SHARING
Edgar Dante, Members, Country Governance Team, CFC Thailand 2024 CFC Theme Weekend Retreat, AIT Conference Centre, 16 March 2024 In December 2023, I returned to the Philippines to accompany my elderly father for two months. While there, I encountered an issue involving one of our farm staff. Before going into the details, let me provide some background about this person. Several months earlier, I was informed that he had been selling farm products without our permission. Also, neighbours raised concerns about his questionable activities. Consequently, my farm manager recommended that I should terminate his services. I said OKAY, if he is problematic, we don’t need him on the farm. I instructed my farm manager to inform him of the decision. The worker complained about his dismissal and sought assistance from a barangay official. He claimed that only the owner could dismiss him personally. The barangay official supported him. Since I was not there, my farm manager could not enforce it and reported to me his frustration. This is the context. When I returned last December, I did not pursue terminating his services but gave him another chance. He continues to work for us. One day, this staff came to see me. He was complaining about his eye infection and needed financial help for treatment. So, I gave money for his treatment. No need to pay, I told him. Anyway, it was Christmas. I was pleased that I could help him and be good with him. One week later, I got a call informing me that the same staff was waiting for me at home. At that time, I was working online in a café in town. I was a bit annoyed and didn’t want to stop my work and go home, and my pride told me to let him wait until I was done. I only stopped my work and returned home 3 hours later, thinking the staff would have already left. But he was there. I was surprised. He was looking quite upset. He said he needed more money to buy medicines. I was suspicious and wondered whether he was abusing me. I told him it was not my problem. I calmed down and asked him to show me the doctor's prescription. I wanted to go with him to the pharmacy to buy the medicines. I wanted to ensure that he needed the money for medicines. But there were no prescriptions. He could not produce it, and he left so upset. I found out later that he was offended when I demanded to see the doctor’s prescriptions because I was suspicious. Anyway, in my morning prayer the next day, as I read a spiritual book, a passage caught my attention. In this passage, Jesus said: "I come to ask you for your reconciliation; go and reconcile with your brother, for in reconciling with him, you are reconciling with Me, your God. Offer Me your peace as I offer you, My Peace; imitate Me and be Holy." These words hit me. I realized that I had sinned against this brother. I let him wait for 3 hours while suffering from a painful eye infection. I told him his problem was not my problem. I distrusted him. By offending this person, I also offended God. So, when I prayed to God, He immediately alerted me. I saw God’s humility in action. Although he was the one offended, he was the first one to seek reconciliation. He descended to my level and came offering his reconciliation. God is truly a humble God. This left me with a very difficult task. How can I reconcile with this person? I knew he was upset with what happened the day before. Anyway, I dared to call him. He answered the call but gave the phone to his wife. You see he was really upset. His wife explained that her husband had been suffering for weeks. He could not do his work and could not sleep because of the pain. He had been upset all these times because of the pain and needed medication. She said the first time they got the money from me, they went to the hospital and waited for hours and hours, but there was no doctor. It happened during the middle of the Christmas holidays, and most doctors were away. So, he did not receive medication for him for a week. They also used the money I gave for other purposes. But now, she said that they were ready to go to the hospital again, and if they got the doctor’s prescription, they would come to see me. Later that day, they came, and the husband was not talking to me. It was the wife you showed me the doctor’s prescription. So, I arranged for somebody to accompany the wife to buy the medicines while the husband, still suffering from an eye infection, was with me at home. So, I spoke with him gently, I served him snacks, and with all humility, I dared to humble myself and beg him to forgive me. He was stunned at first, but shortly after, he started to speak with me. It was a humbling experience but a victory for me that I reconciled with my brother, and by doing that, I also reconciled with the Lord. I felt the Lord was pleased. I also felt His Peace. The staff recovered from his eye infection and has been back to work. God is a humble God. Even if we offend him, he comes running to us, offering his peace, his reconciliation and most of all, his love. God is telling us today to imitate and obey Him. All glory and praise to God. Amen. IT IS TOO LITTLE
CFC International Leaders Conference, SMX, Manila (20 January 2024) SHARING Edgar and Moonyeen Dante, Members, Country Governance Team, CFC Thailand My wife, Moonyeen, and I have been members of CFC in Thailand for 32 years. As many of you know, Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country. We are blessed with five children; most were born in Thailand. Today, I wanted to share our experience bringing Thai Buddhists into our community. First, let me quickly give you a snapshot of Christianity in Thailand. Thailand has around 70 million people; 93% are Buddhist, 5% are Muslim, and only 1% are Christian. It is around 700,000 Christians, which is equally shared between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians. This is extremely low, considering the 300 years of Christianity in Thailand. It tells us that evangelization is a huge challenge in the country. Many Thai bishops and priests have called on the laity, including CFC, to participate in sharing the Gospel with the Thai people. Despite the challenge, Thailand is a super welcoming and open country. There is religious freedom. Thai people are generally some of the nicest, most respectful, and peace-loving people you will meet. They are also open to learning about other religions. With this in mind, I will share a CFC experience on evangelizing Thai Buddhists. In 2000, when my wife and I were serving as chapter leaders in Bangkok, Brother Jun and Sis Jean Uriarte were relocated to Bangkok and joined our community. During this period, they passionately shared their vision of evangelizing non-Christians, introducing us to the Catholic Church's Missio Ad Gentes. I shared their vision and believed that God had also called me and my wife to contribute to the mission of evangelizing non-Christians. With Bro Jun and Sis Jean’s leadership, we conducted a CLP specifically tailored for couples in mixed marriages, particularly Buddhist Thai husbands and Catholic Filipina wives. You may know that, in the past, many Thai students came to the Philippines to study. Some of them eventually married Filipina and brought them to Thailand. To prepare for the CLP, we went through the CLP training, spiritual preparation and discussions on how we can effectively support non-Christians attending our CLPs. The CLP successfully attracted couples in mixed marriages. Many of them became members of CFC and continue to do so until today. Now, you might wonder, did they become Catholics? The answer is no. Yet, they participate in our community's prayer and worship activities and sometimes take part in CFC missions to upcountry areas. At this point, I will introduce one active couple, brother Chat and sister Elsie. This couple completed the CLP 20 years ago. Sister Elsie passed away just a few months ago, and the photo on the screen was taken during her wake. While preparing for this sharing, I spoke with brother Chat and asked him how he was doing. I also told him about this conference and that many people here would want to know about his faith. Brothers and sisters, I was amazed by what I heard from him. He shared to me that every day he prays to the two hearts (the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary). He showed me the image of the Two Hearts on his altar (show image of the Two hearts). He said he talks to Jesus and Mary and says I love you, I believe in you, and I trust you. Finally, he said: “Edgar, tell the brothers and sisters in the conference that there is a Buddhist in Thailand who truly loves Jesus and Mama Mary.” He went on to tell me many wonderful stories of faith and even miracles happening in his life. Just three years ago, during the pandemic, we conducted a CLP in northeast Thailand, about 4 hours drive from Bangkok. One of the participants was a young Thai Buddhist married to a Filipina. His name is Brother Ae (show photo of Ae). With his Catholic wife, Brother Ae completed the CLP and became a member of CFC. Moonyeen and I were their household leaders until mid-last year. We witnessed the faith of this young Thai Buddhist. We did not treat him differently when we conducted household meetings. We invited him to pray with us and asked him to share as we normally do. He joined the worship and sometimes played the guitar. In one of our CLPs, he became a service team member responsible for creating communication and video materials. What strikes me about Brother Ae is the simplicity and sincerity of his prayers during our household meetings. Brother Ae and Brother Chat are powerful testimonies of non-Christians who embrace the life of our community and experience authentic conversion from the heart while keeping their religious identity. Although I hope they become Catholics, I believe conversion is a sacred process guided by the Holy Spirit. I see my role as a mere instrument to help them appreciate our faith. Another touching story we encountered involves a Buddhist couple, Brod Prasert and Sis Panida (see photo of Prasert and Panida). Their journey began when their children, who were attending a Catholic school, brought home an image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Unfamiliar with the image, the couple approached the teacher to learn more. This curiosity led them to attend Catechism and eventually embrace the Catholic faith. They joined the CLP as new converts and shared their inspiring journey with us during their CLP graduation. It's another beautiful example of how God, working through our Mother Mary, draws people from Buddhist backgrounds to the Catholic faith. Finally, we also reached out to Thai Buddhists through youth camps. Catholic schools in Thailand are quite popular. Many Buddhist parents want to send their children to study in Catholic schools. Several years ago, CFC Thailand organized youth camps in Catholic schools, attracting many Buddhist students as participants. Brothers and sisters, I want to end this sharing by highlighting that Missio Ad Gentes has already started in CFC. Non-Christians have joined our CLPs and youth camps and become members of CFC. Although still small, I need to recognize the leading of the Spirit towards this work and be prepared to embrace it. I must open my heart to non-Christians who seek to know and love the Lord. With this, my wife and I thank the organizers for the opportunity to share this experience with all of you. We also praise the Lord and give Glory to God. Thank you. The Christmas gift - A Christmas reflection 2023
EDante, San Francisco, Agusan Sur, Philippines 24 December 2023 Christmas in the Philippines is a joyful time marked by lively songs, decorated trees, and well lighted homes. Sadly, it coincides with the typhoon season, causing major disruptions. For this reason, our family prefers July-August for a visit. This year, however, Moonyeen and I embraced the Christmas period in Bohol to visit our future home and then to our respective hometowns to spend time with our loved ones. True enough, a typhoon disrupted our plan. The Bohol trip was cancelled. Moonyeen went straight to Leyte, and I flew to Mindanao. In Mindanao, the family hosted a Christmas party with relatives, friends and farm staff at our farmhouse. Blessed with sunny weather, the atmosphere was filled with joy and giving. The event featured a fun-filled gift exchange game. As we all stood in a circle, each person held his or her gift. My gift attracted considerable attention, as it was elegantly wrapped in a pink silk bag often seen as holding precious jewels. So, everyone wanted to get my gift. The first game was called, asking us to hand the gift we were holding to the next person. Then, in the successive games, each one was asked to pick a gift according to certain criteria until everyone had a chance to pick a gift. It was filled with excitement and laughter as everyone aimed for the pink silk bag. As customary, we also gave presents in cash, chocolates and candies to the children and the farm staff. A touching moment occurred when I received a gift from a staff's teenage daughter. Unwrapping the gift, I found a framed pencil drawing of my portrait. The well-crafted drawing was a labour of love and spoke volumes about the young artist's sincerity. I learned that she spent her little money to buy the frame. This unexpected present touched my heart profoundly. It humbled me to realize that the gift's true value surpassed any material gifts I had shared. In that simple yet powerful pencil drawing, I recognized the deep gratitude and appreciation she held. It was a reminder that the most meaningful gifts often come from the heart, transcending the material value. A Filipino priest expressed this point nicely in his sermon: "After all, the best gifts are not wrapped in paper. The best gifts are wrapped in love, kindness, truth and gentleness." Christmas is indeed a time to give. The tradition of gift-giving mirrors God's greatest act of giving, beautifully expressed in the Gospel of John (3:16): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When God, the Father, sent His Son to the world, He did not separate himself from the Son. The mystery of the Holy Trinity reveals that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable. This means that the Father and the Holy Spirit were present in the Son. Jesus expressed this truth when he said, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) and also when he told his apostle Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9). Therefore, when God gave his one and only Son, in truth, He gave himself entirely to us. He gifted us with himself. God himself is the Christmas gift. Another remarkable act of giving is shown in the story of the Magi (or Wise Men) found in the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel opens with these words, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" Subsequently, the chapter describes the Magi's encounter with the infant Jesus: "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." These symbolic gifts carry deep meanings: the gold symbolizes the baby's royal identity, the frankincense signifies his divinity, and the myrrh alludes to the child's humanity and the eventual reality of facing death. While these gifts may be material in nature, they symbolize the profound faith, wisdom and love that motivated the Magi in choosing their gifts. Finally, the legendary gift-giving act of Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Catholic bishop in Turkey, inspired the famous figure of today’s Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas’ parents were wealthy and instilled a spirit of generosity in their son. On one occasion, he exchanged his horse for a slave in an auction so he could free him. In another story, he gave gifts to the peasants secretly by night out of humility. By the 1400s, St. Nicholas was a popular religious figure, with thousands of early chapels built in his honour. His gift-giving acts slowly became an integral part of the Christmas celebration. The name Santa Claus came around the 1500s. It comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means Saint Nicholas. May this Christmas motivate us to imitate the examples of generosity shown in the story of the teenage girl at the farm, God’s giving himself to us, the Magi’s symbolic gifts to Baby Jesus and Saint Nicholas’ legendary simple acts of mercy. It is said that “Nobody is so poor that he has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he has nothing to receive”. Wishing you a Christmas filled with love and joy! Follow th Star - A Christmas reflection 2022
EDante, AIT house 9 28 December 2022 One early evening I walked with our poodle dog Mochi at the football ground of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) campus where we live. While walking, I was struck by the unusual appearance of the moon setting in the west and appearing much larger than usual. It seems to be pointing to a particular place on earth. Instantly, I got reminded of the Star in Bethlehem that guided the Magi from faraway lands. I have been puzzled by the idea of a star so distant away from earth guiding travelers on earth. It seems impossible in my mind. How can people in the past make use of a star as if it is a present-day GPS or Google Maps? In this piece, I will explore the current knowledge about the Star in Bethlehem, the wonderful story of the Magi and the lessons from the story based on the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-12), other church documents, and the writings of Maria Valtorta (Poem of Man-God or Poem for short). The common belief is that the Magi found the Baby Jesus in the manger soon after birth, hence we see this in the Christmas Nativity scene of the Magi with the shepherds adoring the baby. However, Matthew 2:11 tells that the Magi entered a house (not a manger) to see the Child and His mother. From the Poem, we learned that the Holy Family left the manger soon after birth and lived in a poor house in Bethlehem, owned by the mistress (or owner) of the shepherds, for about a year before they escaped to Egypt. Mary and Joseph had to remain in Bethlehem in obedience to their cousin priest Zechariah. Zechariah insisted that the Messiah must grow up in Bethlehem according to his understanding of the prophecy presented in Matthew 2:6. It gave great sadness to Mary and Joseph to give up their comfortable home in Nazareth and find a new home and livelihood in a new place while providing the best comfort and care to the Child Jesus. It is believed there were three Magi based on the number of gifts mentioned in Matthew 2:11. Church tradition identifies them as Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar. They are venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church. These Magi are astrologers, possessing great knowledge (wise men) and belonging to the priestly people from the “East”, which is the southern part of Asia where Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iran are located. From the Poem, we understood that these men lived separately and were unknown to each other until they met in one place near Jerusalem. They lived a strict honest life and had faith in their science and God. From their respective homes, they saw the new Star of unusual brightness appearing in the sky. Their maps of the sky had never mentioned such a Star. Its name was unknown to them. They spent many months, foregoing sleep and food, to study the zodiac and examine their hearts. Their study told them the name and secret of the Star. Its name: “Messiah”. Its secret: “The Messiah had come to our world.” The Magi likely knew of the writings of the prophet Daniel who lived in Persia about 500 years before. Daniel’s writings contain many prophecies about the birth of the Messiah. Having known the Star, each decided to take a long journey to Palestine, over mountains, across deserts, along valleys and rivers, facing great danger and risking their lives, to see the Messiah. They could only travel by night because they had to follow the direction of the Star. When they met at a point near the Dead Sea, God performed a miracle allowing them to understand and speak to each other in their different languages, the same phenomenon was experienced by the apostles at Pentecost. They traveled together to Jerusalem because they thought that the Messiah was born there since He was to be the King of the Jews. But then when they arrived in the Holy City, the Star had concealed itself and they felt their hearts breaking with pain and examined whether they had failed to deserve to see God. In Matthew 2:2-11, we learned that the Magi applied to King Herod saying “Where is the new-born King of the Jews? We saw His Star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” The Magi learned that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem according to a prophecy. When they left Jerusalem, they were overjoyed at seeing the Star again. The Star preceded them until it came and stopped over the place in Bethlehem where the Child was. Since the time of the birth of Jesus, there have been numerous theories about the origin and nature of the Star. Some believed it was a conjunction (or alignment) of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. However, conjunction normally does not create a spectacular sight that could have attracted the Magi. Others accepted the theory of a comet. It was found that Halley’s comet was visible in 12 BC. More recently, in 2005, some scientists claimed that it was a supernova (or a catastrophic explosion of a star). A recent BBC documentary on the subject concluded that the Star of Bethlehem must have been a comet because comets create a spectacular sight, they are moving and are pointing in a certain direction. This seems to match with the characteristics of the Star described in the Gospel of Matthew. Another approach to understanding the Star of Bethlehem is to say it had nothing to do with astrology. Many Fathers of the Church, including St Thomas Aquinas, St Augustine, and St John Chrysostom, believed that the Star of Bethlehem did not belong to the heavenly system. It was a special Star that behaved differently from normal stars. They argued that the Star’s movement was not continuous like other stars. When the Magi had to continue the journey, the Star moved on. When they had to stop, the Star stood still. In the Poem, the Star was seen as of unusual size and the moon seems small in comparison. It was close enough to earth that the Magi were able to see where it was heading towards. It lit up the entire town of Bethlehem in silvery color. The Star was seen to stop over a little house and transfigure the house with its light and radiation. It was a poor house, in the poorest town in Judah. The sight humbled the Magi because they knew that behind that poor wall, there is God. The God they have always called, but never had the least hope of seeing. Out of respect for the Child, the Magi waited until the following day for the visitation. They spent the night of their arrival in Bethlehem in ardent prayer and examination of conscience making sure that there is nothing against God in their hearts. It was a final preparation for a divine appointment, an infinite joy, and an ultimate goal of man. In man’s life, there is no greater joy and fulfillment than encountering God with a clear conscience. The Magi entered the house with their best clothes and saw Mary sitting with the Child in Her lap and Joseph standing near Her. The Child was about nine to twelve months old. Mary greeted them “May God be with you”, and the Magi stopped for a moment, completely astonished. They then proceeded and prostrated themselves at Her feet. The oldest of the Magi spoke on behalf of them all. He explained to Mary about the Star, their long journey, and their ardent desire to worship the Child God. Meanwhile, the Magi gave their gifts, gold which befits a king, frankincense which befits a God, and myrrh because the Child is also a man who will experience the inevitable law of death. After some time of contemplating the Child God and speaking with Mary, the three men went down the steps of the house and proceeded on their long journey back home. Jesus explains that the Magi is a story of faith. They had faith in everything, in science, in their conscience, and in God’s goodness. They had nothing supernatural to assure them of the truth. They were the only ones who understood the meaning of the Star. They took the long and dangerous journey, traveling over 1,000 km and trusting that God’s goodness would guide them to the unknown destination. They understood that the Messiah is both God and man while most Jews, including those in the temple of Jerusalem, expected a human king, like David, who would free the Jews from the Roman occupation and establish an earthly kingdom of Israel. Until now, 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus, present-day Jews are still waiting for this earthy and human messiah who would never come because he does not exist. The Magi also represent all the Gentile nations (non-Jews), including us, who come to adore the King of the Jews and become Christians. We have not seen the Star, but we have heard and believed the stories of Christmas and felt the love of God in our hearts. Faith is sufficient for us to come and adore God in our lives. In the Catholic tradition, the 12 days of Christmas end with the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January 2023 this season. The Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the Magi who represent all the different religions outside Judaism. It signifies that God can reveal Himself to all people, in all religions, who sincerely seek the true God in their hearts and live with honesty and goodness. Go big or go home - A Christmas reflection 2021
EDante Grande Centre Point Hotel, Ratchadamri, Bangkok, 31 December 2021 On 16 December 2021, I stood in the garden behind my parent’s home in Mindanao awaiting to see the coming of Typhoon Odette. I videoed the powerful storm breaking the trees and the horrible howling sound it made. After a few hours, the wind died down and some damages became visible. Electricity and water supplies were cut off. What I saw was just the tip of the iceberg. Some 200-300 km away from where I stood, the eye of the storm passed through several islands and decimated many cities and communities in northern Mindanao and the central Visayas. Millions of people lost their homes and livelihood and over 400 people died. Horrible footage of the storm and plea for help soon flooded social media. A few days after, I joined a meeting with the governance team of CFC Thailand to discuss how to respond to this disaster. The message from the meeting was clear, “Go big or go home”. This is an exhortation to go all-out, to put all our efforts into helping out. It is a call to be bold and impactful. Anything less is not acceptable. The team decided to allocate a significant portion of the community’s fund to support ongoing relief efforts and provide financial support to affected members. They sent out communications to the community regarding the relief efforts and searched for information on ongoing relief efforts on the ground to support. I messaged Atoy Franco, a childhood friend and one of the leaders of CFC Agusan del Sur. Some eight years ago, Atoy and a few other friends joined me in a relief effort in Leyte following Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). That contact brought back memories of our experience in Leyte in 2013 and immediately paved the way for another joint relief effort. On Christmas eve and Christmas day, I found myself busy packing relief goods together with Atoy’s family and other friends. While packing, we enjoyed chatting, recalling our childhood memories, and sharing stories about our common way of life in the CFC community. Forgetting the time spent and body pains, we completed 776 food packs containing 3 kilos of rice, 6 canned food and 6 packs of noodles. In addition, we received donations of 5 sacks of rice, 350 kg of squash, 450 new shirts, 228 bottles of 10-litre purified water, some biscuits and used clothes. In total, we had over 7.5 tons of relief goods. The day after Christmas we took a long road trip to the ravaged towns in Surigao del Norte and dropped off relief goods in seven areas along the highway between Butuan and Surigao City. Devastations were seen everywhere. No house was left untouched. About 90% were completely destroyed. Trees were broken or uprooted. Children were standing on the road with a note “Help”, “No Food”. We witnessed a repeat of the horror caused by Typhoon Yolanda eight years ago. A young couple from CFC Surigao guided us along the way. They organized the drop-offs in an orderly manner to avoid confusion and mob attacks. They themselves were victims of the Typhoon, having lost their home and many other possessions, and experienced the horror of surviving daily without electricity and limited access to drinking water. We completed our journey in Surigao City where we handed food packs to over 100 people in front of the CFC office. As we were preparing to return home, our couple guide advised us to take another road to avoid the city traffic. It turned out to be providential. As we were driving, Atoy spotted a convoy of trucks carrying relief goods and huge signage “1 Bukidnon Help Movement”. Suddenly he knew that our other good friend from high school must be in the convoy. We stopped and were amazed to find our dear friend Pol Murillo. We were jumping with joy. Pol was equally overjoyed and came to hug us without restraint. The last time and place we met with Pol was in 2013 in Leyte where we delivered relief goods in separate Typhoon Yolanda efforts. It was an unexpected reunion among friends with a common love for service for typhoon victims. I learned that Pol leads the 1 Bukidnon charity movement and is currently the Vice Mayor of Valencia City. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful way to spend Christmas and discover the true essence of Christmas through charity and love. Some 2,000 years ago, on the first Christmas day, the people in Bethlehem were busy going about their lives and had no room to offer to pregnant Mary and her spouse Joseph. The people had no clue of the significance of the time and place they were living in. They were completely unaware of the awesome divine action happening in their midst. They failed to recognize the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) in the baby lying in the manger. They disregarded the presence of Mary, the greatest joy of the Father and the most perfect human being. Her perfection is inferior only to God. They overlooked the Christmas star, dismissed the shepherds, and ignored the three Magi. Darkness enveloped the little town of Bethlehem. The world today remains blind to the spiritual reality of Christmas. It busies itself with things of the world and does not accommodate the Holy Family in its hearts. It fails to see the wonder of Christmas beyond the visible celebration of exchanging gifts, setting up Christmas decorations, organizing parties and shopping. It is, therefore, our prayer that God gives light to this world to see and recognize Him in everything around us and within us. We live, we move, we breathe, we walk, we see, we eat, we talk, we drink, we work, we laugh, we jump because of God. St Paul says “...nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:39). God is present in all around us, how can we fail to see Him? EDante, AIT home, 10 April 2021
In March 2020, when the corona virus just emerged in Thailand, I got a distress email from an unknown woman living in Europe (not her real location for confidentiality). She sought help for a young foreign man and his six year old nephew who was hospitalized in Bangkok to find a suitable apartment and do some chores. I responded immediately. I learned later that the woman named Mary (not her real name) searched google for several Christian groups in Bangkok for assistance and got one response. The child was diagnosed with “severe immunodeficiency” resulting in a weak immune system that is unable to fight off even mild infections. It is a serious disease and it came when the whole world was facing risk of corona virus infection. At that time, they thought that the child would be discharged by mid-April. While at the hospital, they needed someone to buy diapers and cereals for the child. I accepted to do that. After several weeks, the child’s condition remained fragile and hope for a quick recovery faded. On top of that, Thailand shut its borders and halted international travels due to the pandemic. Both were to remain in Bangkok for a long, long time. The hospital bill surged to at least Baht 200,000 (US$ 6,600) per month. My added task was to receive money and deliver it to the hospital. My family also helped in some chores for them. The child’s mother named Martha (not her real name) was a refugee and a recent convert to Christianity. She and her child left her country to Thailand to escape from her abusive father and deadly treats from her in-laws. Martha was a victim of a forced marriage to a rich man. After her husband’s death, she suffered torture from her in-laws. While in Thailand, she managed to get her documents to travel to Europe as a refugee but had to leave her child. So Martha’s young brother who was living in Indonesia (not the real location) came to Bangkok to take care of the child while she was in Europe to work out the papers for the child to join her. The entire process was so long and painful. I often got updates late at night of her agony and torture of being away from her child and of her great pain to complete all documents and fight oppositions from immigration officials. As a recent convert, she poured all her troubles to God and wrote asking me to join her in praying, “In the name of Jesus, we come together and pray for strength to stand firm and trust Him. Jesus will be with me, I had faith. Faith in Jesus is the only hope for deliverance.” Receiving money from Europe also became a challenge. Following several rounds, the money transfer agent blocked me from receiving funds due to the unusually large amount involved. Another option was to transfer direct to my bank account. This worried me thinking that I should at least know the source of funds. I wondered how Martha, a refugee, could sustain the flow of funds. Because of my doubts, Mary was obliged to tell me something that both Martha and her brother were not able to tell me about as they were strictly sworn to secrecy. Mary revealed that the funds used for the hospital and all their other expenses came from her retirement funds. She said she was led by the Lord to make such decision, even with the future financial risks it involves, and to totally trust in Him alone for her future. Mary met Martha at her church and immediately became involved in a team of people who organized many different types of assistance required to support her. Again, with the leading of the Lord, she ended up inviting Martha to live with her at her apartment. She said that this was a wonderful arrangement and that she considered Martha, her child and the brother as family members and gifts from God. She wrote: “It has been very, very difficult in so many ways to be part of their journey, however, even in the darkest times the Lord has blessed us in ways that could never have happened apart from His leading us to become so close. May we never forget the dark times that the Lord miraculously brought them through! We wait in HOPE for God’s merciful deliverance to FREEDOM for each of them!” I was so inspired by her story and responded: “What you are doing for them is incredible and extraordinary. It reminds me of the story of the rich young man in the Gospel of Matthew whom Jesus told "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." The Gospel story did not end well as the young man did not accept Jesus' challenge and thus "became very sad because he was very wealthy". I believe you don't consider yourself wealthy, yet you gave everything you had and rely on God's provision for your future. Therefore, you possess both perfection and treasure in heaven that Jesus promised to those who obey to sell possessions and give them to the poor. To cut the long story short, exactly one year after I received Mary distress email, the child got his travel papers and went through a difficult flight from Bangkok to Europe accompanied by a Thai nurse. Finally, the mother and the child got reunited and delivered from their painful journey. Few days after that, Moonyeen and I sent off the uncle to the airport to return to his home country. He arrived safely and informed us that her mother was in critical condition. Martha’s in-laws continued to abuse her mother physically and mentally torture her to the extent that the mother was scared and shivering of fear. The uncle was into another mission but this time with resilience and great courage. He wrote “I have a strong belief that one day I will be free from all these problems and all of your prayers are like a strong shield for me to protect from evil”. This is an incredible story of suffering and pain. Who brought this sorrow to innocent people like Martha and her child and brother? It was not God but the evil act of people around them and the instigation of the devil. These people were so corrupt that they tried to increase the suffering of others for self-serving reasons. But the hand of God was there to protect and comfort those who suffer. God inspired many people to help, comfort and pray with them. All I heard from Mary and Martha were words of faith. They went through a long process and waited patiently the deliverance promised by God without losing hope. And they were rewarded tremendously. Through their suffering, they learned how to truly love God because they realized that everything is sorrow in this world, except God. Sorrow is a cross, but it is also a wing. Blessed indeed are those who mourn without complaining because the Lord himself comfort them. I prayed that someday we shall meet with them again to praise and celebrate together God's mercy and kindness. |
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January 2024
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