Global Youth Ministry Network - Asia

One thing that usually makes me cry is whenever God moves me out from my comfort zone and takes me to a place where I could witness how much He could do through an unqualified person like me. I don’t like insects, much more if they would bite me. Scoliosis gives me pain whenever I sleep on hard surfaces. I’m a person who prefers only doing things that are comfortable for me to do.

I was with Pastor Alvan in Palawan for a very challenging and, as Pastor Alvan calls it, unique training. Some of the participants came sweating and catching their breath because it took them 4 hours of walking just to get to the venue. It was on a hilltop where you have a nice view of mountains.  One of the participants said that they came from the other side of that mountain, as he pointed to one of the mountains.

One of the times that I said ‘Amazing…’ during this training was after a morning session. The participants would go and look for wood to build a fire so that they can cook food for our lunch. It was my first time to experience this. We used a solar microphone, for there was no electricity in that place. We used a generator for the LCD projector to show videos we have brought for the sessions. Also a battery of a motorcycle was tapped to play their mp3 player for some songs during goal setting time.

I got excited to minister with these tribal young people. My heart leaped for joy whenever I would see their potential. And it overwhelmed me just to imagine how God will enable them to do mighty things so they can bring glory to the God of the universe.

We saw how the participants grew from the first day till they did their presentations on the last night of the training. Staff of the hosting organization commented that this was a big breakthrough to them. The students became confident in standing in front of a crowd. There were 40 young people who committed and prayed to work on reaching their purpose statements.

Maybe one of the reasons I love teaching the Ministry and Leadership session is because personally this session has a lot to say to me as a leader and as being a child of God. I had a very simple plan for my life. I would to like to work in a bank and make my family happy. But when God called me, He gave me visions of the greater life He had prepared for me. He took me out from the tiny world I was building for myself and gave me a world of wonder. He gave me a wide horizon to ponder His immense glory. He’s using me beyond what I am.

To be working in GYMN is a greater life for me. To teach in Palawan was another experience of the beauty of His Glory. To teach the tribal youth of Palawan was the best unique training I have had.

Psalm 139:16-17
Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.