"One God, One Life, One Love... A Reminder... A Calling... A Challenge"

A Theater Presentation


Last Oct. 3, 2009, the students of the Institute of Formation, Fondacio Asia (IFFA) staged their first theater presentation entitled “One God, One Life, One Love... A Reminder... A Calling... A Challenge” at Sanctuario de San Vicente de Paul in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. This has been the product of the students’ persistent training in the creativity workshop conducted by Mr. Bryan Villas Maliglig.

Since the students started their training at the start of the school year, they have become more confident and more in touch with their feelings.


The theater presentation is one of the institute’s fund-raising projects to raise needed funds to cover the students’ various expenses during their 10-month formation program at the institute. Part of the proceeds was also donated to help the victims of typhoon Ondoy, which caused massive flooding in a large part of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Please click on the following links to view some of the segments during the presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUhEtK_P7l0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrWAoJXyWY

Intercultural Sensitivity

If I want to live well with others, I must know and learn to appreciate, accept and understand other people’s cultures and way of life. This means that I myself must understand my own culture. I must know what are life-giving and death-dealing elements/aspects of my own culture. Only then can I learn from others and help others learn from me. Therefore, the art of understanding others becomes very important in any situation because everyone wants to be understood and it is extremely important for us to know others’ culture. It is necessary and a must!

We must see the whole world and open our heart to everyone and everywhere. Unfortunately, every country also can not avoid bad practices like corruption. We can correct ourselves from this shortcoming. These negative elements can improve our own culture. You can help by avoiding falling in the same situation. If you feel something is not right about what is being done or asked of you, you can stand by your principles by doing what is right. Even though different cultures or countries have different ways of life, they all have common ground – Love. Love is for the whole world. Nobody can understand this world without it. Love can deal with anything. To love and to be loved is what matters. That’s what we stand for as Christians, and humanity, for the world!

Lina Han, China
IFFAsia

You can read Lina's full reflections, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

My Decision to Enter IFFA

My one-month stay at IFFA and in the Philippines has been a great time of confronting myself in the deepest core of my being. I have always asked God why I have to stay here. Was my decision to come here right or wrong? In front of all these questions, God spoke to me, and I too spoke to my inner being; I need to decide to be here and not anywhere else. If I am here, then there must be a reason. Since then, I have tried my best to integrate myself in the processes of IFFA and that of my friends.

Now I feel very much satisfied with my decision. I feel happy living in IFFA. I have many new friends, who come from different cultural backgrounds in Asia. Despite our differences, I can dare say that we have a lot in common, the Asian-ness of our culture and way of life. Day by day, we continue to appreciate and understand each other more than before in the sessions and the activities we do at IFFA and at SVST. In each session, I learn many meaningful things. These help me to adjust and transform myself in many different ways, and always for the better.

Mary Thanh Thao, Vietnam
IFFAsia

You can read Mary's whole testimony, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

Encountering My Father

My prayer life begins to consume every part of my life with God. I always ask Him for his guidance before I speak or in any decision that I want to make. I give Him full control of my life. He is ever present in my mind and heart. For me, the reality of prayer is really the fruit of faith. As I look back, there are moments when I pray and ask God for a lot of things, but when I receive them I am dissatisfied. Sometimes, I receive a sweet gift, but sometimes it turns out to be bitter. I get disappointed, and I tend to think that maybe God doesn’t know what I want. As time passes by, I come to realise that God, indeed, knows my needs. He may not give me there and then when I ask, but He surely does know what is best and when is the best time for it.

Prayer is really my energy source in all that I do. Sometimes, my human weakness gets hold of the best of me, and I feel lazy and tired, and I seem not able to concentrate during prayer. Yet my only consolation is my trust that God understands. I feel that in order to have a good relationship with God I need to learn to let go of my worries and just simply trust. I have a wonderful experience each time I meet God in prayer. I speak to Him first and He listens. Next, He speaks and I listen as his daughter. And the last step is where we both wrap ourselves in the silence of each other. I look forward to encountering my Father everyday in all that I do.

Theresa Hoang Anh, Vietnam
IFFAsia

You can also read Theresa's testimony, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

Can You Do This for Me?

Whatever circumstance I find myself in (with all the concerns, issues, problems and struggles of my life), I find God asking me: “Can you do this for me?”

This is what I feel continuously and I keep asking myself, “Can I trust in Him and in His divine promise for me? Am I willing to give my life to Him and for Him? If yes, then why do I find myself resisting? Why do I feel that I cannot really give in to Him?”

It’s through asking myself these questions, meditatively pondering upon what it means for me to respond to His call, that I realize how He is drawing me to grow and develop a close relationship with Him. It makes me understand why He seems to disturb me and make me experience all kinds of conflicting situations and struggles. It is for this reason that I dare to say, “Lord, disturb me even more”, because then, I get to know what it is I have to offer and sacrifice my life for!

What this means for me is that my prayer life is, indeed, a way of communicating with God. And each and every time I start to pray and ask God’s intervention in the day-to-day events and happenings of my life, I ask for His constant faithfulness so that I can remain in Him as He remains in me all the time. I do not have to question anymore what happens to/in my life, and why it is happening. God has His own reason which is beyond my human comprehension; He is the one who gives meaning to everything. This becomes my guiding principle about God’s assuring presence and intervention in my life and the whole of life. He Himself has spoken to us through His Son Jesus Christ: “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).

If I have this assuring presence of God in Jesus Christ, what then is preventing me to go deep in prayer and build a close relationship with Him? I have come to realize that, many times, my attitude, limitations, weaknesses, and of course, my laziness lead me into darkness, thus I become unfaithful in the little steps I know I am supposed to take and do for the good of all.

Lattana (Noi), Laos
IFFAsia

You can also read Lattana's reflections, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

An Endless Overflow of God's Love and Blessings

Three months is just enough time to initially settle down and enter into a way of life which I call spiritual journey. This is an experience I carry in my heart as I look at another phase of formation this year at IFFA.

When I reflect on each of the various sessions, I realize that each has been designed in such a way that it makes me sigh and say to myself: how meaningful and useful this is for me and for my life! It is very important to know the beauty that it brings to my life and to the life of the others.

I can say that this journey of discovery through sessions and daily encounters with people and realities is valuable for me and for my mission. I am not only acquiring knowledge and skills, but it also helps me to change my attitude towards life and to have a greater appreciation of the wider needs of society. The discovery that I am blessed and that I am God’s gift to others is one of the most significant realizations for me. I am indeed a blessing from God. This has never dawned on me before, and I thank God for IFFA and the yes to the process.

Sometimes when I face difficulties I can not stand up by myself. I even forget to pray to Him, the author of my life. Yet, His blessing is never-ending; it continuously overflows, flowing like a river. I know, and I can feel that this is not of human making, but a divine blessing and sanctification. It is the same thing with his love. It is when I believe that God’s love is endless in my life and I can not even afford to pay with the efforts that I am making. And I start growing in his likeness, appreciating his embrace for me and the rest of humanity. Such is the wonder of God, our Father!

Pale Phyu, Myanmar
IFFAsia

You can also read Pale's reflections, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

Am I Becoming More Mature?

As I grow older day by day, I become more mature physically and mentally. My body changes in structure, my muscles begin to form, and my mind continues to acquire and accumulate more knowledge. I begin to see with a wider perspective. However, there is one area of my being human that I somehow have forgotten to pay attention to – my emotions.

To develop good relationships with others is, first, to take care of our own emotions, to be responsible for our own actions in total freedom and choice. There is no need to be afraid or shy about how we feel. But, we have to make sure that we express it in the right place and time, and with the right person involved. Second, it is good for us not to allow ourselves to be affected by the feelings of others and our own past, especially negative experiences. They say “Experience is the best teacher”; we can all learn from our own experiences and those of others. We can also remember that “Pain is the teacher from whom we can learn much”. These are hard lessons in life, and our negative experiences are meant to help us develop a more positive outlook in life. We can learn from them so that we do not commit the same mistakes in life again and again.

Rodrigo Babiera, Jr., Philippines
IFFAsia

You can read Rod's full reflections, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.

Like a Boy

After participating in some of the sessions offered here at IFFA, I have come to realize that, really, the Holy Spirit is inside me, working within me.

I had my encounter with the Holy Spirit in February. This was indeed very personal. When I was praying during the retreat, someone approached me and told me: “Don’t use ‘I’; don’t use ‘you’!” After some time, I realized that it was the Holy Spirit talking to me.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me like a child. He never used difficult words. And I felt HE looked like a boy. Through that encounter and some other sessions I have attended, I now start thinking and making a decision to be HONEST to myself like a boy. I want to depend on the Father like Jesus. My poem expresses this better:

There is a small boy in a small village,
He wants to grow like a little flower
He uses blue water,
The water is lighter than air
His dress shines brighter than sunshine,
His name is SHIRO
Now he is dancing to grow like a little flower.

Johya Paul Kijima, Japan
IFFAsia

You can also read Paul's reflections, and other related articles in Asian Hearts Speak - Sept 2009.