Category Archives: election

Called to be God’s ambassadors of peace and justice

Covenant-Community-Hands-Heart“Religion seems to poison everything,” Interfaith Expert Dr. Rahuldeep Singh Gill said in his article for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

I am actually discouraged to look at the news today because of the prevalent ongoing conflicts due to religion. Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, etc. All you see, read, and hear about are people killing each other for the sake of their faith. One belief that causes massacre to another. Is this what the universal God actually intended for us to be? A world full of chaos and injustices?

Curious, a friend asked me about my religious stand and why I choose to put my faith in this belief. This friend had turned to agnostic due to inconsistent appearance of religion. He said that he cannot see “god” at work because people who claimed to be followers of “god” live a life contradictory of the teachings. Continue reading →

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Conversations: ministry update

IMG_2856 (584x800)Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

I was so amused at the sight of the donkey and kids riding it (see left photo). I thought I was transported to the Biblical time when people used donkey as their mode of transportation. (To be honest, it was my first time to see a real donkey.)

On May I was blessed to see the other reality of Colombia. From the prosperous city life in Bogotá to this quiet rural community of the Zenú (indigenous group) in Córdoba, one hour flight and four hours bus ride from the capital city. CEPALC held a series of workshops on Prevention on Adolescent Pregnancy among the Zenús in primary and high schools and partner women organizations. Continue reading →

A CALL to remember

CAM01897[1]THE security guard gave me a stern look as I walked in the entrance hall. My companion said, “we’re here for check-up, our organization is responsible for her so I need to accompany her…” Then with a slight smile, a more relaxed expression, the man said, “oh, I know her! I can recognize her by her eyes!” (I am probably the only Asian patient so far in that hospital.) In three months I had visited the hospital twice. Once in January and the second time in March.

The first time I was diagnosed with Gastritis. Two months later with Bronchitis. The doctors and the hospital staff at the out-patient-section are already familiar faces. I wasn’t only there for a short time but had to spend an entire day for consultation, medications, and observation, then consultation again. I had never spent that long in a hospital in my life. “There’s always a first time,” the doctor told me on my second visit as I was taking nebulization to improve my breathing caused by bronchitis.

I praise God for the experience. I praise the Creator for choosing me to be in that situation. It was hard especially that I am away from home. There were times I wished that my parents were with me, especially this March when the doctor required me to be on bed rest for three days (to one week). I felt useless, thinking that I am giving much burden to my placement site for not reporting and participating those days.

I praise God that although my parents were not with me, God provided me with friends who took care of me. My supervisors in CEPALC were always checking on me. My workmates were calling and continually encouraging me. And church friends were there to pray with me. During that time I can see God’s warm embrace through the people He used. Continue reading →

The PORKs of a politician

Disclaimer: I salute politicians who live by faith and moral conduct, especially those who strive to make the government system a better and people-focused one, rather than political-centered. The title of this post is not to generalize the negativity of the politicians but to emphasize the allocated funds for project development, and how this “Pork Barrel funds” is used for the good of the state or for personal interest.

cartoon_Jul19ON MY way to the Philippines from a training in the USA, at the airport lounge, waiting for boarding, I had an opportunity to converse with another Filipino, who is also in the same flight as I. Clarita is a US citizen and lives in the US for 43 years. She’s married and have kids. To my surprise, Clarita boldly shared that she despises the Philippines. At the back of my head I thought, “then why fly back to the Philippines? It is very contradicting.”

She said that with our rotten political and justice system, lazy people, and a very slow economy, the Philippines is in a very worst state she’d “never want to go back–even as a retiree.” Continue reading →