A Life Shared to Others

Today, we had a relief operation at the home office. Many came to help. While packing some goods the rain was still down pouring and we noticed the flood rising in the parking area. When I checked the streets, the way home was already almost at waist level. I took the long route walking, finding the least possible flooded streets. Praise God, I arrived safe at home wading through knee high water level.

When offering relief, we have to realize that we are also yielding to possible risks and sacrifices. But this is exactly why the Lord said, "there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends (Jn 15:13)."

We offer relief in many ways; listening to somebody's problems, extending financial help, tutoring a classmate, sharing food and clothing...these among other things. When we give up something dear to us like time, money, possessions, and security...our very own life is shared, not diminished.

As we share in this time of need, let us think of something dear that we can give up so that others will be blessed by our lives.
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Family on Mission

My family and I, along with Msgr. Allen Aganon, just returned from an 8-day mission trip to Brunei and Miri, Malaysia. We were blessed to have been invited to CFC Brunei's 17th Anniversary.  Here are some of my mission reflections:

1. Expose your family to mission.  On our way to Brunei, my wife Michelle asked my 4 year old son Sev, "Are you excited for the mission?" He answered, "No, it's not mission mom, it's a vacation." After 8 days on the way back to the Philippines, Michelle asked Sev again, "So Sev, did you enjoy your vacation?" Sev replied, "It was a mission mom!"  Sev may have just played most of the time with the other kids while in Brunei, but he was conscious that we were already doing mission. I also witnessed my one year old daughter, Kaitlyn, raising her hands and closing her eyes, mimicking us in worship.  These little actions are already part of her consciousness and will be a seed of faith that will blossom as she grows.   It's hard to let our kids understand mission by just describing it, they have to experience it.  "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)."

2. Nurture old friendships. One of our good friends whom we visited was Bishop Sim. Michelle went on mission to Brunei back in 2003 for a Kids Conference and bonded with Bishop Sim, who was then a Monsignor.  It was good to catch up on life and get guidance from him.  Great things happen with strong, genuine friendships. Friendships also go through a time of testing, but it is for the purpose of strengthening and deepening. Friendships are our lives' treasures. Many are willing to go forego friendships because of a hurtful experience. In friendship there is love. But love has three kinds. The Eros, the Philia, and the Agape love.  Eros is more of the joy of physical attraction and Philia is about the joy of togetherness. Both can fade and be replaced. We are to strive the Agape love in our friendships, wherein love is sacrificial and is about the joy of seeking the true good of the other. We learn to love someone despite of and not only because of.  Old friendships go through a time of testing, until our love becomes agape.

3. Your community is your family. We were hosted by gracious families. It was a blessing to have shared each others' lives in our stay with with them. Opening your home is like saying, "You are family to us." Being in a community like Couples for Christ brings us to understand how the first Christian community lived. "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common (Acts 4:32)." Our hosts would always tell us, "Feel at home, tell us if there is anything you need." I believe that hosting should be a practice a Christian community should not lose. It is convenient to send our guests to a hotel, thinking that they will be more comfortable there. But we lose the essence of being community and being a family.  It doesn't matter if you have simple food or limited space, what matters is that your house is open to your brothers and sisters and that we break bread with them.

We thank God and our bretheren in Brunei for the outpouring of love upon us.  We pray for all Christian communities all over the world who share in the conviction of mission, nurturing friendships, and building more communities for Christ.

Of Friendship and Bravery

Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion.  Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely.  There is the science of the organization of armies in a nutshell. (Colonel Charles Ardant Du Picq, 1821-70)

Facing the new year ahead, there will surely be great challenges.  Some problem encounters, as fearsome as lions. But these challenges, no matter the size, will be won with true friends by our side. We will become brave because, Jesus, our true and faithful friend, is with us.  He surrounds us with people, our friends, who will help fight our battles.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15).


So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Being Brothers and Sisters in Christ

My son, Sev, is very affectionate to his younger sister, Kaitlyn. Sev usually gets things broken because of his hyper active ways. But when it comes to his sister, he's very careful. He tries to control his strength so he can be gentle with her. At times, Sev will dance for her so that she'll burst with joy and laughter. Sev would fondly refer to himself as "Tigger" and Kaitlyn as his "Pooh bear." We're blessed to have Sev as a loving brother to Kaitlyn.

We have a loving and affectionate God. He calls as His children. He loves us so much that He sends his own son, Jesus, to be our brother. As our Brother, he guides and shows us the way. He tells us parables and shows us how to relate to God our Father. He protects us, heals us and saves us from our sins. When God searched for Abel, Cain answered God by saying, "Am I my brother's keeper (Genesis 4:9)?" But Jesus our true brother will do everything for us. Even if He will be shamed, undergo suffering, and even put to death, just so that we will be saved.

How are we as brothers and sisters to others? Do we protect and save each other? Or do we seek for the fault of others? There three things that I remember in how we are to relate as bretheren. It's Three L's. We have to be loyal, loving, and life giving.

An example of being loyal is not to talk about other people when they are not around. Specially when it degrades the character of the person. Loyalty is also about not telling others of things that are shared to you in confidentiality. Most often the case is that we can't control ourselves from telling secrets. We find ourselves saying, "Don't tell others that I told you this.. ." Having a loose tongue breeds distrust. Another thing, being loyal is not about standing by your friend even if you know that what he or she is doing is wrong. Loyalty is about helping others to be true to the right principles and see them through in becoming better people.

"Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34)." This is Christ's challenge to us. Loving is not easy. We are able to love out of God's grace. Since we are dealing everyday with sinners like you and me, one is bound to disappoint the other. We have to learn to love in a way that is unconditional. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says everything about how we should love. One way to check if we are aligned to how God want us to love is to replace the word "love" to "your name" in the verses of 1 Cor. 13. It will sound like "Kirby is patient, Kirby is kind (and so on...) ."

Are we leading people to life or closer to death? Are we bringing them to the Lord or are we influencing them to sin? As a brother or sister, we have to be life giving. Loyalty and love will make a good relationship, but without the life that faith gives, it will be limited and possibly non-sustainable. Christ should be at the center of our relationships. We can do our best help out a friend or a family member, but it is Christ that will create the miracles in their lives. The best gift we can give them is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

May we be loyal, loving, and live giving to each other. Christ has shown us how to be a true brother. Indeed we are our brother's keeper. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16)."

Sowing Friendships and Nurturing Trust

I'm back! Yeah, back to my hobby of growing vegetables and herbs, particularly lettuce and mint. It never ceases to amaze me how such small seeds, with the right nurturing, grow into something so useful. Everyday, I watch their development, noting each leaf that comes out day by day. It fills my heart to see them grow, anticipating the day of harvest.

In bringing people to God, many of us expect a harvest without sowing the seeds and nurturing them along the way. We expect that once we invite people to join community, they will readily accept our invitation. In 1995, I joined CFC Youth For Christ because a good friend invited me. This friend, sowed good friendship and nurtured trust. When I was invited to join the entry camp, I easily said 'yes.'

We desire to bring many people closer to God, but we need to be good workers in the Lord's vineyard. Let us not be content that only the announcement streamers and flyers will do the evangelization work for us. We need programs and initiatives that will give us the opportunity to sow friendships and nurture trust. Through this, relationships will grow and in time we will gather a great harvest of renewed people in the Lord. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold (Luke 8:8).

The Bond of Friendship

I just came from a 5-day retreat/planning with fulltime workers of Kids for Christ. We woke up at 5am everyday, and had our prayer and worship at 5:30am. After which, us boys went to play basketball just before breakfast. It was a time to bond with co-servants and a time to bond with the Lord. Reflecting on that experience these are what I realized about bonding:

B - believe in others
O - open one's self
N - nurture friendship
D - develop regular communication

Believing in others creates an atmosphere of trust and confidence. This brings out the greatness in people and the greatness in our friendships.

Opening one's self leads others to also open up. By disclosing ourselves, we are putting a stake on our friendships and making each other accountable for parts of our lives.

We nurture friendship by extending help to them, adding value to each other's lives. We 'feed' the friendship by encouraging words and guiding our friendships towards the way of God.

We develop regular communication to be able to sustain and enrich the bond. Whether it is through meeting up, through the internet, or greeting cards, what is vital is we get updated with their lives.

More importantly, it is love that bonds us. Put love in believing, opening up, nurturing, and developing communication, and surely we can create a bond that is enduring and lifelong.

And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:14