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.

The Power to Achieve the Impossible

We had a planning session today. It's amazing when hearts and minds meet and are led to a common purpose.  How powerful it is for the burning passion of individuals to combine and create a blazing fire of will!  Some call it synergy, I'd call it the power of the Holy Spirit.  

They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32)?"

If you really look at the great commission, it's humanly impossible. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... (Mt. 28:19)."  But what gave the first Christian community the zeal and commitment to do this?  

a. The Descent of the Holy Spirit

The disciples lost heart and were fearful without their leader, Jesus Christ.  But Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit, "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven (Luke 24:49)."  And so when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, their fearful hearts were filled with courage, confidence, and boldness.

b. The Good News

 "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all (Acts 4:33)." Christ resurrection was too good a news.  One cannot just be passive about it, specially the apostles.   If one kept it inside, he would surely burst.  The message was so great that it will fill the earth.

c. His kingdom on earth

The apostles were to build a community of believers, the Church.  "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32)." They were determined to establish Christian communities throughout the world.  Paul was most passionate in his missionary work and brought Christ to many places despite perils and dangers of death.

In serving God, a person needs the Holy Spirit. More so, we need a community of believers empowered by the Holy Spirit. Imagine what a group can do, knowing fully that no less than God is giving them the power to achieve the impossible.  Let us then desire His outpouring upon us, and let the blazing fire of the Holy Spirit fill us to do His holy will!

She Said Yes

September 8 is Mama Mary's birthday. What can we recall about her to honor her? For me one of the most significant things she did was when...

She said, Yes.

"Be it done to me according to thy word (Luke 1:38)."

Do we say yes to the Lord everyday? The daily gospel, "Thy Word," challenges us to yes to the Lord through its message. But how can we say yes if we do not know what the Lord asks of us today?

Three things can happen:

1. We miss out on God's question and challenge for us.
When we don't open our Bibles or when we are not in reflective prayer, we miss the opportunity to know what He asks of us.

2. We say no to God.
We know His will for us, but simply ignore it, delay it, or run from it.

3. We say yes.
Christianity is a daily yes for the Lord. Our yes to the Lord is a process of being sensitive to His will and having the courage and the obedience to do His will.

Mary's "yes" is the opposite of Eve's disobedience. And through her yes, our Savior is born and gave us new life. "And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Cor 15:22)."

Let us pray to God using Mama Mary's intercession for the courage to say yes even if the cost of following Christ is high.
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In Honor of Bro. John Niniku

Today I heard the sad news that Bro. John Niniku, a CFC leader of Couples for Christ in Papua New Guinea passed away due to cardiac arrest.  Last February, in my mission visit to Papua New Guinea, I was able to spend a whole afternoon with him in his home in Port Moresby.  We shared a lot together.  We had the same passion for songwriting and he sang to me some of the many songs that he wrote. I could see the love of God in his eyes and how passionate he was to evangelize people. I honor him for his dedication in serving God through Couples for Christ and his parish and his great love for his family.

He will forever be remembered by our bretheren in CFC Papua New Guinea and to the people who knew him.  In the short time I spent with Bro. John, he was able to make a significant impact in my life. We will miss you brother.  Thank you and may the light Christ shine upon you. Now, you are one with Christ and singing songs of praise to Him face to face.

The Value of Evaluation

To step back and evaluate is an act of humility. Whether personal, family, or business, there are things that seemed so right when we were planning and implementing years ago. After many activities and observations, we have to do some aligning and correcting. Evaluation is a painful process. It is more comfortable to just keep doing what we are doing.
If we do not evaluate, we face the following dangers:


A. The danger of recurring patterns of wrong systems and behavior.

Patterns are hard to break specially if coming from a strong precedence of habit and sets of responses.

Evaluate on the faithfulness to our vision, mission, values, and goals. Disrupt and align through new leadership or having willingness to adapt to new systems.


B. The danger of a decline in effectiveness and performance.

We can do things efficiently but towards the wrong goals and direction. We end up getting tired, like running a marathon without the idea where the finish line is.

Evaluate on efficiently doing the right things which result in increased effectiveness.


C. The danger of doing a series of half-baked programs.

To go on to the next activity without realizing the learnings from the previous one will leave a trace of unrefined templates. We will be producing half-baked programs.

Evaluate on re-implementing the activity with the revisions and enhancements. Re-evaluate again and re-implement until the optimum result is achieved.

Evaluate basically means "to fix the value or worth." To revisit the value of what we do is important. We cannot be good evaluators if we are on a defensive stance. We must be open and think of the higher objectives. The key is to be humble, so more value will be added to what we do.