atom bombs, certainly in terms of the numbers killed, and probably also in the degree of heartlessness and inhumanity. I refer to such events as the conflicts in Rwanda and Zaire (now the Congo) in the mid-nineties, the Holocaust, the siege of Leningrad, the massacres and the spread of disease associated with the spread of colonialism, etc. The bombing of Dresden and the fire bombing of Tokyo are often cited as having been on a par with Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Even as far back as the first century, the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 involved more deaths than Nagasaki and Hiroshima combined.

But there are things that make Hiroshima and Nagasaki quite different from these other incidents. One is the time-scale. In no other of these incidents do we speak in terms of thousands of a second. The sudden and instantaneous nature of the destruction was something totally new to human experience. So too is the duration of the damage. In the other incidents, insofar as they can be counted, the tally of victims can be finalized. Not so with Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many doctors involved with bomb survivors say that the radiation causes genetic damage that will be passed on from generation to generation to generation. If this is the case, the count will never be complete. Anyone who lives in Japan will know many people who face an increased risk of cancer because their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were in Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

One thing that staggered me in Japan was to meet a person who had survived both bombs and to learn that there are in fact quite a number of such people. Hiroshima was then, as it is now, a place where people from Nagasaki go to look for work. There were many people in Hiroshima from Nagasaki. After the bombing of Hiroshima, it was still possible for them to walk to a railway station in a neighbouring town and travel back to Nagasaki. Many did so, and got there in time for the next bomb.

Many of the other incidents of inhumanity were carried out in the heat of battle (although what should be made of that is difficult to say), but the decision about Hiroshima and Nagasaki was made at a great distance from the battle in a setting that should have enabled dispassionate decision-making. It was also made with the opposition of such important military leaders as Churchill, Macarthur and Eisenhower.

Nagasaki and Hiroshima are also unique (except to some degree for Dresden and Tokyo) also in the distance from which those who carried out the destruction were able to do so. Even the people most directly involved, the crew of the bombers, after a brief survey of what they had done, were out of sight of the target in minutes and returned to the safety and comfort of their bases in a few hours.

Perhaps the most frightening characteristic of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, however, is the fact that the bombs used were small compared to the ones that have now been developed. Any future use of nuclear weapons is likely to overshadow Hiroshima and Nagasaki every bit as much as Hiroshima and Nagasaki overshadow the damage of the conventional weapons of that time.

A Human Experience
I first went to Japan in 1973 and when I went there, I shared the prejudices toward Japan that others Australians of my generation held. I think that there were two things in my first years in Japan that provoked me to change my attitude. One was the very simple fact that I experienced so many Japanese, including former soldiers, as good people. The other was that I came to learn of the way that Japanese had experienced the war. My first encounter in this respect was with one of my language teachers at language school. He had been a kamikaze pilot during the war. As he took off on his suicide mission, his plane had malfunctioned and his mission was aborted. He had to wait two days for the plane to be repaired and during that two days the war ended. As I talked with him, I realized that he had gone to war with much the same attitude of serving his country as my own father had when he was marched off with the Australian army to Tobruk. And I realized that for many individual Japanese soldiers, the war was much the same as it had been for most Australian soldiers—simply a way of serving their country. For ordinary Japanese civilians, the suffering that they went through was the same for them as that suffering would have been for anyone else. I learned to understand that no matter what responsibility Japan might have for the war and for atrocities in the war, each person’s experience of the war was precisely that—the human experience of an individual person whose tragedy and trauma was unchanged by questions of politics or war responsibility.

Japanese War Atrocities
There is no doubt that there were war atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese. The most serious of these were carried out in Asia, particularly on the Asian mainland. A former soldier who had been in Manchuria has told me that the ethos among the Japanese soldiers was such that going out on an expedition, they would feel it a humiliation if they came back without have killed anyone, so they would round up some civilians and kill them just to avoid that humiliation. The Nanking massacre, while there is room for debate about the numbers killed, did really happen, as did the brutality towards prisoners of war. These were real atrocities carried out by the Japanese. They do not justify the atom bombs nor are they diminished by the fact of the bombs.

Background to the War
It is worth considering why the whole situation emerged the way it did. There has been a lot of historical research into that and there are many questions still being debated. For myself, I have felt a personal need to reconcile all that I heard of the brutality of the Japanese with my direct experience of so many Japanese as good, kind, and conscientious people.

A Flaw in the Constitution
An important factor in the background of all that happened was the fact that there was a flaw in the Japanese constitution of the time. This constitution had been drawn up by Ito Hirofumi, one of the most important Meiji Era prime ministers, and was adopted in 1889. The flaw was that it made the military independent of the government. Fearful of being colonized, the rulers of Japan saw the need for a strong military and modeled the Japanese constitution on the Prussian one to assure that strong military. Therefore, the military was not placed under the government but directly under the emperor—which meant that the military was, in fact, independent. Ito Hirofumi must have been one of the first to regret this because within a few years the military had, in spite of his direct opposition, used its independence to undertake activities on the Korean peninsula that would directly bring about the Sino-Japanese War. This independence of the military would mar Japanese society until defeat in the war swept away that constitution. Almost all the military activities in China in the 1930s were carried out exclusively on the initiative of the military and in some cases in actual opposition to the express wishes of the government.

A Sense of Threat
There are many ways to talk about the background to the war, but I would like to focus on one particular aspect—namely a sense of threat. There had been for many decades a sense among the Japanese of being under threat from the West. This goes back to the 1830s when ships of various European countries, but most particularly of Russia, the United States and England, began appearing off Japanese shores. At the beginning of the 1840s, news of the Opium War sent a chill up and down the spine of many Japanese. It seemed to give warning of the kind of people who were beginning to encroach on their domain. The forced opening of Japan in 1854 gave the Japanese a sense of their own vulnerability. Ongoing Western expansionism, including Russian expansion eastward, US expansion westward (as far as the Philippines!) and European colonialism all contributed to giving Japan a sense of being surrounded and hemmed in. The rejection at the Paris Peace Conference of a proposal from Japan for a declaration that all races are equal, along with perceived unfairness in a number of negotiations in the decade after the First World War, increased Japan’s sense of isolatedness and its sense that, as a non-Caucasian nation, it could never expect equal or fair treatment from Caucasian nations.

Russia was considered the biggest threat, and the sense of threat strengthened the arguments of those who favoured a strong military and advocated the establishment of buffer states on the Korean Peninsula and in Manchuria. Favouring such an approach became the politically correct viewpoint. Further, playing on this sense of threat was a means to power for the military and a means to wealth for the big companies, the zaibatsu, particularly the arms producers who had close connections to the military.

Victories in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War had boosted Japanese self-confidence and as the perception of the West’s uncompromising racism and colonialism strengthened, in addition to a sense of threat Japan also acquired a sense of mission. Japan would be the liberator of Asia. The ultra-nationalist spokesperson Tokutomi Soho described Japan’s cause in the war as just, arguing that a) Japan was fighting for its own survival, b) Japan was fighting to liberate Asia, and c) Japan was fighting to establish a new world order.

Lessons—What are the Causes of War?
I think that the process of lead up to the war has much to say to us about what kind of things give rise to war and what must be done to preserve peace. I do not have time to go into these in detail and will mention only a few.

One serious characteristic of the situation in Japan was the collusion between the arms industry and the military. The lesson to be learnt is that when arms producers have an influence over political decision making, or when political decision makers have interests in arms production, then conflicts of interest emerge that can stand in direct opposition to the requirements of peace. This is clearly a characteristic of our day as well as of Japan at that time. It seems to me one of the factors that most obstruct the workings of democracy.

Another aspect is just how a sense of threat among the people could be cultivated and expanded through education and media, to incite the populace and also how idealism could be used to further incite. This is not a characteristic only of the Japanese. I think that we have seen a very similar phenomenon in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Australia and Japan, since the 9.11 terrorist incident. We certainly see how a sense of being under threat can affect a people. We also see appeals to idealism in talk of bringing democracy and respect for human rights to Afghanistan and Iraq. We also, I might add, see conflicts of interest where political decision makers have interests in both oil and arms production.

Peace Education
Some of my own views have changed since September 11. I formerly thought that the way to make people desire peace was to teach the awfulness of war and the wonderfulness of peace so that people would choose the latter over the former. Now, I think that to simply teach the awfulness of war to people who feel themselves threatened will simply motivate them to seek a preemptive strike that will keep the awfulness at a distance rather than waiting for it to come them. We need a form of peace education that makes people aware of their own sense of threat and of how it can be manipulated—a form of peace education that makes them less vulnerable to having their fears and their idealism exploited.

The time allotted for my presentation is running out and I wish to make one more point before I conclude. 60 years ago, Japan and Australia were enemies. Today, they are allies and friends—bonded not just by common interests but also by a large number of personal individual friendships. Both are countries allied with the United States and they are the main allies of the United States in the Asia Pacific region. They are undoubtedly the two countries through which the US most exerts its influence in the region. Both are linked to the United States because of various historical ties, but also because both experience a sense of threat in face of Asia and feel the need for American support. Both have supported the US led War on Terror and supported the invasion of Iraq—in spite of the fact that in both countries the vast majority of the population opposed that invasion.

There are many questions to be raised about that whole process: Is terrorism best dealt with through this War against Terrorism? Are our relations with Asia best handled by strengthening our ties with the US? What priorities should we have independently of the United States? The list could be continued. I think there is a need for sommon reflection on these issues. If two heads are better than one, then the perspective of two countries is better than the perspective of one. I think that there is need for more communication and cooperation between Australia and Japan at the level of civil society, especially in regard to action for peace. Further I think there is a need for common research and deliberation on these issues at, for example, an academic level and between churches. Nothing will affect the future of our countries more that how we resolve these issues and sharing reflection and cooperating in action seem crucially important. Thank you.

Foreign Workers in Serangoon Gardens

2008-09-23T00:05:00.008+08:00

It's been awhile since the last post. So far, September has been a busy month and things look set to get busier. :)

This is my reflection on the Serangoon Gardens Foreign Workers stiuation.

But before I begin, what's the difference between an expat and a foreign worker?
Thought about it and this is my definition.
Expat - does the work that Singaporeans can't do.
Foreign Worker - does the the work that Singaporeans do not want to do.
Hehe

What's the History of the Foreign Worker in Singapore - What I know is that they have built our roads, our schools, our houses/flats for many, many years. How do we treat them? Often we mistreat them. from the MM to the taxi driver, it's alright to run businesses 365 days a year, 24hours a day at minimal wage. It keeps things cheap in Singapore. The Port makes money for the government. The Coffeeshops make money and the taxi drivers are happy. They have somewhere to drink kopi at 2am in the morning. The heartlander is happy too. The block stays pretty clean all day. If it is not, just call Raja the conservancy supervisor anytime.

Foreign workers do the work we won't do and they are cheap cheap cheap.
Also to many Singaporeans, since foreign workers come from 3rd world countries, it's ok to let them live in 3rd world conditions. it's ok for the foreman to hit his worker or not give him lunch time. It's ok for 15 of them to load up on the back of the lorry. It's ok if the lorry overturns. It's ok to put them up in dinghy squatter-like containers with just one toilet. After all, that's how they live back home.
But is it really ok?

Father Luke Fong wrote in the Catholic News (Sept 28 2008): "Do not be afraid" of foreign workers in the neighbourhood". How can we not be afaid? Don't they come from violent crime-infested countries? Won't they rape, rob, murder? There are so many of them in Singapore. If they are really going to rape, rob and murder when they shift to Serangoon Gardens, why arent they doing it now all over Singapore??? duhhh....

We live in such a small island/country and it is embarrasing to just wonder that perhaps the size of our country, that little red dot on the map, represents the litle closed narrow-minded pea-brain of the entire nation???

If we do not want foreign workers anywhere near us, then we should build our own flats, roads, schools. Seriously. I am responsible for having labelled the man from South Asia who has left his community to build our roads, schools, hospitals, malls and homes for a pittance, a "foreign worker" - a potential criminal. Let us give the foreign worker a voice, the voice to label us. What label would they give us?

The so-called "foreign worker" is not a beast of burden (an animal such as a donkey or ox or elephant used for transporting loads or doing other heavy work). If I go beyond, I see that he is someone's son. He is someone's grandson. He is someones's husband. He is someone's father. He is someone's brother. He is someones' neighbour. And you know what??? He is your (and my) equal. Until we have the courage to treat him as an equal, he can begin the recovery of his true identity and his vocation beyond the "foreign worker" label.

Father Luke Fong invites us to care for the Foreign Worker (Blessed are the Poor) with a beautiful hypothetical scenario. "I gave you the opportunity to love me in the strangers from Myanmar, India, China and Thailand. But you rejected it and chose intsead to go on annual foreign missions and to give generous financial donations on Mission Sunday. You came to the Adoration Room weekly to get close to me and yet when I wanted to sit next to you on Bus 317, you refused me." I struggle with this.

How did we arrive at such a pathetic level of suspicion, fear, dislike and unwelcome? How did we allow such prejudice, discrimination and injustice to breed in our community? How can we live our Mission?

First, we can recognise that this is a structural problem that has grown into the way we treat a Foreign Worker and we are on the other side of this great structural divide. Surely there is concern for the plight of the Foreign Worker. But concern is not enough to overcome the divide because the 2 structural sides are not equal.

Second we can enter into solidarity. Real solidarity begins when it is no longer about "we" or "they". It begins when we recognise together the advantages and disadvantages of our different social backgrounds, realities and distinct roles that we have to play in order to commit ourselves to the struggle against unjust structures. And this solidarity exists to form a more fundamental solidarity: Solidarity among the foreign workers themselves. The foreign workers are not our enemy. Rather the unjust system/structure is the enemy.

Third, we can acknowledge that the cause of the Foreign Worker as is the cause of the Poor, is God's cause. If we can see this ideal and open our hearts to commit to this cause, we become part of a process. There'll be many stages in this process and we'll struggle along. Nevertheless we will be walking in solidarity, their struggle will be our struggle, their hope, our hope. This is transformational development, "Yes" to the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. Hence we journey into contemplation and compassion.

It seems like a lot. But thinking about this; voicing and sharing it, is a 1st step in my own conversion.

Earth Speaks On 4th October

2008-09-10T00:57:00.003+08:00

Recently we asked some youths what they did to protect the Earth. Some said they "recycled" plastic bags. What they actually meant was they reused plastic bags. Some had some kind of recyle bin at home and all the recyclable stuff go into that bin and a waste management company collects the stuff once a fortnight. Others shared that they tried to cut down their use of electricity in their homes. Use less air-con... but how about use less computer? how about not using the water heater? uhhh... silence

We asked if they were aware of the kinds of detergents/soaps/shampoos that harm the environment. Most replied "NO". To those who were aware, we asked if they then used detergents/soaps/shampoos that did not harm the environment. The youths said, "I'm not the one buying the stuff so I don't have a say."

We asked the youths if they used a grocery bag instead of plastic bags at supermarkets. Most of their families didn't use grocery bags. Most said they needed to collect plastic bags to throw rubbish in. When asked if there was any other way to dispose their rubbish other than with a plastic bag, no one knew.

Then we asked them a really tough question... What can you say about nuclear energy? If given a choice, should we tap on nuclear energy? The youths who knew about nuclear energy were neutral. They had heard that nuclear energy could be harmful... but that nuclear energy would mean not using up oil... and to them "that's ok". Many are not sure if the harmful effects of nuclear energy are myths or truth. Many also do not know much about uranium mines.

When asked if they had ever thought of alternative technology/energy, they look lost. To many, solar energy is something that can tapped on to but it seems troublesome cos the technology does not seem easily accessible.

So i can safely say that 1 in 5 young people in Singapore seem clueless about our Earth's crisis. They know about it from the papers and the internet but it has yet to become a reality to them. And they will not relook at how they can live Earth-friendly lives.

So how seriously battered is our home, Earth? To what extent have we destroyed our Home? And why should we bother about the state of the Earth? Shouldn't this be the responsibility of governments, world leaders and MNCs? Why should we ordinary folks bother?

This October 18th, the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday and acts29 would like to invite everyone to come listen to our Earth. Just as we are called to make disciples of all nations, we are also called to be stewards of the Earth. Responsible Christian disciples care about creation. We are a family of 6.721 billion people and our Earth connects us to each other.

This session will make us more aware of the state of our Earth and of our mission to make a difference. We'll also look at how we can work towards being responsible stewards and co-creators.

See you there!

What's Happening in the Coming Months

2008-08-29T00:11:00.002+08:00

We're planning ahead! We have to! World Mission Day is several weeks away. Then we move towards the end of the Liturgical Year with the Feast of Christ the King. We'll be entering into the new liturgical year before you know it. So it'll be Advent, Mission Trip, Christmas and 2009 is on our door step.

These are the plans still in the making. We need you feedback so shout it out to us!

acts29 Youth Retreat
Nov 14-16 (Fri nite- Sun evening). Open to any youth. Free of Charge. We promise it's going to be an out-of-this-world, once-in-a-lifetime experience! But in order for it to be as amazing as it can be, you as participants make the difference. Do challenge yourself, step out of your comfort zone and experience life to the full! Come, Experience God!
More details out soon! Watch our website for registration

Advent Mission Payatas (Philippines)
Dec 1 -14. All youths welcome. Non-acts29 youths who cannot commit to 14 days due to schooling can opt for 7-9 days.
Accommodation: Paaralang Pantao, Montalban
Est Cost: $500 (including airfare, lodging and food)

Advent Mission Singapore
Details out soon

New Year Eve Thanksgiving Party and Countdown
So we're thinking a function hall, with emcees from the Nonises (Yup even Bobby) hehe
Sit-down Chinese Dinner
Games like Dun forget the Lyrics and MTV games... and acts29's home-made Punk'd videos
Special Performances by Iggy.. and others...
of course, there'll be gifts/prizes...
and lastly, ladies will look like ladies that day and guys will have to be in shirts and ties!
come to think of it we have never seen acts29 dressed up to the 9s...

How did the Games Day Go?

2008-08-25T12:24:00.003+08:00

Saturday... it poured.. it rained cats and dogs... but that didnt stop us 29ers from having a good time.
We started off with indoor games. Black-Out member paired with Tree-Hugger member. And the game was "how well do you know your friend?"

Funny moments during the game:
What is your friend's Baptism name?
Iggy wrote for himself: Ignatius
Ben wrote for Iggy: Bernadette.... hehe

What is your friend's birthday?
Brother and sister team - got the date wrong! Either they did not know who was being asked or they really didnt know! haha

Winner:
Mad and Celesther

It was still drizzling when the indoor game ended so we decided to play on the youth centre's field instead of at the basketball court.

Black-Out was down by 1 member... Cos IGGY the BLACK-OUT TEAM MANAGER came in GREEN!!! that's so IGGY... So Captain's Ball kicked off! The rain got heavier and the ground got real muddy. People started to loose their footing and there was the occasional trip, slide, swooosh into the mud. Wet, dirty muddy! that's the way we like it!

At half time, the score was 5-3 with Tree Huggers in the lead. Black Out team captain AANQW was none too happy with his team's performance. We switched to reverse Captain's Ball (that means you can only throw the ball backwards not forwards). Black-Out team members hoped that this new style would help them. However it did not. Spyke from Black Out at 1.84m was intercepting all the throws from Black Out. Black out was not only disadvantaged from lack of members, they were also out-done in height. However Ben 16 from the Black Out was everywhere on the field trying to steal back the ball. And AANQW was blocking all the attempted shoot-ins from tree-huggers. However black out was consistently marked by arggressive players like T Wu and TimHo who fought violently for the ball from little blackout members like Des.

Black Out was also plagued with injury when Faith fell on concrete ground during half-time and injured her wrist. But the fiesty player, played on. In the end, the game ended with 9-5. Tree-huggers were the Champs.

The day didn't end there. The muddy, soaking wet players marched to the showers washed up and changed into dry clothes. Tim Ho looked like a new person when he emerged with clothes donated by Aunty Theresa. Never seen Tim in a red t-shirt till that day! Towels were also provided to those who didn't bring their own by Aunty Theresa. When the rain subsided into a drizzle, the group headed to Sengkang (Spurs den) for KFC and MACs.

We want to thank the Lord for blessing us with such a community where we can be ourselves and laugh at ourselves. At the same time, we are brothers and sisters who continue to be there for each other and sharing the faith as one.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict the 16th reminds us that:

If we are to understand the mission of the Church, we must go back to the Upper Room
where the disciples remained together (cf. Lk 24:49), praying with Mary, the “Mother”, awaiting the Spirit that had been promised. This icon of the nascent Church should be a constant source of inspiration for every Christian community.

Apostolic and missionary fruitfulness is not principally due to programmes and pastoral methods that are cleverly drawn up and “efficient”, but is the result of the community’s constant prayer (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 75).

Moreover, for the mission to be effective, communities must be united, that is, they must be “of one heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32), and they must be ready to witness to the love and joy that the Holy Spirit instils in the hearts of the faithful (cf. Acts 2:42).

John Paul II wrote that, even prior to action, the Church’s mission is to witness and to live in a way that shines out to others (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 26). Tertullian tells us that this is what happened in the early days of Christianity when pagans were converted on seeing the love that reigned among Christians: “See how they love one another” (cf. Apology, 39 § 7).

Let us continue to be a community of prayer and love. :)

All Black-Out and Tree-Hugger members do shout out and tag about the event!

And don't forget next Sat's meeting 3pm - Mission Briefing for December. All members to attend. Music Team, music as usual and ppt slides will be arranged by Iggy.

Have a great week peeps!

29ers GAMES DAY

2008-08-20T22:53:00.017+08:00

HEY 29ers...
2 more days countdown to our 29er GAMES
Are you ready? The list you're waiting for is out. HERE it is:

29ers CRAZY BALL GAME 23 AUGUST 2008

BLACK OUT(Black Team)
1. Team Manager/Coach: Eagleinsuit - vast experience in coffeeshop soccer, former Chemical Defence (mock suit experience)
2. Team Captain: AANQW - PTI Trainee
3. Secret Weapon: Bendedict 16 - National Youth Olympics Basketball trainee n wushu kid
4. Faith - therapeutic movement
5. Des - Triple E spirit
6. Celesther - School Team Air-Pistol Shooter

TREEHUGGERS (Green Team)
1. Team Manager/Coach: Spyke - Sengkang No 1 Football Manager, former cammando (trainee)
2. Team Capatain: T. Wu - Pseudo Commando
3. Secret Weapon: TimHo - SCOUT who cooks up a storm anytime!
4. Joce - volleyball school team setter
5. Maddy - Legion Marian Movement
6. Francis - Taekwando black belt 2nd dan, sanda, karate, judo

FOR YOUR INFO:
Manyzer-coaches are also players.
Umpire: Sherlyn!!!
Team Names chosen by unsuspecting Captains

Dress Code:
No Name Black team - Paaralang Pantao black t-shirts
TreeHuggers - Paaralang Pantao green t-shirts
Footwear - whatever suits your style

Rulezzz of the Game
1. Footwork - no running with ball.
2. There are no other rules, no breaks, no half-time.

Report at Hougang CC: 245pm
Warm-ups: Captains
Motivational rahrah: manager-coach
Kick Off: 3pm (scissors/paper/stone)

How to play the Game: It gets whackier every 15minutes
1. Regular basketball (game time 15min)

2. Netball style - no dribbling/bouncing the ball (game time 15 min)

3. Netball style backwards - all players run backwards, except shooters.
(1 shooter per team. Shooters are blindfolded. only one person allowed in semi-circle to pass ball to shooter. All can give instructions to shooter for shooting)

Managers-Coaches can start planning NOW.
Everyone practice moving backwards TODAY.

3PM PROCEED BACK TO CAYC FOR 29ERS INDOOR AIR-CON MYSTERY GAME.
2 WINNERS - FREE DINNER

QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTION
Q: What if a "colour blinds" comes in a salah coloured-tshirt. (i.e. Iggy appears in Green instead of Black?)
A: Easy... Black loses a team member, Green gains a team member. If you're afraid of that.. then bring an extra tee for the colour blinds

Q: What if the Hougang CC court is in use?
A: We'll assign "chopers" who will go early to "chope" the court, primary school style with water bottles. But if there's 7-month activity on court? We'll carry on in CAYC's field. Game 1 and 2 will be replaced with Captain's Ball

Q: Will there be any soccer matches? for the Gabrielites....
A: for the Flood the Green Playground Peeps.. We promise a soccer event soon...

Q: Can I use other skills in this game?
A: Sure you can! Remember there are no rules! If Benedict 16 (black team) is as good as Kobe Bryant, just use your (green team) black belt 2nd dan skills. Then Black team can counter that with their ace air pistol shooter. No one said you can't air pistol shoot your opponent. And green team can counter that with lots of prayer from the Marian Movement. And if bad team is really losing badly, call out your TRIPLE E SPIRIT! THAT'S THE WAY TO WIN THE GAME... and dun forget you have your commando trainee, pseudo commando, MRF and PTI to help you along!

Q: What if I don't know how to play basketball?
A: Good Question! Well we thought that through and have embedded 10 Greatest Michael Jordan Moves. If you can copy and paste one move, your team's a winner!

The Right to a Birth Certificate

2008-08-18T00:45:00.003+08:00

You know in every country I know of... it is mandatory to have a birth certificate to be enrolled for school. My birth certificate is something I have taken for granted. It's always somewhere... but i've got it.. even if it gets lost, I just need to get a duplicate made, simple... no fuss. As a kid, I also never knew what was the purpose of having a birth certificate other than knowing my name, parents' name, where I was born and what day I was born on. But the most important thing to anyone is to know what's on the birth certificate!

If my mum remembered my birthdate wrongly, the birth certificate would clear up the misunderstanding. If someone called me by another name, the birth certificate would verify who I was. If I got seperated from my parents, the birth certificate would tell me who they are, where they lived... and just for that nostalgic moment, I could return to the very hospital I was born in so many years ago.

Then I went to Payatas and I realized the plight of every person in Payatas and every person born into poverty. There's so much uncertainty. Names can be changed anytime. Parents can't be verified or tracked. And birthdates are just a guess. Birth certificate gives one a nationality and an identity. And it also protects a child! It also is the passport to an eudcation... education that breaks the poverty cycle!

I'm happy to read that in Mumbai, an NGO is working to getting birth certificates for the kids there. And even happier to know that the Indian government has a target to register every citizen (adult/newborn) by December 2008. Let's hope they keep to their word. India is setting the example. It has 1 billion citizens.. by now more...

What about the Philippines?

Is it fair that a scavenging parent earning 8-300 pesos a day has to fork out 900-2000 pesos to secure a birth certificate for her/his child? Maybe the rich can afford it. But simple Maths tells us the parent in the dumpsite cannot afford that certificate or that of the other 6 kids. And why should the children suffer because the parent can't afford it?

Is it fair that an illiterate parent has to fill up many forms on his/her own just as an educated person is expected to? Is it fair that a working parent has to make a 2hour journey or more and stand in queue for about 7 hours just to get one form? and to return the next day to join the same queue? and this stupid cycle goes on and on????
sometimes the printer is spoilt and the parent has to return the next day? the child eagerly waiting for his birth certificate would have literally starved to death by the time mum/dad is done with queuing and queuing and paying and paying!

And this same thing happens not only in the Philippines but in other countries too where the poor are the nobodies in society! Who cares about their birth certificates? They are poor because they are lazy? They choose to be poor and live in dumpsites and squatters? And the biggest irony is that their own people and their own governments don't care about them. I know because I see it, because I've spoken to Filipinos who openly express disgust at the bunch of people living atop smoky mountain. I know that there are good people who care, who want to do something. But right now there are not enough of these good people in our societies!

Wasn't there some noble dream to eradicate poverty by 2010? isnt that what governments want to see happening too? I just wonder the powerful, the leaders, the rich... eradicate poverty or eradicate the people we label, "Poor"?

If you're reading this and you want to eradicate poverty or want to do something good... go to where the poor are... know his/her name, his/her parent's name/s, where and when s/he was born.... because that person is somebody with a right to live, to exist, to be a citizen, to be identified and known... Then go a step further... secure a birth certificate... as an affirmation that s/he ia a Person (your friend and brother/sister) and acknowledge his/her meaningful participation in the world/country/society/community/family.

I have a 2010 goal. I would like to work on getting birth certificates for the people in Payatas. If possible for everyone in Philippines and in other countries.... but i think this is a goal we can all share in wherever we are.

Sherlyn
Singapore

http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10221868.html

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=43440

Heart Speaks

2008-08-07T00:30:00.000+08:00

I can't help but feel the emotions as I read this blog. Thanks for writing such strong truths. When I was in the cue with Jennylyn, all around us were images of pain, to tell you the truth I wanted to ran away. I waited for Jennylyn as she was being interviewed inside the office. All of us waited we are around 30 people outside and the rain is pouring heavily. I wanted to curse our government and blame why such corruption around us. We can’t even stay in a decent place while we’re cueing. Yes I complained and the feeling was suffocating. I am the most “able” among the group. The rest look hapless and weary. I closed my eyes so hard, I don't want to see nor listen for a moment, but I hear them all supporting each other, even advising others where to go next where to ask for donation. They are even cueing for free biscuits and coffee donated by the vice mayor just to give something to the mourners. Why think about the mourners? I realized how generous these people are!

I was sitting beside a father who had crutches, he told me he can't control his urine since year 2000, I asked him why he is cuing there? Why not go to charity hospital? He told me his wife had stroke and his children are all very young. Beside him was a young girl, his child, around 13 years old, his companion who’ll talk to the social worker and seek assistance. What to do? My heart aches and I beg the Lord’s miracle for them. The young girl came back after the interview with another requirement to go to the Social welfare service to get some social analysis report and endorsement. In my heart I want to burn the place. But the father beside me, reservedly said, let’s just see what we can do next. I realized how patient these people are!

Jennylyn also came out of the office with nothing. They want her to secure the original death certificate! Crazy! That time I avoided looking at her eyes. I was so angry! The place was in Buendia, we live in Payatas, we travelled 3 hours to be there and they won’t give her anything! The social worker told her to give the original death certificate and after 1 week she can get the 3000 pesos subsidy from the Office of the Vice President!!! 1 week more!!! That’s just the same cost if we pay for the added medicines for the her aunt’s body! We left the place with a heavy heart. I walk her to Jollibee and over lunch she told me. Ate May I realize God has purpose why he didn’t give us the money. Maybe he’ll give it to the 3 month old baby beside us with cancer! I was speechless. I realized how sensitive and concern these people are!

I learned something in this journey, the value of just giving...JUST GIVE!!! it doesn't matter how much, but when we encounter someone who ask for help just give! It's not foolish! Subconsciously maybe we fear we'll be used or we're being manipulated, but we have gifts--- to feel, we got gut feelings, intuition and conscience. The heart and brain can decide and discern!!! If we have somthing to give why keep it?

May God bless us with these gifts of generosity and keen heart to reach out to the needy in our midst!!!!

May

The Rich and the Poor Divide

2008-08-04T23:18:00.008+08:00

The Rich and Poor live very very far away from each other. The Rich have boats, planes, cars, buses... but they don't know how to get to where the Poor are. They don't know the way there. The Rich don't know who the Poor are and they hardly talk about them.

The Poor on the other hand know where the Rich live. They see them on TV, hear about them from the radio and they've heard others talk about the Rich. But the Poor don't have the means to get to where the Rich are.

Recently Nicasio and Joannie were making their rounds on the dumpsite, begging for pesos. Why were they begging? To bury their mum who died of TB. How much could they get from the other scavengers eking out a living. Prob 1 to 10 pesos per donor. What did they have to raise? 15,000 pesos!

Having a funeral or burying the dead is not a difficulty for the Rich but for the Poor, HOW? When 1 peso matters so much, how can they grasp 15, 000 pesos? Mayb went with them to the Social Welfare Department to get some discount on the burial. There were tons of other Poor in line. All with the same problem. All with the same worry, "How long more would the formaline last? How long more could they postpone the burial?"

It's easy for the Rich to get to the burial grounds. But what about the Poor? They have to walk, across 2 rivers, trudge through the mud... in some distant corner, lies a plot, a burial for the Poor.

Being born is just as difficult for the Poor. They don't get the same privilege as the Rich do at their birth. For the rich, they're born in hospitals. The family is there to certify the birth of their child. And the family can afford the certificate. For the Poor, they are born at home or in a clinic. Often family is not present and no one to certify the birth. Anyway the Poor can't afford the certificate. The Poor lack the basic right to be certicfied born, to exist in their country. This is how they go through life without their certificate. The Poor cannot engage in meaningful participation in society. Well, they can't even enter school. The Poor will never read or write. They just have to survive: breathe, eat, sleep. They dwell with other Poor, they squat where there's space. They live from hand to mouth, worrying about their next meal. Education is but a dream. Birth certificate is out of one's reach. The Poor have to secure their next meal and that of the other 7 mouths to feed in the family. They would be starving if they were to line up 8 hours in a government building for their birth certificate. They would have to beg, borrow, steal 2000 pesos to pay for the cert, and still earn something for food that day. And if they got that far to the line with the 2000 pesos, they would have no idea how to complete the form nor have the necessary information required.

The Rich have identity. They have names, addresses and contact numbers. Their face is seen everywhere, their voice heard. The Poor cannot prove their identity. Who would remember their name? Who would bother with their address or ask for their contact number? They all look the same. Their voice is silent.

The Rich may say that's how it is. The Poor are used to rejection, suffering and hunger. Let them be. What would Jesus say?

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+16:19-31
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Catholic group wastes whole uncooked chicken for game at retreat!!!

2008-08-02T23:17:00.006+08:00

Today we were leaving the Catholic Youth Centre after our meeting and we noticed that a church was having a youth retreat. The youths were playing Captain's Ball in the field. We thought it was interesting as the ball didn't look like a ball. Curious we took a closer look. To our surprise, we realised that the ball was acutally a whole uncooked chicken... Then surprise turned into disgust as we realised that the chicken was getting torn and thrown all over the grass... obviously not to be consumed...

ok but we won't judge lah... maybe they did cook and eat the whole chicken in the end...despite it's final condition by the end of the game. Also I'm not going to mention which parish this was.

This seems to be the in-thing now especially at orientation games for JCs, Polys and Unis. I know from people who have attended such orientation the food used gets thrown away, beyond consumption standards.

If you're a Catholic/Christian read this... for your own soul... one of the seven deadly sins.

Guttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food, or its withholding from the needy.
If you have a different religion I'm sure that your religion also frowns on the above mentioned. If you have values and morals, your conscience would tell you this is wrong.

World Hunger and Poverty: How They Fit Together
862 million people across the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago. 3

Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.

In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. 1

Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.

Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

Taken from http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html

Hunger exists not only in 3rd world countries. Hunger exists in Singapore too. When we went on our 1st Angel Network outreach we had loads of food to give away. We didnt just give the food. We met families, individuals, elderly who shared their stories with us. One family shared that usually non-profit groups give them canned sardines, baked beans, square biscuits, milo, salt, sauces, oil, beehooon, rice. Treats would be canned chicken curry or rendang. What were luxuries for them? Eggs, chicken, pork, fish, milk, sausages, Jacob biscuits. What about prawns, sotong, crab???

I remember buying a whole chicken for a family once. The mum was delighted. The family of 6 would ration the chicken for at least 3 meals. Another time we included eggs for another family. The kids were so happy to get them.

If orientation groups really want to use food to break the ice, why not. But please don't use food to throw at each other. Imagine a group member having to play such a game, a member whose family can't afford chicken for lunch or dinner.

Suggestion for orientation activities where food can be used:
1. Organize an outreach to distribute chicken, eggs, meat, fish to families who are in need. It's easy to spot these households. Contact acts29 if you need tips...
2. Help at the soup kitchen of St Michael's Church or Nativity Church, daily food prepared for the poor.
3. Contact Archdiocesan Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People. They need people to spot new construction sites and people to deliver food to these sites (usually for new foreign workers)
4. Go to Serangoon Road, give lunch to the foreign workers you meet. Most of them earn so little a day that they can only afford rice and some lentils/plain curry.
5. Contact Gift of Love Home run by the Missionaries of Charity Sisters (by Mother Teresa) and sponsor a meal for the elderly residents.
5. There are so many other places who would welcome food.

Feel free to contact acts29 for more details.

Also acts29 would like to invite the Catholic Chicken-Throwing Youths to our annual 24hour FAST (For Asia Solidarity Together). This is held in Lent. So do join us next March. This is a time for young people to actively work together to eradicate poverty and hunger in Asia and also eradicate gluttony in our affluent country.

God bless

Planning a Church Retreat for Teens?

2008-08-01T15:28:00.002+08:00

Planning a Church Retreat for Teens? How to get retreat rules across to teens? watch this video I stumbled on from youtube. It is produced by teens from Church of the Holy Spirit. It's hilarious... I love the comic timing for the actors... really original... something like Be Kind Rewind.

myspace layouts

Pilgrim's Progress Part 4

2008-07-25T03:08:00.005+08:00

17th July: Holy Spirit, Soul of the Church
For in one Spirit we were all baptised; and we were all given to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13)

This morning Martin finds a wooden pole in the Gents. During Sacrament of Reconciliation, Daryl spots an Aussie with cable ties for the flag pole and he asks for some. The Aussie not only gives Daryl the cable-ties but also gives him a wooden pole. So now we have 2 wooden poles. This makes Martin very happy! during the Catechesis, Martin sees that Malawi's flag pole is a tree branch and he gives them one of the wooden poles and the Malawis are also very happy.

Today's Catechesis is straight out of Catechism of the Catholic Church. I've taken notes that fill several pages. What I can remember is that God infuses his breath into our lives. this Holy Spirit is our dynamo. What I see between Martin and the Malawi is the work of the Holy Spirit, soul of the Church, who empowers us Singaporean and Malawi to be sons/daughthers of God and brother/sister to each other.

With our flag pole we're on our way to Barangaroo to welcome the Pope.

My naive friends ask me if the Pope will be coming pass this way (where we were). I laugh and tell them, "No lah. So many people. So many lorongs (lanes). Chances are very slim." The pope finally gets off the boat and into the popemobile. Soon he makes a turn down our lorong. I think my friends wished very hard that day.

We screamed, we cheered. Everyone around us went crazy! It was such a wonderful feeling. I imagine what the crowds felt the day they welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday. I imagine how the crowds felt when Peter and Paul walked past them in the Acts of the Apostles when their shadows fell on the people. The power of the Holy Spirit just filled the whole place. Great Joy filled our hearts! This pilgrim so many years ago disagreed with the Church and her traditions and did not like the Papal figure was now a changed person. I laugh at myself. Years ago I cannot imagine doing something so "idolastic"!, "worshipping this cult figure", "blesphemy". But I know now that Jesus chose Peter to lead his flock and for 2 thousand years this leadership has been passed down from one to the next. I know that the history of the Church is not that clean and perfect. There have been popes who have been less than ideal. But I decided not to judge from the past because I live in the present and I judge in the present. In my life so far I've only known two Popes. Pope John Paul the 2nd won my heart and enriched my faith. It's because of him I signed up for WYD in Cologne only to welcome Pope Benedict the 16th who despite his age has taken on such a heavy responsibility and continues to be an icon of Christian leadership, faithfulness, holiness and humility just as JP2 had been. I cheered heartily for the Vicar of Christ because I cheer for Jesus and the Church he established. Yes the church has not been perfect, but when I see the good the Church has done, I see that has been more positives than negatives.

I am affirmed as the Pope went past me today that the Church is us, we are the Church. We trudge back to the place we now call home, St Ursula's College. We're so tired. We have to wait 15 mins for the train. Sylvester wishes for a train that would not stop at any other station except ours, Kingsgrove. Seems impossible. But the train that comes turns out to be an express train. "No stops. Direct Kingsgrove" Thank you Jesus.

In the college, we find a less-cold place to pray the Evening Vespers. I'm still a cold, hungry and tired pilgrim. But blessed beyond words.

Pilgrim's Progress Part 3

2008-07-25T02:16:00.006+08:00

16th July: Called to live in the Spirit.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Catechesis at Our Lady of Fatima was enriching. My body bears the breath of God, the Ruah, the Holy Spirit. the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life. Life always leads us into the light, from darkness to light, from chaos to calm and hope and peace. I like these words spoken by the presenting bishop from the U.S. Because it is truth. This is why we should aim to celebrate life and give life, not celebrate death/abortion/wars or allow these things to happen.

this pilgrim is here to see the Pope, to encounter Christ in others, to have a good time but also to change and grow closer to Christ. We are called to change from wandering people to journeying people. There are aspects in my life where I've been wandering around, where I've not made a stand for. Will this pilgrim make a stand for God's creation, for Mother Earth? will this pilgrim make a stand for peace?

I recall the Village Space by Catholic Mission Australia which we had attended the morning before (15th July). It was such a moving experience. We felt as though we were part of the stories being dramatised. They were real stories, real experiences being re-told to pilgrims. Pilgrims who don't know anything about Ugandan child soldiers, the devastation of coal mines, uranium mines and nuclear power plants and the struggles of the indidgenious people. Yet I felt a sense of helplessness. These things and many more other issues seem beyond me. I don't even think we can change a small place like Payatas. What is this pilgrim to do when we hear about food shortage in the world? crazy weather conditions? nuclear power plant to be set up in the neighbouring country? and so on? Do we continue to shrug our shoulders and we wander around as tourists enjoying what the world has to offer for the moment? or do we set off on a journey for the truth?

to set off on a journey we have to leave behind what's familiar and not know the destination and the power that enables us to do this is the Holy Spirit. I think of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have gathered into Sydney. The same Holy Spirit who empowered the disciples at Pentecost has brought us here as One Church.

with Patrick Fox after a radio interview with SBS

The Homily during Eucharist:
We are called to be witnesses. But I cannot be a witness unless I have seen or heard Jesus (we have seen the Lord). During this World Youth Day, who have I seen, who have I heard?

Mary hears Angel Gabriel and says "yes" to God. but everything goes wrong for Mary! interesting right? and true too... yet Mary doesn't complain. We must sruggle with the ways of the Lord. When we see the meaning then we are not caught in the misery of the world but we see Jesus. We are called to be contemplatives... seeing and praying... to become more missionary.

Bishop Eugene Hurly's message at Act Today, Change Tomorrow
The call of the beloved need not make sense to us. But it is His call that we can commit ourselves to. How do we judge the reality of life? God calls us to love. Our reality of life is to response to love and Real life is made of experiences we have day by day.

At Asian Youth Gathering
With Fr Thomas and Turkmenistan youths

with Marie Mondu and Domninica, PNG

with Bishop Cornelius, Brunei and Bipul, IMCS

Today Martin makes a wish... He wants 2 flagpoles. actually he only needs one but he decides to try God and just ask for 2! We've been moving about for a week with our flag and we have no flag pole!

Pilgrim's Progress Part 2

2008-07-24T13:26:00.005+08:00

14th July 2008 Monday 7am. Place: Bathurst (in a college sports hall)

Head still throbbing. Many pilgrims still all around me but less noisy cos they're all sleepy too. Forget about using the toilets! several hundreds queuing.. not worth it. I decide i'll wait till 5 mins before mass when the toilets are empty.

Commissioning Mass begins (my 2nd one so far). I guess this is for missing the Commissioning in Singapore.

It's a relief to know that Singapore is scheduled as the 1st batch to leave for Sydney. like typical kiasus, we're quick to chope a bus, the seats and dump our luggage into the luggage van. We're on the road to Sydney with Ricardo, Anna, Kelly (from Mayland) and about 40 other Venezuelans. I learn that there is never a dull moment with Venezuelans. We sang, we clapped, we cheered all the way to the train station. (about an hour's ride). After all "Yo Vine Para Amara Dios" (I came to love God)

We got to the train station (can't remember the name) and once more the 6 of us continued on our journey to Sydney. It was exciting and at the same time a little anxious because we did not know what to expect next. We found our way (thanks to Location IC, Martin) to Kingsgrove, St Ursula's College. Btw, i was still hungry though the headache was almost gone. It was almost 5pm and we were starving as our last meal was breakfast.

At this point of the trip, we felt all alone in Sydney but it's also from here that we began to see how Abba Father takes care of us every step of the way. I made a wish the previous night in Bathurst. I shared with Mayb how I wished that in Sydney we would not have to share rooms. It would be quiet just Mayb, Debbie and I. hehe

Now in St Ursula's College, Mayb and I were taken to the classroom we would be staying in. God answered my prayer! It was only Mayb, Debbie, Angela *from california and me! Great! thanks God!

Back in Bathurst Mayb wished for a simple meal, rice and soup. The people in Cowra
were great and we loved their BBQ. It was always hotdogs and we love hotdogs. But I guess we had one too many. When we arrived at St Ursula's College, our hosts were whipping up a great cookout meal... hotdogs and bread... we really like hotdogs.. but this pilgrim needs rice and hot soup. After snacking on a hotdog each we made our way out and found a Malaysian chinese eatery. Mayb had her wish come true. Rice and hot soup!

There were many pilgrims at the College too. The pilgrims from the Singapore Youth Ministry Office were there too. So we were happy to meet them. There were about 60 indonesian students too and ICPE pilgrims from India and other countries. However there were only 3 bathing compartments/wooden cupboards. Each wooden compartment had 3 shower heads. 2 compartments were reserved for the ladies and the guys had to make do with 1 compartment. thankfully we had heaters but the guys didnt on the 1st night. Even then it was cold in Sydney and the warm water wasnt that warm as there were too many people showering so the water couldn't heat up in time for each pilgrim's shower.

Opening Litury
place: our lady of Fatima parish (next to the college)
parish priest: Fr Remy.
Let Your Light Shine

Night time:
The classrooms didnt have heaters. I had on 3 tops, 1 woolly sweater and 1 winter jacket.. and 2 pants for the nights. it was cozy in the sleeping bag but I'd shake from the cold every time i had to come out of the sleeping bag.

15th July Opening Mass at Barangaroo. Singaporeans would say it as "bar-rung-gar-roo"
Lots of walking, many pilgrims. It was crazy. at one point there was such a massive jam on the road to Barangaroo we were stuck for almost 2 hours. the meal packs were bad. We had meat pie which is supposed to be an Australian favourtite. But i highly doubt Australians would agree with the meat pie we got. We missed dinner as it was too much of a hassle to collect it in Barangaroo. This was the start of World Youth Day week. We left when the Mass was about to end to avoid the human crush. In the process, I fell and scraped my knee. Ouch! I hate bleeding.

We rushed because we were trying to get to St Mary's Cathedral.

This was what I recall from Cardinal Pell's sermon at the Eucharist. Jesus is our shepherd who searches for the lost sheep (hmmm i'm reminded of the 1000 sheep and what would Will do if 1 went missing???) Jesus welcomes the the lost sheep. Those suffering and in pain, Jesus offers healing. Jesus the shepherd calls out to all who are suffering especially those without religion (or deny God) to love, healing and community. In Ezkiel, there is the place where the desert is of dry bones. Autralia is a country which has been suffering a severe drought for several years (that explains the high food prices??). But where there is life there is hope. we are always able to act and choose. We believe in the power of the Spirit to connect people's hearts because God's forgives.

You know, the 1st day out in Sydney as a pilgrim wasn't that great! I wanted to bail out of the cold clasroom-cum-bedroom and hop into a nice hotel. I fell and scraped my knee and it hurts and I hate pain. I didnt like the crazy human jam at Barangaroo. I can imagine how the Jews felt as they left Egypt! one big exodus-cum-human-jam. I'm in a cold and dry place. I miss my warm humid Singapore. and did I mention I'm hungry? But something clicked in me during the Eucharist. Maybe it was the sermon. Maybe it was recieving Jesus once more during communion. I felt the desire to continue on the journey to the Cathedral.

St Mary's Cathedral
As we predicted the Cathedral was quiet except for several other like-minded pilgrims (smart-fellows). We had the cathedral to ourselves :)
Met an ultra cool dude. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. http://www.3op.org/frassati.php
His words struck me: "to live without a faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for the truth, that is not living, but just existing."
I think that this is especially true today for young people who live in 1st world countries, who have "everything" and yet their hearts are empty.

But let's not look at others. What about this pilgrim? Am i just existing here in Sydney? What are my struggles so far? What am I here for? Do I want to journey on as a pilgrim or enjoy Sydney as a tourist?

Btw, we (mayb, Debbie and I) have developed C.O.S - crush on Saint! hehe

Pilgrim's Progress Part 1

2008-07-24T10:37:00.009+08:00

World Youth Day was a unforgettable experience despite the physical discomforts a encountered along the way.

When we arrived in Sydney on the 9th of July, the weather was 8 deg celsius. It took awhile to clear customs. Every bag was personally checked at the the customs section. Sydney airport did not seem equipped to handle the thousands of pilgrims expected to arrive in the next few days. When we finally got out of the airport, it was already dark and pretty cold. We managed to get on an airport shuttle. We checked in, found a reasonably priced Thai eatery to have dinner. In Australia, each meal is about AUD$10. .Tired from the flight we trudged back to our 6 bed heater-less dorm. By Midnight (singapore time 2am) we were fast asleep.

We had to wake up early on 10th July, 6am (singapore time 4am) to get to central station and board the countrylink train to blayney by 645am. Thankfully were only 6 it was easy to move about even with all the luggage. We each had roles. Martin was the IC for location... "find the place and lead us there". He found the way to Central Station quite easily and sooon we were off for Days in the Diocese. The train ride was fairly pleasant. We were able to buy toast for breakfast and slept alot. We arrived at Balyney at 1130am on schedule and was greeted by Jim who drove us to Cowra where we recieved a warm welcome from the parishioners of Cowra. With us in Cowra were Americans and Zambians (not Zimbabweans, terence! haha)

May and I were soon on our way for homestay with our host Rebecca husband Will and 2 adorable boys, Flyn and Elliot. We will never forget our homestay experience! For starters, we were going to live on a really large farm about 1300acres of land which had 1000 sheep (and 1 black sheep! haha). I'm not kidding... we would have no prpblem sleeping at night! just count 1000 sheep.. hehe

Baa

Baa-baa-baa

Baa-baa-baaa x 1000

The farm has a pretty cool name: RainTree Farm. I enjoyed being away from the city. It was quiet and peaceful on the farm. What amazed me about my hosts was how D-I-Y they were and simple too. Rebecca is a potter so the family doesnt buy plates, cups, dishes etc. It's all homemade. Rebecca works in her pottery studio, a shed on the farm close to the house. Will makes his own jam and bakes his own bread. He also brews his own beer. He feeds the sheep every morning and checks on the barley which he'll harvest this December. He also has his own dark room studio on the farm. The couple are having an exhibition of their pottery and photography this September. I am excited for them.

Me at the wheel!

The days in Cowra flew by. Before we knew it, it was time to head for Bathurst to meet other pilgrims in the diocese before heading off to Sydney. But before we left, there was a commissioning Mass celebrated by Fr Owen. We planted a tree too. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone. We felt at home already. We made many friends. It was really cold in Cowra but the people warmed our hearts.

Cowra's parish: St Raphael's

This pilgrim has to get to Sydney.

Terence lost his head

with Fr Owen

Rebecca, Flynn and Elliot

We arrived in Bathurst after a couple of hours on the bus, 13th July. We were ushered into a supersized hall. Pilgrims from the U.S (Maryland and Wisconsin) Sweden, India (200 pilgrims!), Zambia, Mexico (1), Venezuela, Congo, hmmm and about 20 other countries??? We lined up our bags according to country. and this would be the place where we would be sleeping! It was still cold in Bathurst and very crowded. So crowded I was getting a splitting headache. I had to adap to be with all these people in one hall. We only had lunch at 4pm. there was a stall selling sandwiches. by 11pm, I was hungry (the stall had closed), very tired, very cold. It was crowded and noisy. Somehow managed to find a spot and wormed by way into my sleeping bag... Head was throbbing and would throb all the way to Sydney! sigh... this was it... a taste of pilgrimhood.

This is for ALAN...

2008-06-26T18:03:00.001+08:00

i know this means nothing to you. But right now there's a very hungry ALAN in Manila.. who heard that we're having lunch/dinner.. hehe..
Alan hope u can work better after seeing the pic !

St Philip Minh and Companions

2008-06-25T12:59:00.006+08:00

18th June Wednesday 545pm, our journey in Penang continues.
The day brings us to an interesting place. Thanks to our generous and impromptu guide, Helena, we find ourselves attending Mass at a quaint chapel atop a hill. It is the chapel of the College General (Seminary in Penang).

College General, Penang is one of the few seminaries in the world which possesses relics of martyrs who were once either students or professors who have borne the ultimate witness to Christ, in blood. Its rich tradition of heroic men who have achieved martyrdom is a testimony to all Christians, especially those who have walked along its corridors as well as those who will do so in the future. It is hoped that the faith of these martyrs will inspire and motivate us to emulate their love of Christ.

http://www.rc.net/malaysia/collegegeneral/CGMartyr.htm
http://www.rc.net/malaysia/collegegeneral/History.htm

I've been to College General once many years ago. Knew little about the place. So here we were attending a Eucharistic Celebration.. feast of some martyrs - we did not actually know what the occasion was until the celebration began. By the end of the celebration I was very much inspired Philip Minh and his companions. I had come to Penang not expecting anything in particular but I ended up recieving a kind of retreat!

What I learnt during the celebration...
If you're of this world you end up having to please the world. Are we able to stand out from the crowd and be counted? That means speaking the truth and standing up for what we believe... The Martyrs stood up for what they believed.

If you belong to the world, the world will love you as its own. Are we so in want to be loved by the world that we allow people to trample on us? For the 5 martyrs, popular opinion did not matter. They stuck to their freedom. When we speak the truth we have freedom. When we lie we cannot experience this freedom. When we stick to our belief according to God's way (not just our way) we find freedom. What is our response to this call to live our faith? We may not be privileged to die for our faith... but we are privileged to live our faith...

yes I am privileged to be able to wake up everyday and live and move... the martyrs died for their faith.. Christ invites me to live for my faith. I am affirmed that truly only Christ can give us PEACE. and it is in receiving his peace.. we have freedom. Freedom to stand up and be counted. Freedom to speak the truth. Freedom to live my faith! :)

Chirst be near at either hand
Christ behind, before me stand
Christ with me where e'er I go
Christ around, above, below.

Christ be in my heart and mind
Christ within my soul enshrined
Christ control my wayward heart
Christ abide and ne'er depart

Christ my life and only way
Christ my lantern night and day
Christ be my unchanging friend
Guide and shepherd to the end

The Lighthouse

2008-06-25T12:45:00.009+08:00

The Lighthouse turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip to Penang.

this mission centre started as a soup kitchen, giving meals to the poor and homeless. At present 60 people file in daily for tea and 100 others dine in regularly (monday to friday) 4-7pm. The organization has been running solely on donations! great work guys!the volunteers cook and serve their clients/guests.

Everyday homeless people can come by to wash their clothes and take a shower. They are each given a bar of soap daily.By 6pm they collect their washed and dried laundry. The lighthouse also organizes street outreach where volunteers befriend the homeless and give those who have not been to the Lighthouse a packet of food. The friends/guests/clients of the lighthouse are known by their addresses and "positions" E.g. manager of 7/11, excecutive at the so-and-so Bank, or CEO of so-and-so company.. sweet.

The clients also come to the Lighthouse early in the day to watch TV in the activities room. Some are elderly, some are middle-aged. The Lighthouse also does job placement for those who can work. Each day, a group of those seeking work, go off to do odd-jobs and also graveyard maintenance. Interesting. The lighthouse does not judge or discriminate or label anyone. All are welcomed! Sometimes we go round the 1-room flats and meet able-bodied middle-aged people who are not working and are asking for help. Sometimes I can't help but ask in my heart "Why don't you work? What's wrong with you? Are you lazy?" The temptation to judge or to compare is not Christ-like. That's something I learnt from the Lighthouse. Sometimes I'm tempted to label the kids of Aunty Rosa but still cannot. After seeing how the Lighthouse has been serving I am inspired to do more for Angel Network.

Penang Here We Come

2008-06-23T13:18:00.023+08:00

Last week, Alvin, Daryl and I took a bus to Penang. The bus was good. I recommend fivestar 18seater. Alvin expected a ride in a jalopy but was impressed with the reclining seats, personal entertainment system and massage. For me, the comfort of the bus made no difference. At 2 in the morning, I was desperately wishing the bus could be turned into a large toilet at the press of a button. Do not eat Ramlee chicken burger at Yong Peng!!! the expired charcoal pills I had brought along was of little consolation. I thought that the arduous journey would finally end when the bus entered Penang Bridge. To my utter horror, traffic on the bridge at 7am was another fiasco. How did a leisurely trip (a supposed walk in the park) turn out to be harsher than getting to Payatas???

It's been 5 years since my last Penang trip. There's a new Terminal Bas Express at Sungai Nibong close to the bridge and near the new Queensbay area. Not very good for someone in dying need of a toilet!
http://www.malaysiasite.nl/nibongeng.htm

Penang has changed somewhat. More cars now on the roads. Just like in Singapore and we wonder why fuel prices are skyrocketing!?? there's also a lot more property development. More condos now dot the skyline. Even the public flats have been given a makeover. The once shabby squalid flats at Tanjong Bungah have been given a new lease of life. The lights are much brighter add a fresh coat of paint and the ground floor is now abuzz with shops (open for business kind). No longer a dark and dingy hangout where dubious characters linger in the shadows probably trying to get a quick fix. Also Gurney area has been well-developed. Gurney Plaza looks busy and the G hotel too. However, I can't accept the demise of beloved Komtar. Sad. No more 7am Macs Breakfast when we arrive. But there's Prangin Mall, kinda MBK-ish (Bangkok). We were happy to find Midlands mall, more or less the same as before. And Maranatha still gong strong on the 4th floor.. hahaha. Penang is a small place. Consumerism is just going to be kind of stagnant. Unless there's a sudden inlfux of mirgants and the population is growing fast. Else developers should not open malls as and when they feel like it. When one mall is launched, another mall dies. Poor shopowners who go out of business. Lucky for those who can relocate to the new mall. So techincally, it's not wise to keep opening new malls and abandoning the old ones. Just upgrade, expand, refresh.

We stayed at Batu Ferringhi (Ali's Guesthouse). Cool place according to Alvin and I. Daryl did not quite approve of the shack that greeted us. But the people behind Ali's seemed to be more serious about business than Shalini's (where movement in the typical Chinese living room can be easily observed by Kpos like us). The Ah-Poh and chinese man in singlet seem oblivious that they were running a guesthouse. Though they've got good reviews as a family-run establishment, we still wanted a place that would treat us as guests and not distant relatives or in-laws. The Baba Guesthouse, a simple 1960s Chinese house gave us the impression of Ah Peis hanging around in their cotton-thin blue-striped PJs (like old folks' home set up). Actually we never saw anyone go in or come out from there though the door is always wide open. ET Guesthouse? Saw the sign but have no recollection of having seen the place. Ali's is like a kampong place yet, chalet looking.. and Daryl gave his final stamp of approval when he spied the sign "Cable TV available"... arrrggghhhh!!! I warned Alvin in advance: Cable TV means he's not sleeping.. He'll be up watching whatever sports is available till the wee hours of the morning. Still we decided to check in and settled for a small but comfortable triple sharing room. Daryl was happy with the cable TV, I was happy there was a toilet. Alvin was happy with the large comforter on the bed! after freezing on the bus for 10hours. note: always have a jacket and/or blankie when travelling on planes, trains, buses. This is the 21st century! there is air-con... and it can only get colder!

Once we settled in, lackadaisical mode swung in. Batu Ferringhi is really a slack place where I would like to open a mamashop/makan place and watch the world go by. After a month I'd probably be bored stiff and would expand to a guesthouse. After a couple of months, I'd probably open an internet cafe cum arcade (24hours). The mamashop would by then also be a 24hour convenience store. Probably after that, I would organize night street basking, artists on the sidewalks painting portraits. and the makan place would by then be burger joint by day, side walk alfresco dining by night. Guesthouse would have a jacuzzi installed already, cable, wireless and other upgraded facilties. There'd be foot therapy where fish can bite on your feet. There'll be spa and massage on the beach front. And a large pond for fishing! hehe...
Then there'd be beach parties every weekend! Beach soccer and volleyball competitions. Sandcastle building competitions and so on.

After a year Batu Ferringhi would no longer be a slack place but bustling, busy an crowded.. and I'll wonder "why did i ever come to such a busy place???" hahaha and then retreat to Bhutan.

We lived the next 2 days rather nonchalantly, doing nonchalant stuff. Went to tropical fruit farm. How to go? Board the only bus 101 going round Batu Ferringhi (btw rapid bus is good.. almost SBS standard.. take the Hin bus at your own risk haha) stop at Telok Bahang's depot/interchange. Wait for minibus 501 and it'll go to the base of the fruit farm.. i must warn you 1st about the climb up to the fruit farm... phew... hehe For 25 Ring, we went on a tour with a Jacky Chanish guide and a promised fruit buffet at the end of the tour! Many Arab tourists joine too.. they didn't care what Jacky Chan was saying. They were grabbing every fruit in sight. Poor Jacky Chan had to tell them "No dont eat our fruits! Not now! Not here" a few Arab ladies found great delight posing for photos with every fruit tree they saw! After awhile we were hungry and deserted Jacky Chan. So did some of the Arabs who also headed for the fruit buffet line.

The fruit buffet was my first one ever! Who would have a fruit buffet?? ... I imagined that there would be a START line and someone would blow the whistle which would trigger a mad dash down the path for fruit trees which would be everywhere, waiting for us to ATTACK. ... like Sonic and Hedgehog? there'd be ripe mango trees on the left and the mangoes would be in grabbing distance. There'd be sweet rambutans on the right screaming "eat me! eat me!" Further down there'd be jackfruit (already cut and open) dangling before us. Grapes on the bushes (yes they have grapes) and whooo.. mouthwatering... and the finale.. just before the finishing line there'd be tons giganto fleshy yellow durian already waiting for us to devour. The king of fruits. whooo!

However the reality turned out to be very different from my imagined buffet. The real fruit buffet was disappointing...typical buffet set up. a few miserly catering trays... some regular featured fruits.. mango was not the filipino happening kind. didnt even have BANANA! and at batu ferringhi the Banana house had tons of banana. and the batu ferringhi mango was much juicier! and noooo durian in sight!! sobsob.. refund! refund! refund! If Alan, Iggy, Tim were there.. they would have rioted!

Other nonchalant activities that I don't actually need to mention here.. so this paragraph is pretty nonchalant: meals at nondescript roadside stalls, bus rides on long winding roads, dozing off on the bus while on long winding roads, sauntering here and there (confession: it takes effort to saunter. especially when the other 2 are always lagging behind. They make me look like I'm in a hurry). Sitting on the beach looking at the starless sky. Alvin burying his Tat Seng in the dead of the night. Alvin digging for his Tat Seng under the sweltering midday sun. Alvin walking from Penang Road to Macalister to Nagore in search of a new Tat Seng to replace his buried Tat Seng. Quite nonsensical.. but that's our friend Alvin. We don't try to understand him, we just try to live with him... hehe

Anyway after 2 days of slacking on the Batu (aka stone).. we batu (stoned) on the batu (stone)... Daryl was the 1st to want out! "City! Gimme the city!" he gave a ranting speech, praising us for the simplicity thus far.. and it was about time to reward ourselves with a hotel in the city... (actually he just wanted a fridge to store his chocolates. heehee!) so we packed up. bid the Ali folks farewell, waved to Shalini, ET and Baba and boarded the bus (what else? 101 lah) to Komtar. we "trekked" towards the 1st decent looking hotel (not the Singapore air-conditioned hotel!). With the help of Alvin's fishing rod, which efficiently pointed us in the right direction, we finally came to Cititel. A little boring.. but nvm Daryl got his fridge and stored his chocolates.

We went out to familiarise ourselves with the area.. make friends with the people in the neighbourhood... found a Catholic church just behind the hotel.. and on the church's premises was a mission centre called the Lighthouse where homeless people come in for free meals.. now we're talking.. i don't mean we were planning on posing as homeless and get a free meal.. Helloooo?? ok but the thought did cross my mind lah.. we could check the place out find out more about their mission, learn something from them. There was also a Catholic information centre.. bookstore thing. very cool.

Helena this wonderful Penangite Youth worker picked us up later in the afternoon (from where we were having our lunch just across the hotel) and drove us to the Lighthouse just behind the hotel... hehe and we wonder how come petrol so expensive.. here i want to add. that Helena this cool gal.. drives an environmentally green car.. she uses natural gas.. hehe not that kind of natural gas lah! anyway.. she rockzz.. (be a planeteer.. saving our planet is the thing to do!!! Captain Planet) So there was technically no sin commited driving 25metres up and down :)

I Need You More, More than Yesterday

2008-05-31T23:44:00.004+08:00

How to grow in faith?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

So lean on the Lord. Depend on the Lord. Trust him. Put your plans/hopes/dreams into his hands.

Many times, we have the answers, the solutions and we know how to make things better. We cannot let others see our weaknesses. We have to be strong and show others how indepdendent and capable we are. We hide our fears or loneliness. We cover up our broken lives. We put on a show to conceal our simple-mindedness. We don't let anyone at anytime laugh at us. Why do we try so hard to impress others? when the One we should be pleasing is God Almighty, our El Shaddai.

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Acknowledge God Almighty by referring all our ways to His will, trusting in His power, wisdom, providence, goodness, righteousness. Acknowledge that without Him we can do nothing. Most of our failures are due to our pride, for we think that our own wisdom, strength and piety are sufficient, and so we do not acknowledge Him as necessary in all things. We need God’s direction in everything, for this alone is a safe path to tread.

Jeremiah 9:23-34 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Lindell Cooley - I Need You More lyrics
I need You more
More than yesterday
I need You Lord
More than words can say
I need You more
Than ever before
I need You Lord
I need You Lord

More than the air I breathe
More than the song I sing
More than the next heartbeat
More than anything
And Lord as time goes by
I'll be by Your side
Cause I never want to go back
To my old life

Right here in Your presence
Is where I belong
This old broken heart
Has finally found a home
And I'll never be alone

Marian Evangelization Community

2008-05-20T22:51:00.004+08:00

The group of 15 from the Philippines arrived on Saturday 10th May... After 9 days of lots of walking, eating and singing, they've gone home.
The 9 days with this amazing group of singers was really a new experience everyday.
Yes they have a great voice when they sing together. Everyone just stops in their tracks to listen to them. It's not just the voice or the technique but their soul expressed in each song they sing. Truly inspiring.

I miss their sense of humour and their jokes and impersonations. And they laugh at themselves readily too. I learnt that walking is certainly not one of their fortes. I also realise that we walk alot in Singapore... to the bus stop, to the train station. We're always walking. Sorry you had to walk so much!

We had a wonderful time with you. Alan, Cathy, Jay, Mayb, Beng, Vince, Cha, Tin Tin, Marich, Ian, Jorge, JR, Diane, Juslyn and Pam. You have touched our hearts. I know the friendship that started here will continue to grow. God bless...

My Catechism in Payatas

2008-04-25T12:04:00.003+08:00

Today I was in Payatas and we met up with the kids who were recently baptised. They eagerly came to the school and we had our 1st Catechsim lesson outdoors, on the school's porch. The large umbrella shelter provided a soothing relief from the scorching sun. Temperatures have soared to 37 deg celsius. I wonder how those atop the dumpsite can take all that heat being absored into their body each day..

The 10 kids are of various ages.. From 4 to 9 years old. It's an odd group and at 1st we felt a little lost. As a teacher, I know that we need to group them. The kinders can have singing, colouring, games and listen to stories of Jesus. The grade 3s and above can have singing, simple Bible study and faith sharing. But due to limited resources, we continue our meeting in the outdoors as one group.

We ask them why they got baptised. 1 kid answers,"For Birth terticate (certificate)". We ask them to describe how Jesus looks like. There is silence before 1 kid blurts out "The one on the cross?" I begin to feel sorry for them and sorry for myself even.. hehe. What am I to do now?

At that moment I thought, "Just share with them the name of Jesus". We share about the power of His Name. They can call upon the name of Jesus anytime, everytime, anywhere, everywhere. When they're happy or sad, lonely or with friends... and Jesus will always be with them. I ask if they knew how much Jesus loves them. They didn't know. Then I remembered something my friend, Iwan, had done recently. So I ask them to stand and stretch out their hands as wide as they could. I ask them to recall a time, they felt lonely or sad, or happy; a time they just wanted Jesus to be with them. And we sing "Jesus Jesus Jesus". The kids are pretty brave.. they are churning out their own tune of our newest song "Jesus" hehe.. Just one word in this song, "Jesus".

Here was a group of little ones gathered outside, hands stretched out, eyes closed just singing "Jesus, Jesus". Even the 2 mothers with us, joined in. I was wrong to feel sorry for them. In their simplicity, they can embrace the love of Jesus so freely, so openly. We asked them if they would like the group to pray for them. One by one, they raised their hands. "Pray for my lola. She's been sick". The little one was invited to stand in the centre of the circle. With hands stretched out, we led in prayer, in Tagalog and English. Each kid would vouluntarily come to the centre and asked us to pray with him/her. One little girl said, "Pray for my kuya (older brother). He's passed away". The kuya had died even before she was born. Yet this was something she wanted Jesus to know.. she wanted her Kuya to be with Jesus.

This was not just their Catechism. This was my Catechism too. The kids taught me something. We often label poor children as helpless, vulnerable and in need of care. It's like the poverty of a child is so complete since s/he is poor and have nothing to contribute. Today I saw 10 children, in the afternoon sun, hands stretched out, leaning into the wind, embracing God with great love and joy. And I realised my own poverty in seeing their wealth.

April 17 2008.
Paaralang Pantao
Pampanga Street, Payatas

HeartSpeaks - MaryJane's Mother

2008-04-08T22:42:00.002+08:00

She asked her daughter Mary Jane, to send a letter to Tita Letty explaining why she couldn't make it for our first trip to the government office, (where we will get their National Bureau of Investigation Clearance which would later be needed in getting the birth certification of the children). In the letter, she wrote, "It’s too shameful for me to join the group because I don’t have any money to contribute for this clearance. All I have today is a ten peso coin left to buy food for my 2 kids."

I judged her wrongly. I thought that she was an irresponsible mother who did not care anymore. Or a mother who would just wait for her children to grow up a little and let them be cooked on top of the garbage mountain. Along the way I felt anger thinking of little Mary Jane. She’s one of our outstanding students. I wonder, "Can she ever make it to formal school?"

In the afternoon, we were back in school with the other mothers and I read her letter.

The next day, I met her, Martina, a young mother of 3. She was smiling shyly in front of the school gate. She had just ended her night-shift at the dumpsite and had come to school immediately after work. We told her to have a of clothes after which we went to the government office with her. I realized how dignified she is. She shared how she worked harder now for the 3 children, since her husband left them last December. Her husband was a drug addict and drunkard, whose irresponsibility is well known to her children. The children even persuaded her to leave their father.

With courage she narrated that she needs to earn at least 150 pesos daily to sustain their needs. The dumpsite’s heat at times is really unbearable according to her, "It’s different these days. The sun’s heat penetrates the insides of my body.” She told me how much she earns. (27peos = 1 Singapore dollar)
1 kilo of coke cans (= 40 cans) - 30 pesos.
1 kilo of bottled plastic bottles (= 30 pcs) - 15 pesos.
1 kilo copper wires (which she would still need to burn) - 40 pesos.
1 kilo of plastic wears or old basins cost 15 pesos
1 kilo of plastics costs 50 pesos can cost 20 pesos.

All this depends on her skillful senses on top of the mountain.

Mary Jane once share with me that her dream is to be a teacher. She reads very well and her Math is excellent. Martina told me that Mary Jane once told her that she buy a big house for her and she would not let her father in. Martina brags about Mary Jane’s independent character. At times she sells fish balls and no one can trick her with the payments.

All this time I saw Many Jane as just a 7 year old kid. I often look at her and sense the innocence, the warm smile and light heartedness that I fail to see in the other overly-burdened kids. I realized how a mother’s love fills the empty spaces that probably fills her. Martina revealed to me the wonders of the greatest LOVE.

Braving the heat of the sun, 7am to 5 p.m a day; digging through the garbage piles; going beyond any sickness. Letting go of the pains which her husband caused her. Supporting the needs of her three children. Dreaming for them and helping them achieve the dreams one day at a time, fills my heart with the pride for a mother’s life; a gift from God like Martina.

Let’s take a moment to pray for her and the many other Martinas surviving in Payatas. May her story be a source of light, of God’s providence and care. Let’s pray for the many Mary Janes receiving such unconditional love. May they fill the other empty hearts around and let them realize the greatest value of suffering and love.

P.S.
Tita Letty gave a slot of the birth certificate funds for Mary Jane. Touched by the mother’s honesty and persistence. Truly there is so much more that what meets the eye.

Through My Eyes - Payatas Kid's Photo Team

2008-04-04T16:41:00.012+08:00

The photos you see below have been taken by team of 7 budding photographers, all kids, kids who live in the Payatas Dumpsite of Quezon City.
They are Nicasio, Arnil and Cherylin (brother and sister), Joshua, Erwin, Angiecel and Clare Ann.

Through generous benefactors, acts29 has been able to provide cameras and film and development of the films for the children. For the 1st time, the kids are going out to see a world beyond their dumpsite. They've been to the mall, fast food, Quezon city park and in mid April we hope to take them out on a jeepney for another exciting journey beyond the dumpsite.

The Through My Eyes project aims to help these children record what they see around them and tell others about the world as they see it. We want to help the children dream beyond the dumpsite. Some of these children are at-risk of becoming full-time scavengers or taking on other full-time jobs to support their families. We've started work to get the children's birth certificates processed thanks to the efforts of our full-timer, Mayb. With the birth certs, the children can get into mainstream school and pursue formal education. Hopefully the children can also get benefactors to sponsor their education. we want to eradicate poverty and we believe empowering children with an education is the way to go. We also believe in empowering the poor by giving them a platform to voice their stories.

We hope to publish a photo book the kids have done that will speak their lifestory And that the proceeds from photobook will fund their educaiton. Well, it's still a long way to go but nevertheless we're hopeful. At this moment, we praise God that Joshua is back with the team after having gone missing for a while. We've lost touch with Arnil and Cherylin. Mayb's been searching for them since they shifted. Let's pray for these kids and that their parents would let them continue their studies.

CHIJ Youth Mission in the Phils November 2007

2008-04-02T12:47:00.002+08:00

Thanks to St Joseph's Convent CHIJ YOuth Mission and to Chloe, Kelly and others who have put this video together!

from believers to workers to leaders

2008-03-31T14:55:00.004+08:00

In acts29 we believe in forming leaders/disciples.
Jesus was always in the business of making disciples. He went out of his way to win the lost, build the faith believers and equiped the workers. On top of all this Jesus went one step further in disiple-making. He multipled and sent leaders out. His apprentice leaders were led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They grew from stength to strength, from grace to grace.

Jesus continues to make disciples in our world today. We need our youth believers to develop into workers! Sometimes there are members who are just happy attending sessions and receiving but they have to start working and do their part in building God's kingdom. One does not have to possess any special attribute or talent to be a worker-leader. God can use anyone!

Our youth workers need to be identified, encouraged, equipped and mobilized to become leaders within our community for kingdom-building. But what is needed to help a youth disciple of Jesus to become a leader? the right candidates must be 1st identified.

Who are the emerging leaders?
An emerging leader is one who is available, faithful, teachable and responsive.

Availability is the 1st key to leadership and kingdom-building! One needs to be available for the Lord in order to work for His kingdom. Available youth disciples are those who clear their calendar to make the Great Commission a priority in their lives.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Faithfulness is the next key for leadership. These youths demonstrate endurance over a period of time. We can epxect spiritual consistency and predictability from these youths. Spiritual consistency meaning they maintain a faithful prayer life and participate in the sacraments of the Church. These youths know they can draw strength from the Lord.

Teachable youth disciples posssess humility and accountability. They are humble enough to learn and to be accountable to leadership.

Responsive youth disciples possess team spirit! The are enthusiastic and passionate. They spread this contagious enthusiasm and passion to others in the community.
When a youth leader is passionate about Jesus, other youths catch the bug from them, to be committed to Jesus.

Jesus the Lord is risen! Hallelujah!

2008-03-26T23:43:00.003+08:00

Hello World! I am breathing once again!
Since I got back from the Phils... I've had no time to come here! that's how busy it's been..

A Big Thank You to all the guys and gals who came down for the 24hour FAST. 138 of you made it possible... You went without food... You danced you sang and kept everyone's energy up throughout.. by being you - youths! Well Done! I was amazed that there were non-Catholics who came too.. Awesome! Together we raised $2317 (if I remember correctly) for Catholic Charities week... Go on say it "We did it!!!" Now that we're in Eastertide, dun forget the less fortunate around us ok? remember to come out of your comfort zone often and take the time to be a neighbour to others.

For those of you are who are wondering... yup! 24 hour FAST will be back next year.. 3rd week of LENT. But it will be different... we're in the process of revamping and redesigning the program to keep it new and relevant with the times. It may not even be 24hours.. 24hours is a piece of cake rite? shall we try for 30 hours? For those of you who have participated and you'd like to come back as a volunteer.. just tag us or drop us an email, yah??

One thing I realized during the FAST was that a whole new generation of youths have surfaced... and I know they are a new generation cos this group of teens (15-16year olds) do not know who Mother Teresa is. Some teens i know don't recognise her face. Mother Teresa was, for my friends and I, an icon of compassion and love. It was she who said, "We can only do small things with great love"

While she was alive, she was so very real. Her work was real and genuine and had great impact on vast numbers of people. Today her work and mission lives on especially through the Missionaries of Charity, an order she had set up. Mother Teresa has had a great impact on my life. When I think about justice in the world, I think of Mother Teresa's efforts. Even though she died 11 years ago.. it seems to me, like she had only just recently left us.

If it was only 10 years ago that Jesus had walked on this Earth, died and rose from the dead, how much of an impact would it have on my life today? Would it be more real 10 years ago than 2000 years ago? For those who were too young to know Mother Teresa then, is she just a story to them? for all of us who had yet to be born 2000 years ago, is Christ's resurrection just a story to us?

What impact has the resurection of Jesus made on our lives as believers?

As we read of the days after Easter, we see dramatic changes in the lives of the apostles. From a group of hopeless frightened men, they found hope in the Risen Lord. They recieved the power of the Holy Spirit and built a Christian community which we can read about in Acts 2:42. They went out to preach the Good News. Miracles and wonders took place and the community grew daily. These ordinary men and women had their hearts set ablaze for Jesus. In today's world, we would call them crazy radicals or Jesus freaks or "Christians". Wait a minute.. what does that make us? That makes us crazy radicals, Jesus freaks - fools for Christ! Are we?

Are we today as passionate as the early Christian community was? Are we sharing all we have with those in need? Do we serve the Lord? Where are the miracles and wonders? How is it we don't see such things? Today as I am blogging, someone somewhere is giving his life to our Risen Lord. Someone somewhere is being healed, walking for the 1st time. Someone has his sight restored. All this is happening in Jesus' name...

By whose name do we live? by our own name? or by the risen Lord? By whose name is all authority given to? by our name? or by the risen Lord? Jesus came to give us life to the full. Have we opened out hearts to this life? Jesus gives us his resurrection so we can claim his victory for our lives. So we don't have to get by on 2nd best anymore. We don't have to be afraid to live as Christians (to love God as he deserves) aka crazy radicals, Jesus freaks, fools for Christ.

"... we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us. For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-38

If you havent' done so.. proclaim to one new person everyday: " Jesus the Lord is risen! Hallelujah!"

Angel Network Update: Relocation in Progess

2008-02-21T14:14:00.003+08:00

Dear Friends,
Acts29 is assisting several elderly living in Blk 3 and 4 Hougang to shift house over the next few months. The blocks will be torn down this year.
The elderly we are helping are on govt. financial assistance (no family) or have been abandoned by their children. Most of the old men/women we’ve adopted have pretty sad/heartbreaking stories. They’re between 75 years old – 89 years old.

Being relocated is a difficult experience for them. It’s like having to start all over again - making friends, finding their way around and settling down to the new environment. Yes they have many fears and insecurities.
A few who have been collecting and selling drink cans will no longer be able to continue this as contacts would be lost. They will be relocated all over the island. Some will be moving to AMK, Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Bedok and so on.

The elderly have shown us perseverance, courage, strength and resilience. They are not a helpless group of old people waiting for daily handouts. Weeks before they begin shifting out, they have found ways to get hold of cardboard boxes in good condish. I admire that.. Note to self: ask them to help us get more boxes for our FAST. They are all packed and ready to go. When we step into any elderly's flat now, we can see the boxes all ready: packed and taped up. Some have even manager to get contacts for lorries. However many need help with changing of letterbox keys, changing home address on the IC. Many don't know how to fix the new lights in their new flat or how to reinstall the water heater. Most have told us they want their new home to look exactly like the one they have now. the furniturs goes into the same corners and places. We took photos so we know where the bed was in the old flat and the sofa and the table, etc... The Catholics are requesting for us to arrange house blessing, holy communion and so on.

Sure they all have a past. Perhaps one left the family, another a compulsive gambler, another an alcoholic and another an ex-con. Perhaps their relatives have given up hope on them and stay away from them. For those who have been abandoned by their children, perhaps they didn't show love to their kids enough when they were young. Whatever wrong they did in the past should not be punishment for them to be isolated in their 1room cell. Angel Network has revealed to us the large numbers of elderly living alone, estranged from families. No one visits them, not even for CNY. Some old ladies are actually are afraid to be alone at night. Some times they can't sleep. They are also wary of being robbed. The old men tell us how nice it would be to have home-cooked meals and to have their meals with friends or family. Every 1 room flat we pass by is a block of many elderly living in loneliness and even despair. They are not the easiest people to get along with. They would have a hard time coping in an elderly day-care or old folks' home. They have a different way of thinking from the elderly in centres and homes. Despite their loneliness, they still want their independence and freedom.

You can be part of Angel Network by helping us in these ways:
1. request to be on angel network email list
2. help in the move by carrying stuff from old place to new place
3. contribute lorry/transport to help the elderly shift
4. painting their new home
5. fixing lights/nails/etc
6. donate a water heater to those who need one
7. help us get hold of fridge, sofa, wardrobe etc
8. help us monthly to pay visits as we expand Angel Network to AMK and Toa Payoh this 2008.

Some elderly do not have fridge, tv, radio, sofa, a table to eat at, a stove, water heater. One elderly man's home is bare except for a bed, a foldable table and 2 chairs. His wall is decorated with photo frame of Jesus, palm leaf and a little picture of our Archbishop pasted up!!! :)

24hour FAST: Call to Conversion

2008-02-13T02:31:00.000+08:00

The Season for Lent has arrived.
Some young people may see this season as a time of suffering! to abstain, to fast, to go for more confessions, more penance and so on. Even for adults, Lent may be more of a season of Gloom. to enter 40days in the desert! what??? the desert???

Lent actually means spring and Spring is a beautiful season for new life. Maybe for those of us living in South-East Asia Spring is something we can only imagine as that season does not exist in our climate.

People think that we at acts29 are going crazy. We're gathering youths in Singapore to fast for 24hours. On top of that we're inviting our brothers and sisters from around Asia to fast with us too! Fasting only means more gloom? right? WRONG.

My 1st FAST experience occured in Brunei and the youths there were far from gloomy. They were filled with joy overflowing. Last year's FAST in Singapore saw 50 young people surrender all their comforts and treasures to step into the lives of the poor. Strange as it may sound, those youths had a great time experiencing hunger, building cardboard shelters and visiting the poor. Our joyful FAST experience is easy to explain yet hard to grasp. Those of you who have lived in Payatas dumpsite or in places where the people are poor would probably have recieved great joy from the poor. I've never been without joy in Payatas. At times tired, at times overwhelmed. At times there's sadness and I cry but still the joy cannot be taken away. because Payatas, like so many other places, is where the poor is present and that is where Paraiso (paradise) exists.

I invite you to read Isaiah 58. In Isaiah 58, God says he has chosen fasts that 1) loosen the bonds of wickedness, 2)undo heavy burdens, 3)let the oppressed go free, 4)break every yoke, 5)give bread to the hungry and provide the poor with housing, 6) allow people's light to break forth like the morning, 7)cause their health to spring forth speedily, 8)cause their righteousness to go before them and 9)cause the glory of God to be their reward.

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/isaiah/isaiah58.htm

During this 24hour FAST we want to re-look at our relationship with one another: relationship within the family, relationship within the community and relationship with our brothers and sisters from the region. And we do so through the eyes of the poor. The poor never fail to remind us of what joy truly is. The poor point out to us the humanity of Jesus, the Son of God. Just as Christ was blessed, broken and given away, we too ask to be blessed, broken and given away so that we may share and rejoice in the Paraiso of our risen Lord.

24hour FAST 2008 REGISTTER NOW

2008-02-13T01:48:00.000+08:00

WHERE IS THIS YEAR'S 24HOUR FAST VENUE: CHIJ TOA PAYOH (LORONG 1)
WHEN DOES IT START: 1ST MARCH SAT, 2PM REGISTRATAION
WHEN DOES IT END: 2ND MARCH SUN 3PM, (SUN MASS AT 2PM)

WHAT DO I BRING:
1 CUP/BOWL OF UNCOOKED RICE (PUT IN PLASTIC BAG/ZIPLOCK)
SLEEPING BAG
PEN/PENCIL

A LOOK AT 2007 24HOUR FAST

Refreshed, forgiven, blessed

2008-02-03T23:11:00.000+08:00

For a week I spent time at home and wondering how much more I can give to the kids. Being sick made me weak, both physically and emotionally, yes, also spiritually.
I find myself battling with many thoughts about the mission. At home, I remember the little hands and feet of the kids. My heart aches seeing the reality of their hardships. Sometimes I fear for their health. Would you believe there was a time Rodel recited the multiplication table with me and he told me “Ate May I can’t do it. It’s too many. I can’t breath." I find the kids tire easily in Payatas.

Yes, we have the same dream. I wish we have more money, more shelters for them, more food, and more nurturing hands to fill each brokenness. Each day I wish the children more and more love to receive, more and more care to feel. I am proud to see how Paaralang Pantao brought joy and friendship to the kids. Each day's “heartspeaks” can be summarized to a miracle of: giving and love and pains endured. Yes, sometimes I scream inside, “Life is so unfair for the kids!” But a thought knock once at my heart. The kids are alive and they have been blessed with many moments to smile; to run, to play, to dance, to sing, to express their pains and wildest ideas, to argue with us, to have tantrums, to frown, to dream, to cheer, to pray, to reflect, to hear stories, to meet many friends from all over the world, to fight and reconcile, and to just BE,be themselves.

Being in the mission is a humbling experience. If God is listening I wish to tell him sorry because I felt so self-sufficient, that I can do something for the children. I can love them and give my time. I have missed to acknowledge the truth that God uses each one of us as instruments. He has the masterplan in His hands.

I was sick and felt I’ve been burned out with many thoughts for the kids and the mission. I forgot to tell God my desires and my hopes because I have been so busy thinking what to do, how to respond to the call. And then he allowed me to pause a while.

Tomorrow, I will be back to school after a weeks' rest. I feel refreshed, forgiven and blessed to have rested.

Are you ready for 24hour FAST this LENT?

2008-01-22T22:47:00.000+08:00

Date: 1st March, Sat to 2nd March Sun.
Time Start: Registration 2pm
Time End: 4pm
VENUE: CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary (Toa Payoh Lorong 1, walking distance from Toa Payoh MRT station)
Cost: $15

The Fast Pledge: Sat 3pm
Closing of FAST with Eucharistic Celebration: Sun 2pm
Light Meal: 3pm
Bring: Bible and sleeping bag.
Program includes Way of the Cross, Reconciliation Service and Sunday Mass
Minimum age: 13 years old
Maximum age: adults welcomed!

Hey everyone!
the 24hour FAST is back and it will be held during the season of Lent.
Lent is a time for us to be in prayer, fasting/abstaining and almsgiving/good works.
The 24hour FAST program will include all this and help you on your way to develop your own personal Lenten program.
The 24hour FAST program reminds us of the poor who live beyond our shores in the various regions of Asia.
This Lent we invite you to join us as we encounter the poor. Spend 1 day 1 night in the shoes of the poor. Come for the 24hour FAST (For Asia Solidarity Together).

Come! Join us for this life-changing experience!

In Heaven's Eyes

2008-01-21T14:16:00.001+08:00

Payatas is a place that's not only filled with garbage. It's filled with all kinds of vice. It's also a place full of children.

Young boys, barely 10, play billiards with adults along Pampanga Street.
Children walk up and down Pampanga, drugs tugged beneath and stapled to their tees.
"Who takes care of you?" "My sibling"
"Where is mama and papa?" "working in the dumpsite" or "dead" or "prison"

I've known Nicasio and his sister Joannie since he was 5. Nicassio 1st enrolled in Paaralang Pantao for the kindergarten class. He'll be 10 this May. His father passed away about 2 years ago. His illiterate mum and 2 older sisters did not know what to do. In their little hut, they kept the father's body for almost a month till the barangay authorities stepped into help. The death was finally certified and the family could proceed to bury the body. Joannie now 15 stopped school around that time. She began work as a scavenger atop the infamous Payatas Dumpsite. Mother does not come out of their home. She seems to be ill, extremely underweight, suspected TB. But she is not seeking treatment. A few weeks ago, Nicassio came to school with a fever. He had stepped on a rusty nail the day before. Mayb was unable to help him as Joannie would have to give her his medical cert before the German doctors would see to him. Joannie was afraid. She feared the same thing would happen to Nicassio just like her dad. Eventually Nicasio was taken to the health centre an he eventually recovered. Nicasio is one of the sweetest kids I've ever met. "Teacher, please wait for Arnil." he told us one day when we were about to leave for our photo project. "Arnil is working and rushing for a bath. Please wait awhile for him". "Teacher, let me go look for Joshua" he volunteered another day when Joshua failed to show up for the photo project.

Just last week, he heard us asking teacher Jane for sticker labels. He pulled out an a4 sheet of bright orange sticker labels. "Here you can have this Ate May. I found many at the dumpsite. I have many at home. I'll bring more tomorrow." And he did :) Nicassio can read! the other day he saw a sign and read it aloud "Bi ll i ard!" He's the most diligent child in the school and I know it breaks Tita Letty's heart that this boy does not have a birth certifcate to be enrolled in school.

"Nicasio what will you do in May if you can't get into a formal school?"
With a downcast look he says softly, "I'll work. Mam Letty says I cannot come back next year" This is what Tita has told him to encourage him to get into formal school.
"School shoes and uniforms are too expensive. We can't afford them."
"If Ate Sherlyn gives you shoes and uniform will you go to formal school next year?"
With a wide grin he nods, "Yes".

My heart cries for Little Roman. He's just 8 but he is as tough as underground gang leader. "Do you know who my father is?" he once proudly announced to all his friends.
"He's the one who'll rob! No one is afraid of him! He's in city jail."
Roman has sudden bursts of outrage throughout lessons. At times, he would bolt out of class and attempt to leave the school. Mayb has a hard time getting him away from the school gate. Sometimes when he is naughty, Tita Letty would ask him to look after the gate of the school, which he proudly does. Roman is ahead of his classmates. He is bored and shows it. He picks books from the shelves. Books are his refuge. Though he can't read yet, he goes through the illustrations page to page. This is the time Roman is the most peaceful. Roman often comes late for school. No one looks at him when he's late or he would glare angrily. He glares even at his teacher and Tita Letty. Some mornings, Roman walks all the way to the school gate. He waits for the teacher to notice him. Then he turns around and heads home.

Last week, Roman was very happy to see us. He came to school half and hour early. "Are you happy Roman?"
"No inside I am not happy...
I eat snacks everyday for my meals. Grandma cooks but sometimes she does not give me food so I eat out. I love my siblings. Grandma doesn't love me. Sometimes she locks me up. My mother is not my friend. I love my mother more than I love my father. I've only seen my father twice. He's in prison. There's fighting everyday at home. My siblings are fighting at home. My eldest brother in Grade 5 fights with me. Grandma fights with me also. I'm the only one beaten by my grandma. My other siblings are not beaten by my grandma, only me. That's why I am angry when I come to school. I don't want to make friends."

Erwin is one strong little boy. At home he does all the household chores. Cleaning, washing, cooking and even fetching water. He and Nicassio are good friends. They sit side by side in school. Erwin studies hard. He's as clever as Nicassio. Erwin comes for all the photo sessions. He likes to take his own face. :)

This gate does not look like much. But it leads the children to a safe place away from scavenging in the heat, drugs, pornography and other kinds of abuse.

Here the children can take off their shoes. They dont have to be afraid. This is Roman's hiding place from an angry man who had threatened to kill him. This is a place where Pepito can learn to read and write, away from the pornography at home. This is a place where Arnil and Cherilyn know they will not be hit. There is no broken glass. No one will get bruised, cut or hurt.
This week we told them the story of Noah's ark and God's promise. The children learnt to catch a rainbow. They listened to how brave David stood up against the fierce giant, Goliath. They made crowns because they are little kings and queens in heaven's eyes.

Heartspeaks

2008-01-21T14:13:00.000+08:00

Hi Sherlyn,

We finished our photo workshop last Saturday. We visited the homes of all the kids. Joshua came to school last Friday. Tita Letty talked to him. He shared that his mother sent him to his grandmother and aunts where they scold him a lot and at times beat him. It looks like he has a very low motivation to study.
Last Saturday, we got the chance to talk to him as we walked towards his home.
He said he doesn’t like to go to school because he has very limited shirts and he is at times scolded.
When I asked him if he was made to work he told me “no”. I was able to talk to his mom. His mother said that she sent Joshua to grandmother and she is now the one responsible for him since she is also working in the dumpsite.
She is not sure if Joshua has baptism cert and not concerned much about Joshua getting a birth certificate. I shared with her about acts29’s mission to secure him his birth certificate. She was ‘ok’ with it.

We then visited Angicel’s house with Jane (Angi’s mum and teacher at Payatas).
The kids were so happy to see their house. They think Jane’s house is very neat and beautiful. The kids enjoyed looking at Angie’s pictures and their family pictures framed on the walls. They like Angie’s toys and their appliances. Hee hee… and also her sweet cat…(Hopefully arnil and nicassio didn’t finish their films on her cat) 

-we showed Alvin and Celester the old school site….Alvin has been very curious and he’s happy to walk along Zamboanga Street once more…he asked me to interpret the conversations I had with the family’s and glad that he brought his notebook to record 

After that, we hiked to Nicassio’s home. He was so excited. Running ahead all of us. We met his sister, Johannie and his mum. His mum cannot speak Tagalong very well. But she tried to respond. The kids feel at home in Nicassio’s house. Johannie asks if she can join us. Of course!!! She said she really wants to study. She gave me her birth cert and Nicassio’s too. She told us that they were fake ones. We’ll validate this Tuesday when we go to the govt. office NSO, (National Statistics Office).

I asked her how about her work and her family needs if she was to study. She said that she can still work part time. At least when she study she can fulfill her dream to be a doctor or if not, a teacher. She even speaks to me in English at times. She currently earns 100-150 pesos a week. She said it’s very hard to work since her other sister is not so independent like her. She needed to guide her more.

Then we went to Arnil and Cherylyn’s house right in front of Nicassio’s. We met their step mother taking care of her baby. The house of Arnil and Cherylin is very small, like Nicassio’s. The length is only a few feet. The stepmother, told us they were not able to go to school the other day because they were rushing to finish their work. Arnil and Cherylin help them. I told her of our mission to work. She is ‘ok’ with us getting them birth certs, but sending them to formal school does not seem to be not in her priority. She told us she’s not aware that the kids did not go to school the previous days. The father didn’t talk to us. As we walked Cherylyn shared they cook their own meals. She asked if she could keep her camera with her and Arnil asks also.

Then we headed to Erwin’s house…it was a long hike. Next mountain..hee hee No wonder Erwin Erika and Mariel always look haggard when they arrive at school.
We’re happy to meet Erwin’s cute brothers named Gokul and Gohan and the rest I can’t remember. I just remember these two because they’re named after dragon ball anime characters  The mum is so supportive of Erwin. She is just so worried because she has so many children. But she said she’ll get Erwin’s baptism cert so we can work on his birth certificate. She shared about Erwin’s dream to study in the formal school and how he often asks her for this. She is very happy that her children are learning a lot in Paaralang Pantao.

We all head home. And along the way guess who we met?? Nestor! Your friend from Foundacio. We agreed to share more about BEC and also share mission experience. God made a way for us to meet him and his friend. Hope to keep in touch with them too.

Mayb

Marian Evangelization Choir coming to perform

2008-01-07T12:32:00.000+08:00

This May, the Marian Evangelization Choir will be in Singapore.
Most of the members are orginally from Santo Thomas Univeristy.
Since their Uni days, they have been going to schools to sing and conduct recollections for young people. acts29 is happy to have them with us and we'll be having an exciting line-up of activities with them.

Below are 2 videos of them singing. They had little time to rehearse so the performance is not as good as their usual. I'll upload a more pro video of them when I get back from Manila in 2 weeks.

In the meantime, the blog will be quiet for 7 days from Wednesday unless I can blog over in Payatas. :) Please keep our upcoming mission in your prayers. Enjoy the songs!

Back from the Christmas break

2008-01-06T23:08:00.000+08:00

The Christmas break was good! This blogger is ready to get blogging for 2008...Gave me time to recollect and envision the year ahead. :)

Wat's new? What's been happening in the world?
the word "random" is out for 2008 and the word "emo" is out too, so I've been told..Yup it aint cool anymore.. Esp when u get emo at random moments... these are

my words for 2008: "EGO".. that's so "ego".. "Awkwarrrrrrd" sustain.. with fingers tapping against each other for maximum effect.
"s.m.m" (meaning - see my mood) ok this one is not my contribution.. from sylvester anymore words to add? just tag it

11 people were rescued after being stranded on some Pacific coast for 3 months. 5 were sent out only after the group had no more food rations. the 5 finally stumbled on a military base after walking for 4 days. Interesting. They should have thought of it 3 months earlier.

People are still bombing people. How sick is that? Would God actually want you to blow up the people He created into bits and pieces of bone fragments and bloody flesh? Killing and violence degrades the existence of human beings on this Earth. The cockroaches whom we regard as filthy and gross are actually living more peacefully with each other than we human beings. How come the cockroach and the other animals can live peacefully with their own kind and we humans can't?

AMK Hub finally opens after years of waiting. Unfortunately, it's really not that great. Bishan hangers this is one place not worth coming over for. Stay at J8.

Taxi fares are up! Who benefits? Only the taxi companies. Poor taxi drivers. The next time you get into a cab, just talk to the driver about the fare hikes. Let the driver complain and grunt. He's got to let out all his pent-up frustrations.

The salaries of civil servants have increased, esp the people at the top. Who has the most well-paid ministers in the world? Is it right for ministers pay themselves well to ensure they give their loyalty and their best to the country? Is it right to pay one well so that one does not fall into corruption? A hero to me is a minister who rejects his payslip and serve for the sake of serving the nation, out of loyalty and love for the people.

Wikepedia: Personal values evolve from circumstances with the external world and can change over time. Integrity in the application of values refers to its continuity; persons have integrity if they apply their values appropriately regardless of arguments or negative reinforcement from others.
Values are applied appropriately when they are applied in the right area. Love, care, courage, bravery, integrity and compassion are examples of values. Last night

I was on the MRT last night, boarded at Orchard Station. A group of teens were sitted in one row. The train was crowded. 2 old ladies boarded the train. The teens turned to their friend sitting at the corner and teased him to give up his seat to the elderly since he was sitting in an "elderly" seat. The boy laughed and made a face at them. The teens continued to ignore the old ladies. 2 China workers from across stood up and offered their seats to the old ladies who were only too happy to rest their feet. We, Singaporeans, gripe about foreigners coming in. Maybe as many as 3 million have and will be coming in to make Singapore their home. I don't know but there are so many from Philippines, India, China and so on already here. These foreigners have never gone through the best education system in the world, the Singapore education system. They probably attended village schools where there were 60 kids in a class. They probably came from countries where the athorities say "no more passports cos not enough paper". Until they pay for the planting of a tree then they get a passport? in other words, corruption. Yet 2 blue-collared China workers who could not speak English gave up their seats to 2 elderly women while our group of Singapore teens refused to.

Perhaps just as we pay our ministers to ensure they stay loyal and honest, we should also pay our young to ensure they show kindness to the elderly and disabled.