Entries from April 2009 ↓

From: maria rita ilya mariano <ilya_kaboom@ yahoo.com>
To: Kawayan Camp 2003 <kc_2k3@yahoogroups . com>
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 18:46:58
Subject: [KC_2k3] 6 years in the so-called real world

It’s been 6 years since KC… no, I’m not afflicted with KC fever anymore, although I have acquired a permanent addiction to camps and youth ministry and mountaintop experiences.

After another camp last holy week, one of my fellow counselors said, “bukas back to the real world na tayo.” It made me think. Is THIS the real world? Is it all about career and work and 15/30 paydays and nightshifts and gimiks and family and friends and studies and work and stress and traffic and busyness? I don’t think so. For again and again, we are reminded that this too shall pass, that nothing in this “real” world really satisfies. And then what do we have left once the temporary and seemingly important matters have burnt to ashes?

I choose to believe that what we experienced in KC and other camps offered us a glimpse of a world that is more real and lasting. A REALIZATION that yes, this was what I was designed for. To know God and enjoy him forever, as He created me to do.

So do we choose to stay forever in the mountains? No. We were called to share that glimpse in the valleys, so that others may climb out of the shadows and see that there is more to life than this. We were called to follow our one passion of loving God and express it in the wonderfully unique way He has set out for us. As Oswald Chambers wrote in his devotional study bible guide, our passion is not to win souls, it is a passion for Christ.

Our calling is not just to be a pastor or missionary or fulltime churchworker. God can’t be boxed in a church building or organization slogan or a popular book, nor can serving Him be limited to those job descriptions. As Lidell said, “God has made me fast, and I feel his pleasure when I run.” So too can we please God, by excelling and revelling and offering up every moment of our being students and singers and teachers and callcenter agents and freelancers and doctors and nurses and bloggers and employees and writers and bums; our being housewives and fathers and mothers and sons and daughters and friends, all these relationships can be our spiritual act of worship as well.

I don’t know how to end this … It’s just a spur of the moment thing inspired by Cherry and Boe… but one song does echo in my head right now that captures what I’m trying to say:

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call

Nobody stood and applauded them
So they knew from the start
This road would not lead to fame
All they really knew for sure
Was Jesus had called to them
He said “come follow Me” and they came
With reckless abandon, they came

Empty nets lying there at the water’s edge
Told a story that few could believe
And none could explain
How some crazy fisherman agreed to go where Jesus went
With no thought to what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name
And they answered…

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call
The sake of the call

Drawn like the rivers are drawn to the sea
There’s no turning back, for the water cannot help but flow
Once we hear the Savior’s call, we’ll follow wherever He leads
Because of the love He has shown
And because He has called us to go
We will answer…

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die

Not for the sake of a creed or a cause
Not for a dream or a promise
Simply because it is Jesus who called
And if we believe we’ll obey

In Him,
tarits

 
Long ago
In someone else’s lifetime
Someone with my name
Who looked a lot like me
Came to know
A man and made a promise
He only had to say
And that’s where she would be
Lately
Although the feelings run just as deep
The promise she made has grown impossible to keep
And yet I wish it wasn’t so
Will he miss me if I go?

In a way
It’s someone else’s story
I don’t see myself
As taking part at all
Yesterday
A girl that I was fond of
Finally could see
The writing on the wall
Sadly
She realized she’d left him behind
And sadder than that she knew he wouldn’t even mind
And though there’s nothing left to say
Would he listen if I stay?

It’s all very well to say you fool it’s now or never
I could be choosing
No choices whatsoever.

I could be
In someone else’s story
In someone else’s life
And he could be in mine
I don’t see
A reason to be lonely
I could take my chances
Further down the line

And if
That girl I knew should ask my advice
Oh I wouldn’t hesitate she needn’t ask me twice
Go now!
I’d tell her that for free
Trouble is, the girl is me
The story is, the girl is me.

(from CHESS the musical, Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson)

PASSIONATE COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST, INC.

VISION:

Passionate people: glorifying God and transforming communities

MISSION:

To equip and mobilize individuals and groups to become passionate for Christ and His kingdom thru life transforming gatherings, various learning experiences, and productive collaborations.

 

VALUES:

We are Change-instigators
Because of our overwhelming passion for Christ and His kingdom, we are consistently challenging apathy, complacency, and especially mediocrity.

We have a Pioneering Spirit
We prioritize uncharted territories and introduce creative ways of societal engagement.

We are a Learning Organization
We intentionally seek to expand our minds and explore various approaches, believing that there are always better ways of doing and being. On this, we faithfully journey together until the next generation.

We are Empowering
Enabling individuals and groups for effective and dynamic leadership

We are Transformational
We value personal, inter-relational and intercultural change for local and global impact.

We are Strategic
Living out our call based on the convergence of God’s infinite wisdom and compassionate identification with the world.

 

I spent my Holy Week in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Valley North for the first College camp there. As a treat, we counselors and some left over campers toured the Callao Caves in Peñablanca. Wonderful!

Unfortunately, I did not have a camera and the official shots are still not uploaded. I espcially want to upload the oble shot I took of Divine! For now, I will make do with these googled shots to reconstruct my memory of two hours of alternately slipping on rocks and gazing in awe at the seven chambers. They are even more spectacular in real life. Thanks to deadfishblog.blogspot.com for the photos.

First shot: Pinagcanauan River, one of the cleanest rivers in the country, flows just outside the cave entrance. After two hours of sweaty caving, four of us impulsively jumped fully clothed into the river near the boat terminal. And we neglected to bring extra clothes; one look at us dripping and we were exiled to a jeep instead of the van we rode in on the trip home. Coming soon: a shot of 4 little mermaids singing in the river.

 

 

NURTURING PASSION AS A COMMUNITY RETREAT BATCH 3!

Join the “Nurturing Passion as a Community” Retreat to find out the answers to these questions and much more!

What to bring:
Pen and note book
Bible
Clothes for 2 days and nights (jacket and socks too, because it is very cold there at night)
Sleeping bag or comforter (we will be sleeping in tents)
Off lotion
Camera for photography buffs

For inquiries and reservations, please contact 09275019196/09208119961, mricmariano@yahoo.com.

SLOTS ARE LIMITED to 20 people. First come first served. Special rate applies for graduate students.

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4