Most communities today are very structured and follow a leader-follower model. It seems that a community cannot effectively function
without someone having an authority over everyone in the group. But I believe that’s how our society is built; even families, the smallest unit, function it that same way. The father usually seats at the head of the table to signify authority and power.

But today, Upper Room Disciplines writer Deborah Appler recalled how King Arthur built a round table for his knights. Since it is round, it had neither head nor tail and the knights sat in equal positions. It may have been imperfect but it is an example that we could apply in community-building. I also like how Da Vinci portrayed the Last Supper as having Jesus sitting equally with his disciples at one side of the table (even more beautiful with the round table Last Supper rendition of Mauricio Rizo).

The round table, even with a leader or facilitator, is a model that encourages full participation and more open communication among community members because they can view themselves as equals. Community development could be more genuine when people come together and be heard. Jesus exemplified that model to his disciples. He constantly asked them of feedbacks from their ministries and seat with them at the table. Jesus valued his disciples insights.

Individual experiences and stories are important in establishing relationships among community members—something that we often neglect in our groups. Sometimes, we fail to listen and look at each other’s faces or eyes when we talk. Accomplishing programs and events become more important than people and relationships. More often than not, we measure success by quantity and not from the testimonies of people who became a community even for a short period of time.

What kind of community do you belong to? How would you describe your experiences?

Them: Are you student here or teacher?
Me: Student, Junior.
Them: Owwss? Really?
Me: Yes, I entered seminary as a layperson.
Them: So you’ll be a pastor.
Me: No. I feel I am called to be a layperson.
Them:  But why do you go through M.Div.?

It may seem that I am a confused young adult who doesn’t know what to do with her life and took a seminary degree, but I know in my heart that I am sure of what I am doing. Many people, including my mom, still asks the question why M. Div.? What are you going to do with that degree? Some think that I might be crazy enough to enter seminary considering that I am newly married and have a full time, rewarding job.

Seriously, as I write, I don’t know. But what I know is that the church needs theologically-educated lay people who understand the life and ministry of the church (including not criticizing pastors for what they are not, and assuming that seminary teaches everything about ministry).

Honestly, I was convinced to enter seminary because of the encouragement of my mentor. But like most people, I have a plan. I am not the kind of person who is persuaded to do something because of influence. I think through every decision and prayed for discernment.

I am in place where young adults are expected to have a booming career and climbing the corporate ladder. But I have long accepted that my career is in the church ministry; thus, my participation in the local, conference- and national-level leadership.  I am also in a place where it is not a custom for lay people to go to seminary. When I took my M.Min. few years ago, I was already bombarded with a lot of “why” questions, even if the program was tailor-fit for lay people. Like one of my professors said, I am breaking tradition and many people may not be open to it.

Not being a local pastor and entering seminary or not even planning to go through the ordination process after coming out of it, may be unusual; but quoting a friend, I believe that “seminary-trained lay person just as valuable, useful, and gifted to the church.”

If later on I will decide to be ordained, that would be following God’s leading. Or if later on, I would step out of church ministry and take another career path; at least I would know and understand the life and ministry of the church that I chose to attend.

Many of us do not realize that the best things in life are actually free; that is because we are confined in a very materialistic world and we measure the best things in terms of price, weight, karat, size, model, etc. In this book, however, Todd Outcult reminded me of the things that I have but not really aware of them—those things that make me happy—people, faith, love, hope, work and experiences. It is not actually the material things that define a person. He wrote, “the best things often happen to us when we are not aware of them.” True enough, as I flipped through the pages, it made the realize that some things are taken for granted.

I got the book as second hand, it was the author’s gift to Jeff and Arlene (whoever they are). And because they received it for free, they gave it away for free. Have you ever tried “free taste”? Product manufacturers and promoters let prospective customers taste their products for free to let people know that theirs are the best. And “free taste” really are best compared to the same products found on the shelves.

After book made me more conscious in the things I see and feel and more aware of my environment. It made me notice the the simple things and pleasures that may remain unnoticeable when I am always busy or rushing. For example, a street kid smiling at me brightens up the day.

The book is divided into five parts where Outcalt pours his experiences and the lessons he learned in his entire life. This is sort of an autobiographical account of the author but it is also his biographical account for the people he encountered that taught him the best things in life. Though the narratives came from the stories of his childhood and adulthood, his lenses are very sharp to capture the moments. He used very elaborate words of description as if wanting the readers to experience the same in their own eyes.

[I love 3D children movies. Not only that I am amazed with the technology and effects used, but also they make me feel comfortable and relaxed.]

What if humans came face to face with other humanoid beings who can talk the same language as we have, who have an organized community more than what we have, who have different concept of aliens? Humans are in the height of galactic exploration but there have not been a account when astronauts were able to talk to fellow rational being outside the Earth. Through science fiction, humans have different ideas of life forms from other worlds. We think of aliens are green beings with antenna on their heads; while Star Trek made a variety of species from different quadrants of the galaxy. As much as humans explore the universe, what if we discover that there are actually humanoids out there and they also have different concept of how aliens look like?

That would be an exciting but could be disastrous encounter! And that’s what happened on Planet 51. Planet 51 is much like the Earth—communities, people, children, love story, courtship, movies, science fiction, cars, roads, police, rain, sun, etc. The people may look slightly different but they have language and order in the society. Then suddenly a man came in the name of exploration. But because of too much scientific query and fictional movies and comics, the people perceived that they are being conquered and will be turned into food. So well, there goes the story of having too much imagination!

But the movie is more than aliens and the other worlds. It is a story of friendship. Lem (the major character in the story) tried to help the alien (Charles, the human astronaut) from escaping the military. Through their encounter, they have forged friendship and learning—being Lem disproving to his world that their planet is not alone but there is a vast universe surrounding them. They came to trust each other including Lem’s friend. And like any other children’s movie, the ending came to as “they live happily ever after.”

It is a nice movie depicting that the Earth is not the only planet vulnerable to alien invasion but as we explore the universe, we may come to know that we are the one invading other planets. I just hope that when that time comes (maybe not in my lifetime), the people of the Earth won’t be hostile but will forged friendship.

Movie tagline: Something strange is coming to their planet…us!
Directed by: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, Marcos Martínez
Produced by: Ignacio Perez Dolset, Guy Colins
Written by: Joe Stillman
Release date(s): November 14, 20, 2009 (US); December 4 (UK), December 10 (Aus.) Running Time: 91 mins.

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized, too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22, NIV)

Jesus’ baptism reminds me of my own baptism. I was baptized when I was seven years old, which welcomed me to the Christian community. I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior when I was 10, then was confirmed to be a full member of the church.

Contrary to Christian practice today that children are baptized while they are young, Jesus was baptized as an adult. His baptism did not welcomed him in a Christian community, rather it commenced his ministry to the people. He was baptized by John the Baptist, the man who said “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” But still, Jesus went to him to be baptized with water. Then the heaven opened and he was baptized with the Spirit.

As we remember Jesus’ baptism today, may we also be reminded of the ministries he left us with. When we are tempted, we should always go back to our baptism that signifies our inclusion in a Christian community.

Cuddle me into your arms, Father
for I am troubled and in pain
it is only your comfort
that can make me breath.

You are a creative potter
remold me as I am broken into pieces
it is only your hands that
can make me whole again.

Your hands provides
I am in need and lacking
yet you have poured me blessings
and opened doors for me.

Shepherd me back into your flock
for I am walking away
your staff shall guide me back
rejoicing in you.

So keep up with me; hoping that I can live up this challenge, too.

I will still keep this blog to post on reflections, experiences and any other outputs that are not part of the challenge.

I am not making a New Year’s resolution but I am setting goals. Sometimes New Year’s resolutions are just good for the first few months and have the greater tendency of being forgotten.

Here are some of the things that I challenge myself with for 2010:

Wake up earlier than usual. I know this is really a challenge because I am not a morning person; but I just missed my body clock when I was in still in school that wakes me up at 6:00 a.m. I will do this so I can devote my usual sleeping time to writing.

Write something everyday. Other than my status on facebook, I want to write something even an observation, a reflection or anything. I just need to enhance my writing abilities because I am planning for bigger writing projects soon.

Finish my thesis/book project and graduate. I am about to write my thesis for graduate school and I need to finish it before March to be able to graduate this term. Well, I just need to finish my proposal and have it approved.

Read more books. I love reading books but many times I just can’t find time to read. I only finished, I think, 6 books in 2009 including my daily devotional book. Now, I plan to increase my reading as I increase my writing outputs. Maybe I really need to read because of the thesis. I have also bought a one year Bible so maybe I will finish reading the entire Bible again in different version.

Find a job. Well, my leadership term ends in May 31 but I still have a lot of work, meetings and events to do and attend to until August; so my target is to get a job before September ends. I know that the Lord has plans for me.

So there, expect more from me this year; and I hope that I can keep up with the challenge that I gave to myself.

Though it present itself as a self-help book, it is rather inspirational. It does not shout at your throat what you should do step-by-step to change your life but it has examples of real people and real experiences that will help the reader realize about his own circumstances in life. It presents practical principles and strategies that are easy to adopt as they enable you to be more conscious or aware of the choices that you make today.

The book is very imaginative. It lets you think your own “what ifs” and “how ifs” and lead you to rethink the things, events and choice that you make and all the possible cumulative outcome in the future. It will make you see into those small things that seemingly insignificant but can create big changes in the future. The author wants the readers not to disregard the small things but see it as a part of a holistic development of a person. Also, he encourages relationships, something that many people neglects in this very busy and fast paced world.

Since the author of the book is a businessman, there are business jargon throughout the text but nonetheless they are well explained and related to life situations; and they make the book more practical and realistic because you are assured that many of it are based from the personal experience of the author that worked over time. The book drives the readers to answer the questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I here for?” through discovering one’s potential and maximizing talents as they are intended to be.

The Vector Principle
Foster used the vector principle in his presentation of the choices that a person make in his/her life. The principle states that each choice you make vectors you (direct, change angle) to a certain destination. “You are currently on a course that was determined by choices you made since you were aware of your capacity to choose. Many of these choice seemed rather insignificant at the time, but small changes make a big difference over time.”

It does not matter whether you are in your twenties, forties or sixties as long as you are conscious of your choices and decisions, you can still change for a fruitful and well-lived life. A person can choose to invest  his/her life toward the path of indifference, path of indulgence, or path of influence. The path of indulgence is the self-centered life. The path of indifference, on the other hand, is existence-centered life. Finally, the part of influence is an others-centered life.

Foster leads the readers to take the path of influence which is characterized by the transformation of other people, personal satisfaction seeing others benefit, and broader perspective in life. This is the path that is grounded on relationships and vision. It strengthens the claim of John Wooden that “Real happiness and success comes from things that cannot be taken from you.” Those things are the legacy that a person can leave after his/her life of earth. Those things are the relationships that are build in love, and visions realized in confidence that bring out the best of life.

Five lifeWealth
Foster coined the term lifeWealth to describe the full investment that a person can make in his/her. It is “The accumulation of financial, relational, physical, intellectual and spiritual capital. (Here goes the business lingo!)

The author encourages each person to invest into the five lifeWealth. These can be treated like a bank where a person can deposit every choices or results that come after, good or bad, for future usage. The profitability of these investments depend on how a person manages them to comply to the vision he/she has in mind or want to accomplish for the future for his/her own life.

This lifeWealth principle leads the reader to evaluating each aspect and plotting vision that are realistic and can gain profit over time. The author has provided strategies how to evaluate and plan toward attaining the fullness of life. Though the book discusses so much of the future, it does not neglect the “now”, in fact it has given it importance because the “now” determines the future. And in the end, the person shall enjoy contentment.

I found this book in the shelf of Christian/Inspirational. The author has quoted some Biblical foundations and personalities to explain his points but even though, I still think that his principles apply whether you are a Christian or not—because all person come into a point in life when they become aware of their choices and have the ability to choose.

TRIVIA: Schengen Visa is valid for Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ggreece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemberg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. If you got this kind of visa, you are free to move from one country to the other.

After getting a word from the Division on Ministries with Young People (DMYP) about arrangement for the Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly Planning Team meeting in Berlin, Germany on July 6-10, I immediately set up to apply for my visa.

Visit the German Embassy website. I needed to see what are the visa requirements so I know what to prepare. The application form in PDF format is downloadable. The following are the general requirements to be submitted in original and photocopied forms.

1. Application form duly completed (including date and signature of applicant)
2. 2 recent passport photographs with applicant’s full name and birth date written on the back
3. Valid passport (valid for at least 3 months after expected date of return; passport must not be damaged) and Xerox copy of the applicant’s passport (pages containing data and Schengen-Visas)
4. for a visit (family, friends):
   
   • Original Affidavit of support (“Verpflichtungserklärung”) according to § 66-68 of the German Residence Law, certified by the competent Aliens Authority (“Ausländerbehörde”) in Germany
   • Proof of relationship with relative in Germany: Birth certificate on security paper (SECPA) from theNational Statistics Office (NSO) of applicant and relative in Germany; Marriage Contract of applicant’srelative in Germany (if married in the Philippines: on security paper issued by National Statistics Office (NSO); if married in Germany: Xerox copy or fax copy sufficient)

   for tourism:

   • confirmed hotel reservation and proof of funds covering a minimum amount of €60,- (or equivalent) per day
   • Round-trip confirmed flight reservation and complete itinerary (NOT airline ticket)

   for business:
   

   • Invitation letter in German language of the business partner in Germany stating complete name, date of birth and/or passport no. of applicant; by fax directly from Germany to German Embassy
   • Confirmed hotel reservation stating complete name, date of birth and/or passport no. of applicant
   • Proof of funds covering a minimum amount of € 60,- (or the equivalent) per day
   • Letter of guarantee from the company in the Philippines
5. Proof of health insurance valid for all Schengen States (not required for Spouses and children of EUnationals) covering an amount of € 30.000 in case of illness, repatriation and/or accidents and accredited by the Schengen-Embassies in Manila (please check accreditation with insurance provider or with Embassy)

There are other requirements depending if you are an employee, self-employed, minor, student, etc. Other requuirements can be viewed here.

Compile all the requirements needed. I emailed our meeting coordinator and the secretary of my host in Germany to send the letters that I need immediately. I already have secured my airline booking ahead of time so I was only waiting for the hard copy of the invitation letter in German language to arrive.

Call the Embassy and all the hassles. Unlike with the US Embassy where you can set an appointment for visa interview online, with German Embassy, you need to call their call center. It was not an easy dialling and talking call. It is a toll number assigned to every service provider. It’s very expensive as it cost PhP32-37 a minute.

I tried calling using the landline but I can not get through it. It says “The number you dialed is not yet assigned.” Again, slowly this time. The same answer. So I called customer service to verify of our phone’s IDD is active, and they said yes. Dialed again, the same answer. I called the General Inquiries phone of the embassy to ask if there is a problem in their number. They said none. Dialed the toll number again, the same answer. I called Bayantel customer service again to check and the CRS says there is a service error in our account.

Since the matter can’t wait since the minimum days requirement for application is 15 days and I urgently need an appointment, I loaded 500 credits on my cellphone. Dialed and not connected. I called Globe’s customer service to check again if IDD is active on my handset and they said yes. I asked for the instruction in calling a toll number. Dialed and at last I got an answering machine then a CSR. I was trying to give my name when the call dropped. Dialed again. I was in the middle of giving my passport number when the call dropped again. On the third call, I was spelling the address of my host when the call dropped. I run out of credits. So I need to load up again. Finally, I was able to set up an appointment but have spent almost a PhP1,o00. just for that. The calls took so long because I needed to spell everything with the call signs (alpha, bravo, charlie, etc.)

Get a recent passport size picture. I need to make sure the photographer follow the picture requirements. Yes, there are specificcations. You can view it here on page 4.

Appear at the Embassy. On my appointed date, I needed to be at the embassy 30 minutes before the time. The usual traffic to Makati every morning delayed me for some time but it was fine. The embassy is at 25/F RCBC Tower 2 in Ayala. I proceeded immediately to the lobby where I signed my name and get my visitor’s ID. When I arrived at the 25th floor, an arrogant guard greeted me and checked my bag. Upon inspecting, he told me that I should have deposited my laptop at the lobby. Obediently, I went down again and left my laptop. Going back to the guard, he let me in. At the window, I was given a waiting number. That time, I knew I had to forget my appointment time and just wait for my number to be called. I walked to the other side of the hall, left my cellphone at the locker, got my key and entered the room.

At least, there were less people compared to the US Embassy when I had to line up for three hours. There, I was sitting pretty. Just waiting patiently and a little nervous. When my name was called, I immediately appeared at the window with a Filipino woman consul. She got my forms and payment but instructed me to get more requirements, a travel insurance and my confirmed hotel booking. I did not have those documents with me then because the invitation letters said that the DMYP and my host shall take care of all expenses. While she was talking to me, I observed that she stamped my passport. I knew then that it was approved. If not, she should have given back my passport. Then, I paid the visa fee worth €60 or its peso equivalent, PhP3870.00. Then left, thinking where in the world will I get a travel insurance and how would I pay for it.

Get a travel insurance with US$50,000 coverage. Yes, that is the minimum coverage or at least 2.5 million. That same day after the application, I surveyed the accredited insurance companies and ask about travel insurance to Schengen countries and how much it worth. I got the best deal with Mafre Insular for only US$25 or PhP1208.50. I just needed to wake up early morning and go to their office in Ortigas.

I did not have any trouble with my hotel booking it was sent to me via email the following day. So two days after the application, I went back to the embassy to submit the remaining requirements. I could have used their accredited courier but it would cost me PhP160 plus the cost of calling their toll number again. So better find time going back to the embassy.

Upon submission of the requirements, the consul told me to go home and wait for my passport to be delivered after two weeks.

Wait, wait, wait patiently. This is I think the hardest part. There is no specific time or day when my passport will be delivered. I was just told two weeks. And to follow-up I need to call the toll number again… too much expense. I had a lot of appointments and I was worried if I miss the courier. There is not always a person staying at home. Gladly the CSR at the embassy told me to follow-up on July 1 to see if my passport can be released on that date. I was worried because I am scheduled to fly on July 6, Monday and July 1 is a Wednesday. What if, it is not delivered in time for my flight. Well, I just have to put my trust in them and (with the Lord).

July 1. I called the Visa Section of the embassy. The one who answered me says the visa can not be followed-up over the phone. I need to call the toll number to verify it. So I tried to call but all get was the answering machine repeatedly saying the spiel. I just waited for half day. Then I tried again. Finally, I got through and someone aswered affirming that my passport and visa was released yesterday and scheduled for delivery today. So I wait.

Finally, after a long wait, I got my visa today but not yet ready to fly. I am still raising funds.

Well, I just hope next time, the embassy will have a new system that will allow online appointment and bank deposit for payment for a lesser cost and more effecient use of time. If not, I have to repeat the entire process next year with a group of young people who might be more impatient that I do.