CnC: Christ's Network of Compassion

as the title says, that's how i see CnC in one aspect-- a network of Christ's compassion. even if our official meetings usually happens only on sunday evenings at EBs place, i should say that daily, there is a flow of compassion running thru each one's veins...

CnC is short for college and careers, a ministry of EBCI. it's just been a couple of months since i have been immersed here (see may march entry "Evenings with CnC guys), yet i can say i have been truly blessed! praise God! the people whom i barely knew months back, now seem like friends for life!

...i have felt how it is to rejoice with them when our prayers are answered... i have seen how we worked together when someone is sick... i have witnessed how we mobilize when someone is in need... i have seen how each one has given themselves unselfishly when others sought for help... i have experienced many giving their valuable time when people looked for company... i have increased in knowledge when some wants to study more His word... suffice it to say that i have experienced a foretaste of heavenly fellowship with them! i believe that God uses them as ministering angels to the brethren...


whether at bible studies, at prayer times, at casual fellowships, at fun meal times at homes or at the malls, at AWANA and 180 ministries, at hospital beds, at fun birthday celebs, at offices, at big group activities or smaller intimate coffee talks, at carpooling around dubai, or mere phone calls, i have seen them all do their own sweet part in accomplishing Christ's display of love among His people. each one has been given their own unique gifts of generosity, gift of talents, gift of encouragement, gift of time, gift of financial provision, gift of wisdom, gift of big heart, gift of smiley face, gift of godly rebukes, gift of service, and other gifts that abound.



we see each other on fridays, on friday lunches, friday evenings, saturday evenings, sunday evenings, and thursday evenings. sometimes i think, i see them soooo often. will i get tired of them? i think not. as long as we sow love, and seek spiritual growth, we will not get quenched, instead we'll keep seeking for more. plus the fact that almost every month new people joins, and this adds to the dynamics of this growing circle! i wish to know more of them and i pray that we continue to seek His presence and blessing in all our gatherings. to Him be the glory!

As what John 13:34-35 says
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

and i leave 1 Cor 15:58 as an encouragment:

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Sisses

isn't it amazing how God provides for us in so many little miraculous ways? i will tell you a prayer request of mine, which to others might seem a small request, but for me, it is a big deal.

when i stepped into UAE years ago, i've prayed for a sister who'll keep me companied coz i know how difficult it is to be home away from home. i only asked for just even one. and true to His promise, God has wonderfully interwoven the times when my sisses will come in and out of my life...

first was SHEY who used to be my flatmate. we shared almost 3 years together, and God opened up her eyes to His salvation. and then she got married, and she has to start her own life with jude... and then while shey was slipping away from my life (i mean, just physically), He gave me RIZA, who became my housemate too. she's the younger sis of my friend malou from our church in manila, and she has been a wonderful officemate and friend to me. we've shared christian struggles together and both of us have indeed grown in Him more... then, before she decided to move to another company and out of our villa, MANO came into the picture (see A Sister, A Confidante, A Friend). she was a collegemate back in the philippines, and God also opened her heart to His teachings... after almost 2 years, she has to move out of UAE, and then out of seemingly impossible providences, God gave me MONIQUE, who is a very good sister of mine wayback in the philippines...

but this is the most exciting of all--> in addition to monique, He gave me so many more such as kate, constance, icel, valerie, mommy sally, everlyn, kitty, narmi, nine, lea, mitch, melody, mona, beth, rhoda, alecks, and so many other sisters that i think i am spoilt for choice now! ;) and i'm really lovin' it!

each time i see them, i can't help but be amazed at how He takes care of my needs. truly nothing is impossible with Him. He may not give everything that we want, but i am pretty sure that He will give everything that we need. just keep your eyes open for all of it....

The Tunnel

last week, in a bible study, a brother asked us about the benefits of sufferings for His sake. a number of us flipped thru the bible, and there we saw an ocean of list of good things we get out of suffering: closeness with God, pruning of our character, increasing our faith, etc. (romans 5:2-4; romans 8:17; 2 cor 1:7...)

and the next question which seemed to have been logically easy to answer based on the premise above, but was really difficult to, was "if there are a lot of benefits to it, and then why do we avoid sufferings?"

it made me think for a while. and in my mind, aside from the other obvious reasons of avoiding it such as fear of alienation, financial distress, pain, sadness, i realized that one thing that really makes this kind of suffering something we do not look forward to, is the thought of uncertainy...

suffering is always appreciated at hindsight, at that end of the tunnel when all questions are answered, all pieces of the puzzle are complete.

but while we are at it not knowing what is happening and the end is seemingly so far-fetched from what we hope it would be, suffering becomes so unbearable.

but it is in this uncertain period do we clearly see the stark contrast that we are mere mortals and that He is the all-powerful and all-knowing God! it is in this period that we have no one else to turn to but to Him, no one else to strenghten us but Him and no one else to hope to than on Him. and this is certainly an opportunity to exercise our faith and to look at these dark providences thru the lens of our Saviour...

Evenings with CnC Guys

for us from the philippines, we call it singles fellowship, but here and the US, it is called College and Careers. i think CnC is pretty much a better word, taking the pressure off out of the word ;) and here, we also have some friends attending who are 'single' in a sense that they are far away from their spouse.

i've been going to the weekly sessions since february 2008, and man, we have covered the life of joseph in a way i've never dealt with before. it's like we were given a magnifying lense and focused that on everything revolving his life. truly, bull's eye for the kind of life we live.

EB is our ever patient and quick witted teacher. every week, i have a dose of my college nostalgia-- what with all the 'kulitan', in-depth study and open discussions with young-looking guys and gals ;) watch out for words of wisdom from sri, narmi, aleks, nana, david (i learn a lot from them), comic reliefs provided by judson and daniel, inquisitive cris, andrew and mark.... and what makes the discussion more interesting is the varying grains of thoughts contributed by a good mix of filipino-, indian-, lebanese-, iranian-, british-, american-, singaporean-, brazilian-, australian- and german- grey matters.

so sunday nights, at 615pm, i've to be dashing out of my office all the way from sharjah to burjuman to catch mona, and then to mall of the emirates to fetch mano, and then to EB's place at the Meadows at 730pm!

see yah!!!

It all started with I-Hop

it was the first church fellowship mano and i dared to go where we really do not know anyone. it was i-HOP, a weekly prayer meeting during ramadan (Oct 2007). the church coordinator hooked us up with others based on location. it was funny actually, coz the first email said "manoleth, you will meet with tetch", coz i guess we were the only ones who registered for deira area. after a few more days, names were added, until it became 5 of us. there i met the wonderful couple brett and kate (aussies) and the opinionated constance (singaporean). and that first meeting sealed a good friendship....

for almost 2-3 weeks, we met up in brett and kate's house (thanks for the hospitality), and after that, we have always kept in touch-- whether we bump into each other in the church, or we'd go to mercato for lunch or KFC twisters after the service, and oh yeah, the movie night at brett and kate's house where we watched National Treasure. all throughout those months, we've shared our conversion stories, work tales, culture, and so many other things under the sun. we were also together for mano's baptism at the jumeirah beach; in one shoebox ministry; and then the church christmas bonfire. two weeks ago, we had a nice movie night ("Feast of Love") and coffee talk at grand hyatt... and guess what, we all love Alias (and kate is Jen Garner's dead ringer, mind you!). i guess constance and now esther, will watch it too, if they find the time ;)



i've always been endeared to brett and kate's warm and sunny disposition, as opposed to my biased view of aussies... very humble people despite their (literal) towering statures... a couple who has their own brand of sweetness... a couple always on the go for outdoor adventures (very melbourne-y huh, if there's word like that)... a cool and sensitive couple i must say!

constance strikes me as quite a feisty girl, well opinionated despite being the then sickly one-half of twin sisters. she's the typical singaporean who knows what she likes, goes for it and grabs it. and yes, fast talker and fast mover. one thing she strongly impressed in me was letting go fully of my dreams and unknown future into the able hands of our sovereign and loving Father.

we know how hard it is to get good pals here in this transitory and quite superficial world of UAE, but you guys, you're one of my rare prized catches!

Friends are genuine gems from our great Father who knows our needs-- especially for us who are miles away from home ;)

Regret and Thanksgiving

i thank God for leading me to the church i attend to right now, but i regret not looking hard enough for it the past years...

i thank God for giving me the opportunities to be utilized for His kingdom, but i regret succumbing to lazyness during the first months...

i thank God for the faithful people i encountered who stand as witnesses of His grace, but i regret having prejudiced them at one point in time...

i thank God for opening my eyes to more of His wondrous truths in His words and in the faithful preaching of the words, but i regret missing worship days and missing devotion times...

i thank God for the families and friends who came to know Him, but i regret passing up the opportunity to witness to others...

i thank God for keeping me in the race, but i regret the times when i lost the battle and stayed limping when He has given me all the provisions to stand up...


as the year closes, i wanna thank, honor and worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all these spiritual gifts and graces which i am unworthy of...

as to my regrets, i sincerely ask for His forgiveness. i also ask for His mercy and grace to make right the wrongs of yesterday... welcome 2008!

My First Real Christmas in Dubai

i love christmas... i love the message it brings. i love the joy it writes on each ones faces. i love its power to bring together warring couples or friends. i love the cool breeze. i love the opportunity it gives to bring the family together. i love the laughters of the kids, the sharing of memories of friends, spreading thanksgiving, and sharing of the blessings. i love feeling His nearness...


and this year, for the first time in my stay in the UAE, i am having a real christmas. it used to just pass me by coz i usually work for it's not an official holiday here.


dec 7, we started with the distribution of the shoeboxes to the brethren, which went on until dec 21..

dec14, the church had the Christmas Cantata which paved the way to welcoming the season. we were serenaded by the angelic hosts from EBCI ;)


dec 15, had a sumptuous lunch at Boardwalk with the Edifice people, and our boss, Mr. Shahram Forouhgi...

dec 24, afternoon, we had our office party for the first time too...




dec 24 evening, went to a friend's family to celebrate christmas eve the pinoy-style way...


dec 25 lunch, long-distance calls to my family in the philippines...


dec 25 afternoon, bonfire at jumeirah with the church mates...

dec 25 dinner, with close friends mano, j, constance, kate and brett at mercato....

Hope you had a great christmas too!!! however which way you celebrated it, may we not drown the real meaning of christmas--- our Saviour was born so that He may give up His life and shed His blood for the rdemption of our souls... that is the best gift anyone can have!

What a shoebox can do

we usually throw our shoeboxes away after bringing the stuff home. but in our church, these boxes serve a greater purpose-- that is a means to express our love for the less privileged brethren during this christmas season. there are seven items inside: toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, towel, deodorant/perfume, call card and chocolate.

i did not know we had brethren in the outskirts of dubai, until i joined in the giving of these shoeboxes. and i have witnessed how this has equally blessed both the receivers and the givers. i know they were happy for the box, but more importantly, i know they were happy for what the box symbolizes-- the love and the fellowship of the brethren in Christ!

as for me, i have been blessed by their stories of faith. i have been blessed by their perseverance despite trials and difficulties -- real physical difficulties that i cannot imagine would exist in dubai. i have been blessed by their simple joys. i admire how they faithfully worship Him friday after friday, even if some will only have half-day off, and even if to some, this will endanger their lives. they sang praises to God as if the ceiling would fall down from the sheer engergy they give for each song. they listen to the preaching hungrily and anticipatingly, as if this will be the last they will hear. they hug each other so tight that love overflows the small meeting places.

i have been blessed by the generosity of those who gave these boxes and participated in the wrapping sessions. and i have been blessed with the presence of each brethren during the brief but meaningful fellowship.

even if we do not share the same language (we had interpreter), we do not enjoy the same privileges here, the good news is, we share the same Saviour, and we are all heading towards the same direction....

Youth Lock-In

i do not know what i was into when i volunteered to help for the youth lock-in activity of the church a few weeks ago. firstly, i do not know anybody among the adults nor among the teens, so i had my share of initial awkwardess and shyness (me??! yes! you bet!). i have rare occurences of social autism, and this is one of those. but by God's grace, He has dealt with me on ths. secondly, i've always been involved with kids and teens activities in my home church in manila, but overnight??? and locked-in to boot! this is my first time! 31 teens inside one house = chaos??? nah! i was actually pleasantly surprised at my experience...

attendance going 20... 21..22....28...31!!!!

during registration, i already felt the surge of energy... the teens were anxiously waiting for the list to exceed 20, and later 30. why? sometwo brave souls promised to have their heads shaved the mohawk style if the attendance count reach that number! haha! so can you just imagine when the last count was....31? they were all shrieking, clapping, shouting! and anticipating the moment the shaver will touch those precious hairs... haha! so after a few hours, after many games and activities, all the teens gathered around the kitchen to witness the moment of truth! there were mixed expressions of shock, excitement and fun. shock because they did not know they were serious about their promise. excitement because each run of the shaver on their heads is an inch closer to their request of mohawk style (one keeps the middle part, ala-Mr. T of the A-Team if you know this series), the other one shaved only the middle part! and fun because-- do i neet to explain?! hahaha!

ice breaker and a lot of push-ups

not all were friends yet when the program started, as obvious from the cliques i've seen during registration, so games ensued to break the ice-- it's called, name game. each person needed to recall the names of those to his/her right, so if you're the last one, you have to memorize all 31 names! i can't believe the memory banks these teens have! i am so amazed! but there were also some where their memories failed them, and had to do push ups!

of prayers, songs, inspirational words and sharing time...









after the name game, the teens girded up for the praise and worship. as they sang those solemn songs, as they meditated on each word, i can't help but have goosebumps as i see these young ones embrace the songs wholeheartedly. and as the word was preached by pastor david on the identity, i can sense God working in their hearts, God challenging their thoughts, God making Himself known to these young people. when we had the chance for smaller group talks, i knew that He has special plans for these teens. as Phil 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. "

pizza, pizza, pizza!!! need i say more?

one...two...three...GO!!!!they had more games, and more games that really tested their mettle. i liked the treasure hunt in the nearby mall, with the goal of solving the puzzle of the new name of the youth group. 10 groups of 3's were scattered all over the mall searching for clues. can you just imagine how suspicious that looks-- teens in 3's roaming around the mall with pens and papers, and 8 adults waiting by the escalator?? there were a few who even asked the security guards?! well, well, everything went well and we did not have any discussion with the guards nor the police. and finally, some groups solved the puzzle right. and the name is.... 180 degrees. it represents the change in a person when he is in Christ. nice name. figurative and very descriptive.

more games...

at around 2 am, when i thought they've already fizzled out their energies from endless games and activities, they still wanted more! we adults were already knocked out! we still watched movies after the games, until around 6 am!!! and we had to wake up at 730am to taste pastor dan's sumptuous pancake delight!;)

when's next??

i'm sure all the youth have enjoyed this great lock-in experience, as they were asking when's the next one already? haha! as for me, i equally enjoyed it! i thought i volunteered to be of help. but in the end, i think i was the one it helped... it helped me appreciate more God's dealings with our youth... it helped me be blessed by the whole theme of the event... it helped me find my gifts once again which has slept for a long time... and last but not the least, it helped me open up opportunties for new acquaintances which in God's time may turn into good friendships! so... when's next?? ;)