Chapel Visits, Holy Week, and The Resurrection of The Most Holy

     WOW!!! What an amazing two weeks since my last blog post! So much has happened that I couldn't keep up. Stacie and I were extremely busy putting together our testimonies and a Bible sharing for the Chapel Visits as well as starting up the food distribution program for those in need during the first week. After that was over, Holy Week was upon us. There was little time to catch our breath as we prepared to move in to our permanent residence on Alvarez Street. We were also asked to hold a retreat for the Altar Servers of Holy Rosary Parish on Holy Thursday. The rest of the time was filled with mile-long processions through town for the Way of the Cross. There was a joyous vibe as many gathered for the prayers. At one time I thought to myself, “ YES! At every hour of every day, there IS a Mass being said all over the world!” How wonderful it is to be in the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC Church! While most of my readers were in the USA sleeping, we were celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord side by side with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines! Now, as I am typing this up through sleepy eyes, the Mass is being celebrated in America. “Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise. All life, all holiness comes from you through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit. From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.--Eucharistic Prayer in the Holy Mass

     So, in the first week, we were invited to speak at 5 chapels throughout town. It didn't seem so bad at first but after laying our hands on almost everyone to pray over them, it was starting to get hard on the kids and they soon got tired. It was an awesome privilege, however, to share how God was working in our lives as a family to those whose first language is Visaya. The people understand English but we could not tell by their expressions. With the help of our friend, Lilia, we were able to get the message out. We also felt way better after learning that each of the chapels wanted, no, expected us to come back next month! God is good :)

     I became more appreciative of the Gospel of Mathew after these visits. We used the story of the rich, young man (Matthew 13: 1-16) to explain how God was calling us to missions. Matthew has always impressed me as has Peter and Andrew and their call to follow Jesus. Mostly, though, is how Matthew was sitting at his money table and following immediately after Jesus' command. This wasn't just a fishnet or a boat that he was leaving behind. He left his old ways behind, too. Tax collectors were not honest men that charged only what was due. I know what Matthew heard when Jesus said, “Follow me.” Read my post titled “My Dream Job”.

     Palm Sunday came as we finished our fifth chapel visit. We got home exhausted but prepared to repack everything and move in to our new home by Wednesday. Then, we received a call from Father Joe asking us to put together a retreat for the altar servers...on Thursday! Of course, we said “YES!” because we had been praying so hard for doors to open for our ministry. Next time we will pray for the exact size of door to open because while we were thinking about a lil, tiny crease and God opened a floodgate instead!

     Wednesday came and we moved everything to the new home which still needed some cleaning before the blessing. When I arrived with the final load, I asked Richard if I could help him wax the floor. Now I know why he was grinning as if to say, “Yes, if you want to.” There was red dye wax everywhere. At one time it looked like I had lipstick on and nobody told me until I passed a broken glass that was used as a mirror. Ah, Humility:)

     At the very early hours of Holy Thursday, the girls and I walked into town to shop for our breakfast and items for the retreat. Stacie was up until the wee hours the night before preparing for her talk as this is the only “free” time she gets from Juju. Not me. I need my beauty sleep, but since I am not allowed to sleep for 20 hours, now you know why I look the way I do:) Anyways, we got everything we needed and got ready to host our guests by 8AM. We titled the retreat “Called to Serve: A Holy Thursday Reflection”. We again read from Matthew, talked about FMC's 5-point Catechism, shared a personal testimony, had an in-depth study of the Mass, sang praise and worship songs, re-enacted the teaching of Jesus' washing of the apostles feet, and concluded with a candlelight ceremony as we encouraged the students to let their light shine for Jesus. It was an all-around great time reflecting with the youth of Sagay. We are praying that we can do more with them this summer.

     Good Friday was also a special day that we will always remember. Many of the chapels displayed some of their handiwork in a procession through town during the Way of the Cross with the statues and floral decorations. Before the walk, I was handed a piece of paper and asked to read the 8th Station (Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem) except that the entire sheet was in Visaya. I had to ask somebody what number I was reading and quickly ran to the front of the group. Earlier in the week, I read the 6th Station in the Church. I prayed that I could see a Tongue of Fire hovering above my head as in ACTS but instead I saw many Filipino eyes looking to see who in the world hijacked the microphone from Father Joe's hands:) After I was done, I prayed that I didn't sound too much like nails on a chalkboard. I felt way better that night when Fr. Joe talked to us about it. He said that when he saw me walking up to recite the prayer he thought to himself, “Oh, boy! This is going to be a massacre.” To his surprise, everything sounded fine and that I even had the accent for it! Thank God for the Holy Spirit, our Helper!

     We went to the Easter Vigil Mass at sundown which is 6pm here. All of the lights were turned off inside of the church. The wait in the darkness was so still and ,just when it seemed like it was too long, the candle procession began and the church was alive again. The Light of the world came back on the 3rd day just as He promised! Alleluia alleluia!!! This was our first vigil Mass but definitely not our last. What an awesome holy day this is! “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

     So, there it is. This was just a brief description of what was experienced since the last time you read my blog. There was so much more but I don't have time to write it all down. You will have to wait until we see you again so that we can talk about it face to face. We pray that you are well and that your prayer intentions have been heard and answered. Thank you for your prayers for us and know that we are happy to be serving the Lord and eager to see what happens next.