I am stealing some time from my office hours to write this last article for this volume. I actually do not know what to write now, except that I need to write something. I am done with some of my articles and I feel a little exhausted from all the preparations we have for the NYC. I know I should have written this letter long time ago but I cannot be more than thankful to God than now.
An Open Letter to Heaven
Dear God,
The song “Held” by Natalie Grant reminded me that you are a faithful God who heals my brokenness. I have
been playing this song over and over again to comfort me in my tiredness. You have always held me and I survive.
This is what it means to be held
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive
This is what it is to be loved
And to know that the promise when everything fell we’d be held
If hope is born of suffering
If it is only the beginning
Can we not wait…
I know that the times I approached you when I am happy were lesser that when I am worried, depressed or exhausted. For many times, I even forget to say thank you for a new day when I wake up because I immediately jump up and turn on my computer for work. I have not a very good child, I know, and I humble myself for all the blessings you have for me especially for the years of my leadership in the UMYFP.
For many times, I wanted to quit but your grace remained abundant and I could not think of any reason to leave your ministry among young people. I may not have been very effective in my undertakings; and have not actively proclaimed your gift of salvation to other people but you made my life radiate even to some that they may acknowledge that you are the big God I am serving. Thank you for the lives of these friends who continue to inspire me to do my work with love.
My plans are not perfect yet yours are. You have placed me in circumstances that have molded me to be stronger and to wilfully serve you. There were decisions that shook my faith in you but your wisdom is greater and your strength is insurmountable. I was broke but you realized Yourself as the God who provides. You have used my job as an instrument in showing me that survival is not all about getting my salary but more about trusting that you will provide my needs.
When I resigned from my job to put Your ministry at the top, you have blessed me more. I thank you for my bosses who allowed me to work part-time so I could still earn and even keep a little; and
to my officemates who help me fulfill my job even I’m away. Truly, You have used them that your will on my leadership tasks will be fulfilled.
I lost my father along my faith journey but during the times that I missed and needed his advises, You never failed to do miracles in bringing people to lend me a hand. My brother, my housemates and my beloved are your hands to give me hug when I am tired. I am also grateful for letting my mom live more years that she may always remind me of your unending grace to our family.
Thank you for pouring your blessings in many unexpected times especially when I feel empty. And whenever I am broken, you are the potter who remolds me; you use my tears as catalyst to make a stronger pot.
My love for you and for my chosen ministry may not be enough to thank You for everything you have done and are doing in my life. I know I still have reservations but teach me to trust you more.
I love you,
Earlie
Next In Line (Vol. IV No. 4)
Finally, we come to the end of our biennial term. But it isn’t the end of my being a youth (bata pa ako no?); it isn’t the end of my being a servant of the ministry that has come to be a large part of my existence. (Hahahaha! Sobrang seryoso ba?)
In my last Life Scenes column (Pananaw Vol. IV No. 3) I asked the question, “Kung hindi ikaw, sino?” Seemingly the answer became “Ako.”
Being in the national office was not part of my plan after college graduation. All I wanted was to establish a stable career and enroll in graduate school. I told myself, I will NEVER run for office, my efforts were already too much. My priority was myself. The lesson: do not ever, ever say “never.” God has revolutionized all my plans. Shhhh… kung ano ako ngayon, sa amin na lang yun ni God; basta ang importante, patuloy akong nagsisilbi sa kanyang ubasan sa lahat ng paraang kaya ko. Basta parang sinabi niya sa akin na, “Anak, yang mga plano mo, hindi yan ang inilaan ko sa iyo. Mas maganda at mas mapagpala.”
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Yung mga kaedad ko o yung mas matatanda pa sa akin, you may have encountered the band After Image with their song “Next In Line.” The lyrics go like this:
What has life to offer me/When I grow old/What’s there to look forward to…’Coz they say it’s difficult/So I sing this song to all of my age/For these are the questions/We’ve got to face/For in this cycle that we call life/We are the ones who are next in line/And we gotta work, we gotta feel, let’s open our eyes and do whatever it takes.
Sometimes I came to ask those questions, too. After the UMYF, what has life to offer me, what is there to look forward to? What I am sure of is that, hindi ako pababayaan ng Panginoon tulad ng ginawa niya sa lahat ng panahon sa kabila ng lahat ng hirap at pagod magawa lamang ang mga activities. Ngunit lagi ko pa ring tanong, “Who will be the next in line? Sino ang magpapatuloy para sa pagbabago at paglago?” Ganun pa man, I believe that God will provide people to continue to work for the UMYFP — even those who are also saying, “never!”
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Being the Education Department Head or simply a national officer has been very challenging. There were a lot of decisions that I needed to make on my own; many activities and projects to manage and many struggles to conquer. Though, there were many blessings received; I can’t imagine how I could have survived without the grace of God.
This space may not be enough to discuss everything that I have been through but I am blessed that God put me next in line; and He has used me for His glory. I am praying that He will continue to use me, in or out of the UMYF.
We gotta work, we gotta feel, let’s open our eyes and do whatever it takes, sabi nga nung kanta. Doing our ministry may take us away from our jobs, from the plans that we set for our future, from the activities that we used to do, from the life that we wanted to establish; but it will never take us away from the love and grace of God. “Many are the plans in [our] hearts, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21).”
Muli, ibabahagi ko sa inyo ang mga aral na makikita natin sa pagsisilbi sa UMYFP:
Leadership. Being a leader is not easy. It is not being in command or having the authority but is our capability to meet the challenges and needs of our fellow; it is learning to follow, as well.
Commitment. It is not enough that we plan and we become excited to the outcome of these plans. Our service is not a job that we should expect to be paid, acknowledged or rewarded. It is a commitment that we should hold on to whatever it takes.
Sacrifice. It is not a matter of killing ourselves or abandoning other aspects of our lives. It is learning to prioritize. It is going beyond what will make us accomplished or happy, it is learning to listen to the voice of God.
Faith. Doubts may come along the way but in the midst of uncertainties, we should learn to put everything in the hands of God and have faith.
Tasks may not come as easy as we expect them to be but it is our faith that will sustain us!
(Vol. IV No. 3) Lightyears away
If only my previous article were not a sequel to the one printed on the first issue, I might have shared this one to you then. I was so excited for my out-of-the-country experience. Though this may sound spoiled because it all happened at the end of the last and early this year, I still chose to share it with you hoping that you will be encouraged to continue the journey in our youth ministry.
Last December (tagal na ano?), I was given the opportunity to represent the UMYFP in the Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa. Okay, we’ll not talk about what happened in the convocation (masyado na ngang matagal ‘yun). Let’s just talk about the commonalities and differences (somehow) of United Methodist youth organizations in different countries and how young people from those countries regard the ministry of the UMYFP.
While sharing about Pananaw, one youth from USA said that “the UMYFP seems to be light-years away from us [US-United Methodist Youth].” That sounds flattering, isn’t it? We often say, “buti pa sa US, ganito” but let me just explain why this fellow regarded our youth ministry too advanced compared to them.
Well, part of the reasons is that we have a national organization bonding the annual conferences, districts and the local churches. The Methodist Youth Fellowship (which later became the present UMYFP) has been in existence for nearly 60 years now and the organization has been growing and continuously developing its thrusts to respond to the needs of young people and the challenges of time.
We also have closer relationship among the members of the fellowship (na minsan kahit unang pagkikita pa lang, feeling natin we have known each other for so long na). This is an advantage because we do not always need to have more bonding times than activities that promote leadership and spiritual formations. Some people whom I know have heard about how other youths who work abroad commend the UMYFP for our ability to endure long nights of meetings and still work efficiently the next day (sa ibang bansa raw, 8:00 p.m. pa lang tapos na ang activities at tulugan na!).
Moreover, we conduct National Youth Council Meetings and National Youth Conferences that help us set and evaluate the programs of the fellowship while US does not have even a Jurisdictional Youth Conference. We also have a Constitution and By-Laws that define our fellowship, which was proudly made by the youth and for the youths. Actually, the Methodist youths of Cambodia patterned their Constitution after the UMYFP’s.
My roommate, who happened to be a president of United Methodist Student Movement chapter, regarded our initiative for campus ministry. It was great to know how our churches in the US support the campus ministry and we hope that we can get the same here (sa bahaging ito ng ministry sila abante sa atin).
Like many local churches, Angolan young people are also used to fellowships. However, their fellowships observe a more extensive musical praise with dancing (well, walang kaduda-duda, singing and dancing are really part of the African culture). They also have dawn watch where young people gather together at a prayer mountain (dito sa atin, medyo mahirap lang naman manggising ng mga campers).
There were five issues I observed to be so common to all countries. One is the diminishing number of young people attending the UMC. Two, issues of premarital sex and early marriages. Three, young people lack spiritual nurture and discipleship. Four, lack of initiatives against HIV and AIDS pandemic. Five is young people’s voice and participation in church issues.
Among these issues, we have taken a one step forward with four and five. The UMYFP is part of the implementing organization of HIV-AIDS Awareness Seminar Workshop for young people under the Asian Methodist Youth Network. We are already done with two batches in Metro Manila and Northern Luzon areas that gathered more than a hundred young people.
For the upcoming Philippines Central Conference session, we are also blessed to have young people who will sit as voting delegates. We have 13 UMYF leaders from different conferences who will serve as the voice of young people’s issues and concerns.
Sometimes, it’s a blessing to hear other young people commend our ministry even though we know there are still other areas that we have to develop or still have to look up for advancement. However, these commendations have personally challenged me to bring more visions for the youth in the Philippines and to continue its life long journey. Mabuhay UMYFP!
(Vol. IV No. 2) What has become of our Methodism?
I don’t know how much you remember from the first part of this article. Let me recap. We tackled issues such as not devoting enough time in reading and studying our Bible, our weakness to offer Christ to others, young people’s crumbling number in the church, our being too activity-oriented, and our lack of action in discipleship and nurturing our members’ faith.
Hinga muna ng malalim, marami pa. We’ll continue where we ended.
If our church does not take actions in taking care of her members and if we do not offer Christ seriously, we’ll definitely shrink.
Well, ilan ba ang bagong panganak na Annual Conference the other year? Dalawa, and for the next few years baka madagdagan pa. Pero, ilan din ba sa mga dati nang established na outreach or worshipping congregation ang natigil at nagsara? Sometimes, instead of putting up another local church, the members from a remote area are just requested to join the mother church. Why? Our church “lacks” committed workers — be it clergy or lay. In the provinces, count off how many pastors have circuits? I mean, yung dala-dalawa o tatlo ang hawak na local churches. I understand, hindi rin natin sila masisisi kung later on ay mapapagod sila sa pangangalaga sa isang iglesia. Then, also the members, some just drift away.
Keysor wrote that every Christian is under sacred responsibility of offering Christ. The Bible further stresses that we are our brother’s keeper. Therefore, knock, knock: tulungan natin sina pastor.
These next topics are, I think, more serious.
Methodist’s top priority is God. Oh well, aminado akong mahirap talaga gawin ito. This is one of Christian’s battlefields: to put God first. Because of this, Methodists laid down strict rules for themselves to keep God on top. These rules are known as the General Rules of Methodism. Alam niyo ba ang naging resulta ng mga rules na ito? Methodist’s membership and influence in the society declined. Kasi naman, those who did not accept these disciplines could not become or remain Methodists. Hmmm, sounds familiar ba? Kasi nga minsan buti pa sa school o sa office hindi tayo nale-late. Pero bakit kaya sobrang hirap bumangon ng maaga tuwing Linggo upang maaga rin tayo sa church o Sunday school? I just wonder (na naman): kung siguro ii-implement ‘yung General Rules na ‘yan strictly, ilan kaya sa atin ang matitira?
I have mentioned in Part I that our church is so activity-oriented. Well, that reflects that our ministries are almost inward. I mean, our church lacks social action. Ilan ba sa mga local churches na may malapit na school ang may campus ministry meaning, hindi lang sa Methodist institutions)? O ‘yung may malapit na jail o hospital tapos may regular ministries for the people there na hindi lamang tuwing Christmas o Valentines?
Before, the Methodist church was a “house of mercy” for widows, unwanted orphans, and physically incapacitated people; a dispensary; and a savings bank where members put their money to be lent to poor families facing financial crisis. Now, how many of our local churches serve these functions? (Meron ngang iba diyan, ni hindi man lang mapasok ng mga members ang parsonage). Pero at least may mga ilan pa rin namang ministries for such people, ngunit nabibilang lang talaga and more often than not, hindi rin nagtatagal. Kung wala ng pondo, tinatamad na rin ang mga naatasang tao or the other way around, may pondo nga, but there are no people committed enough to spend their time for the ministry.
Many times, we have been asked who among us are already saved, aren’t we? In those times, many of us are not sure of raising our hands for assurance. Yah, alam ko, many times we doubt if we were already saved. But Rev. Keysor further wrote that real Methodism has always emphasized that each believer should expect to know that he or she has been saved; that all sin has been cleansed by the blood of Christ; that through Jesus, he or she shall not perish but shall live everlastingly; that he or she is now God’s child through Jesus Christ.
There is much more of our heritage that we could discuss. Pero dahil limited lang ang space, I encourage you to research and read more on Methodism, attend membership classes and discover who the true Methodists are. The www.umc.org is ever ready to provide information we need. We could also ask our pastors who I’m sure are willing to explain to us things we could not fully understand.
I have just given you a glimpse of our rich Methodist heritage and what it has become over the years. I may not be able to give you statistics to prove my claims but I know that if we just open our eyes, we will able to see more. As young people, the plight of our church should be a challenge to us, not only as future leaders but also as current leaders steering for difference.
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I want to hear from you. For your comments, reactions and suggestions email me at earliepasion@gmail.com or text 0916 602 5474
