To a team that constantly soars high and dreams big for the mission, the sudden turnaround of this pandemic may be a hard hit and a downright demotivation. But this is not the case for YFC Metro Manila Area 1. This year started strong for the team – with clear plans, solid strategies, and a goal to grow in holiness, in generosity and in numbers. But when the quarantine started in March of this year, all these plans were set aside for a brief moment while the whole world witnessed what seemed to be an endless increase in the number of covid cases.
The mission landscape went through a total roller coaster ride but like any other storm, the team believed it is meant to be journeyed in faith and with full trust to the God of this mission. Not long after the start of the quarantine and with quite a number of meetings and plan redirections, it is no surprise that the team stood strong and quickly responded to the call for mission to continue amidst the pandemic.
Together with the undying dedication of its Couple Coordinators and Youth Heads, the Area 1 Core kicked off its mission breakthroughs with an online assembly of all the leaders of the area last April 19, 2020. An inspiring Easter recollection was given by Most Reverend Oscar Jaime L. Florencio, DD Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines. “Resurrexit sicut dixit — Christ is risen, as he said!”, a very timely reminder of hope and the love that God first gave us through His son Jesus Christ. The Easter reminder that Christ is alive was the take off point of Bishop Florencio as he affirmed the leaders and couple coordinators of the area that we are capable of making the mission possible even in our homes. This quarantine is not just a reminder that Christ is alive but He is with us in our homes. This Area Leaders’ Assembly was done via zoom meeting application and was also broadcasted live via Facebook with the desire for more people to reach God’s message.
Following the Area Leaders’ Assembly is the goal of building the whole community of the area while doing the mission from home. Redefining Friday nights was the Area 1 Fridays Made Better, a series of talks with exciting topics that will help equip the members of the area holistically. The series ran from May 8 – June 26 every 8 pm. It was a Friday-after-Friday of looking forward to new learning and inspiring speakers. This breakthrough paved way for members to experience workshops and topics relevant at the time of quarantine. The topics that were first launched in this series were carefully discerned for and conceptualized by the Area 1 Core with full awareness of the needs and relevance of each discussion to the new face of the mission.
It’s no series without an awesome season finale. As the saying goes, save the best for last, the area held one of the A+ Advocacy Campaigns entitled Passion Pass It On. Together with the different YCom Youth Heads from each sector, an assembly was held in a zoom meeting followed by breakout sessions for different creative workshops. The workshop for coordinators was on Online Meetings 101 by Ruel Aguirre of the Couples for Christ Institute while each YFC enjoyed workshops on Graphics Design by Gerald Manapsal, International HSB Program Coordinator, Content Creation by Shayne Funscion a social media content creator and fulltime pastoral worker for CFC PFO, Conducting Live Events by David Quiambao, and Online Photography by Rose Agustin, fulltime pastoral worker of Oriental Mindoro.
It has been a challenging first half of the year for the YFC missions and although the ways of doing mission that used to be familiar to us may no longer be relevant for the new face of the mission, the Holy Spirit generously showers creativity to the missionaries of this ministry and this creativity is constantly being translated to more and more breakthroughs all in one name of making God’s love available for all.
(May 8 – Basics of Conducting Zoom Activities by David Quiambao Area 1 HSB Full Time Pastoral Worker, May 15 – Prayer Time and Journaling by Nica Fabia Head of YFC Ministry PFO, May 22 Taking Care of Yourself and Others Mentally by Thea Louise Casas for North A, Ms MM Panglinan for North B, and Carla Felicitas for West C, May 28 Taking Care of Yourself and Others Physically by Joachim Tolentino Area 1 Campus Based Mission Volunteer, June 5 Embracing Chastity in the time of ECQ by Jan Michael Tan Central Visayas Region Coordinator for brother’s session and Glis Amen Davao Full Time Pastoral Worker for the sister’s session, June 12, Nurturing Relationships in the Time of ECQ by GJ Ramores Metro Manila Coordinator for YFC, June 19 Social Media Evangelization by Josille Sabsal Metro Manila Coordinator for KFC)
