Christmas greetings from all of us!

Christmas Greetings ICPE Mission Philippines 2010-2

Rest and Restoration for Balikatan retreat

On the morning of Saturday, October 23^rd Balikatan members from our ministry in Montalban, came to our house where we hosted them for a weekend retreat, the theme being, “Rest and Restoration” focused on Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd.

The first day began with a time of praise and worship followed by the introduction of the theme of the retreat and getting the retreatants to identify where they were at in their faith journey. The day’s second session touched on the topic of the Lord being their shepherd and elucidating the different qualities of sheep that the participants could identify with themselves. This was followed by a short time of ministry through song and music, a time where many experienced the Lord’s comfort as community members prayed with them. Later that evening, a time of Eucharistic adoration enabled some more to encounter the closeness of the Lord through His Eucharistic presence.

The second day, Sunday, Oct 24^th, once again began with a time of Praise and Worship followed by the final teaching on what it meant to be the Lord's true disciples viz. the vices that one needed to leave behind and the virtues one needed to imbibe and mature in, so as to build one’s community. Each of the sessions had a time for sharing and reflection among their different groups.

There was also a time of sharing their entire experience. An opportunity to reconcile with God was made available by offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Eucharist culminated the two-day retreat during which each of them wrote down concrete steps they would take in building their community.

Finally, before their long drive of more than a 100 kms, back home, a short sight-seeing trip of Tagaytay was coordinated so that the retreatants could have a view of the famous Taal volcano considered to be the smallest active volcano in the world.

All in all, it was a time of blessing as the Lord met each participant and refreshed them through His grace and presence

Welcoming Jesus in the children...

On 28 October, we opened our house to 23 children from our barangay (neighbourhood village) for our very first Children Ministry in Tagaytay! Fifteen minutes before time, we heard the excited voices of the children as they waited outside our gate, clutching their precious invitation slip for the event.

The session served to remind the children how special they are to Jesus and how much He loves them personally. After a short introduction, the children participated in action songs, a dramatization of the gospel story where

Jesus welcomed the little children, reinforced through games and activities. God’s infinite and personal knowledge of each person was highlighted in a short teaching session followed by a table activity.

It was heartwarming to see each child with their unique smiles and enthusiasm. They brought a new joy to the house with their singing, truly making real the presence of Jesus in the little children!