i’ve always had the itch to travel.  Hence the Missionary Journeys title of this blog.  But one of the best things about this thing God has called me to do is that i get to do ministry AND travel at the same time.  Cool huh?

So far this year, i’ve been able to drop by for a weekend in iloilo.  While i was there, i got to help with a short Living Waters orientation course for some people at the Central Philippine University (CPU) – a leading school in the south which has a very strong Campus Cruade for Christ presence.  It was a lot shorter than i’m used to but i’m hoping i get to go back again later this year to give more talks for both CCC and LW.

February saw me in Bali, Indonesia – a place made (in)famous by the 2002 bombings.  The person we had hired to drive us around told me stories of how difficult life had become after the tragic incident.  i felt very safe moving around though – except for crossing the street as Indonesians drive on the left side of the street.  This trip was courtesy of Living Waters which asked me to assist the Indonesian ministry as they build their own national team.  i felt SO HONORED to be asked to help and readily agreed to go.  There is nothing like the feeling of being able to help build a ministry from the beginning!  i am asking the Lord to let me go back a few more times so i can have the joy of seeing the Indonesian team grow from where they are now to wherever the Lord wants to take them.  What a privilege to be part of such kingdom-building efforts!

So i want to thank YOU for making it posible for me to give in to my itchy feet.  Goodness, without you, i’d be scratching in anguish instead of soothing it with my missionary journeys.  Up next?  Cagayan De Oro in March.  Woohoo!

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25 plus years now – that’s how long i have been waiting to have one of my dreams come true, to be able walk “proudly” behind something that is a fairly decent showing at the annual UP Diliman Lantern Parade.  Not that the past lanterns were really that bad mind you.  It’s just that knowing the true stature of Jesus as the Lord of the universe, it made me feel quite mystified that we as those who profess to believe in Him could not muster up the funds or concept for a lantern that would bring Him even minor recognition as the truest reason for the December holiday season.

On December 18 last year, my dream finally came true – thanks to the generous giving of UPCCC’s alumni from all over the world.  (You know who you are folks!)  What made it even more special for me was that this was also a collective effort with the rest of the UP Christian Community – an umbrella group of ten recognized university-based Christian organizations.  Truly, behold how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity!

Our lantern showcased how the Christian faith is relevant to UP students as they faced and continue to face the challenges of life: higher tuitions, academic pressure and even the floods of Pepeng and Ondoy.  As we marched all over the academic oval, it was a thrill as we saw so many onlookers wave to our mascots on the lantern who performed several times a short skit showcasing our theme.  Some of the UPCC (UP Christian Community) members distributed Christian materials to bystanders.

When i think about the future, i feel bold and courageous because i have seen that not only a decent but even a GREAT perhaps even award-winning lantern IS POSSIBLE for the UP Christian Community!  After all, we now have 11 months to prepare for it.  Whee!

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One of my heroes this school year has been this very non-descript fresh college graduate named Emmanuel Anez.  He stepped up to the plate and led the effort of UPCCC and the UP Christian Community for the recently concluded Lantern Parade.  But what i love MOST about him is that he takes his walk with God and discipleship of others pretty seriously and tenderly.  It is a joy to see him get his bearings as a Volunteer Staff with our team, to learn the ABCs of missionary life and figure out if this is really wants he wants to do as a “job.”  If he continues on in this trajectory, goodness, he is bound to grow up just fine in life and ministry.  Praise God!

Another dude worth space in this blog entry is Sir Al Dela Torre, UPCCC’s Campus Director.  Here he is with his wife Pnat and their two kids, TJ and Aleli.  In my opinion, Sir Al (as i like to call him) is the right man for the job.  It is no easy task to manage a team that is 20-people strong on almost any given day with several people being there in various capacities: full-time staff, Associate Staff, Volunteer Staff.  Aside from managing the team, he is also in-charge of the PCCC New Staff Training Center.  Just one of those is already a full-time job.  Put them together and it makes for a packed schedule everyday.  And yet he manages to love his wife and kids well enough for it to really show that they have so much affection for each other.  In my almost 23 years of being on staff and having had so many directors through the years, i must say that i am really impressed by how he carries his authority lightly, not lording it over others, but also exercises it well, making command decisions (it seems) fearlessly when needed.  This is a rare gift in leaders and makes me hope i can keep working under his leadership for a long time.  (And if you know me well enough, that is saying A LOT!)

Last, but certainly not the least in this list of “men in my missionary life,” is Joshua Garcia.  i’ve known this dude since he was a little snip of a little man.  In fact, he claims that when he was a kid, i used to babysit him.  Maybe it is a good thing that i have no recollection of that fact?  Haha!

The whole team hardly sees him since he is an Associate Staff whose job at GMA 7 takes up most of his time, right along with his MBA studies at UP.  Busy doesn’t quite cover his lifestyle.  Toxic is more like it!  And yet he took time to be the photographer for our Lantern Parade last year and really ROCKED the shots.  We may not see him a lot but he sure makes his presence felt when he’s around.  Heehee.

And the last man in my life is awaiting his entry into this blog.  Perhaps he IS still out there – undiscovered, under-appreciated or unmet.  It’d be really interesting if he finally showed up and became The Man in my life.  Haha!

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I am surrounded by AWESOME men, really.  Take Lester Lim – the guy loves God and he loves the Filipino people.  What a potent combination!  He is just one of several men within the family of UPCCC who make me say, “Thank You Lord for the men in my life.”  Right now he is undergoing staff training as an Associate Staff with UPCCC but he functions as though he is already a Full-Time Staff.  And when we chat about the future, his passion for missions just drips from his heart and leaks out to others.  What a dude!

And then there’s Carlo Bantola whom i met while he was still a student, majoring in Sports Science at UP’s College of Human Kinetics.  Often, when i would see him, he was drenched in sweat but with a large grin on his face.  Now that he is a CCC staff trainee, his enthusiasm for health and athletics have not diminished. Praise God!  How we need guys like him who can help spur us all towards staying fit as an expression of our love for the Lord.  My prayer is that he will stay many many years on staff developing the full gamut of his potentials and leadership skills.  i see great things up ahead for him as he simply fixes His eyes on Jesus, not on positions and titles.  And knowing him, he is apt to do that.

Then there is Sir Ferdi Medina, an Associate Staff who probably spends most of his time working for CCC rather than on his actual profession as a classical guitarist and teacher at the UP College of Music.  When i first met him, it was during a friend’s wedding.  i kept commenting to my seatmate that the music was so good and i kept clapping because the string quartet was just playing so well.  Ferdi is the staff in-charge of heading up the Artists TA, of which i am a very minor part.  It is exciting to see how the Lord is using him amidst his very full schedule and being so “in demand” for all his gifts.

This guy has so many names, he reminds me of ME. Haha!  Ace, Leyron, L.A. are monikers he goes by.  i’ve settled on Ace because it is mono-syllabic.  Even though he is a “graft” from the tree of Mapua’s CCC ministry, he has managed to fit right in with the team and the campus’s culture.  That is a tribute to his adaptability and openness.  He is naturally amiable and that is definitely a plus factor in ministry.  My prayer is that as he builds into the lives of the young men in his care, they will take on a measure of his own adaptability and openness which i believe will serve them all very well beyond college.

Because there are “so many men in my life,”  i have to split this entry into two.  Ha!  Check in next time for more on these godly and gwapo guys because the next ones are Emman the Man, Joshua (not Harris but) Garcia, and the Main Man on UPCCC’s team, Sir Al dela Torre.

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