Today marks the 3rd day of our 2019 Asian Australian Encounter. The day opened with the animation song written by Fr. James Mctavish entitled Push A Little Bit from the Shore. The community of Quezon City leaded the participants with the actions.
After that, Angellyn Enriquez who’s currently having her Formation Course gave the talk “Push Your Boat on a Deep Water.” She shares about her experience of having Jesus in her boat. She talks about the importance of prayer in everyone’s life because in prayer we don't only talk to God but also God speaks to us. Prayer is concrete because it touches our reality. Dr. Resti Bautista gave an inspiring testimony about his journey in knowing Jesus and how he's there with him and his family in their journey. He shared that in times of darkness Jesus is our lamp that lights our way. He shared also that all of us can be Christ's healing hands. He stressed also the importance of knowing God and the rest will follow. The morning ended with the Holy Eucharist organized by the Australian Community. It was presided by Fr. Danielle concelebrated by Fr. Iwao Ikegami, Fr. James Mctavish and Fr. Bong Guinoo. In his homily Fr. Danielle shared about how God transforms our lives and like St. Andrew, whose feast day is today, he invited the community to respond in the call of Jesus and to be happy in loving and serving him. Here are some photos of our morning activities:
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AAE Day 1 - Ending the day with Mama Mary and Jesus
What a beautiful way to end our first day of the Asian Australian Encounter with Mama Mary by praying the Rosary and venerating Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The Rosary was lead by the Taiwan group praying for communities of Australia, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan and was done in different languages. As the day was about to end, it got more intense as Jesus didn’t allow it to end without him. As we prepared for the adoration of the Holy Eucharist, Theresa De Silva a disciple from Singapore, happily shared her experience on how Jesus got into her empty boat one day and pushed her a little further from the shore. She was just a simple Singaporian back then who keeps on chasing what a normal Singaporian chase after in life. Little by little she got to know who Jesus was and it started to become more uncomfortable when Jesus started to touch her boat when He opened her eyes to see the realities of Singapore. She was pushed away from her comfort zone not because she was ready but because Jesus knows that she will still be okay after she is being pushed a little further. Finally, we ended the day in God’s embrace as we adore Jesus in Holy Eucharist. Little as He is, He lovingly told us to fear not, push our boat a little and lower our down our nets for a catch. Here are some pictures of the experience: It was a joyful and exciting afternoon knowing the various Verbum Dei communities of the Asian and Australian continents.
Maureen Tan, a disciple from Singapore, shared her many experiences interacting and sharing the Word of God through the people she has encountered. Through the various activities of inviting people from all sorts of background to join them in their ministry of spreading the Word of God, she has learned to be more patient and understanding of the people around her. Despite initial struggles in forming and establishing the communities, her group have been able to build a retreat house, among others, because of the generosity of the people they have met. Verbum Dei-Vietnam as presented by Minh Ngo from Ho Chi Minh City had a long history of processing before it was finally approved in 2018, specifically in Saigon through the assistance Fr. Felipe and Fr. David. In January 2019, the first VD missionaries arrived in Vietnam, namely, Fr. David and Bro. Darwin. Both initially struggled with their new environment, the culture, food and language. They had to learn everything from scratch, so to speak. Thanks be to God, the VD Vietnam community have been benefited by the generosity and prayers of the people around them. Daniel Drum, a VD missionary introduced the VD community in Australia. It was in December 1980 that the first missionaries arrived to establish the new VD community in Sydney. Thereafter, the community grew and the initial vocations came in. A second house was founded in 2001 in Brisbane. In 2018, the first married couple was bonded and the Married Couples branch became officially present in Australia and they also became officially ecclesial. Currently, VD Australia conducts and offers a number of apostolates and church services meant to serve God’s people through the help of the currently assigned missionaries in the country. In May 1997, the first VD community in Taiwan was established. The missionaries’ initial effort to introduce Jesus to the Chinese people met with much resistance. This was because the Chinese were deeply influenced by folk religion and this has affected the work of evangelization. Despite a lot of set backs, failures, etc. in bringing Jesus closer to the people, the missionaries were deeply resolved to continue with the mission. They organized a number of activities, apostolates and projects to entice the people to join them. Finally, the missionaries’ hard work bore fruit. They now have vocations, more disciples and an active and committed VD missionary family. The youngest of the VD missionary community is the one in Hiroshima, Japan, established only in 2019. As the community continues to grow and develop, everyone is hopeful that the community will prosper and have more vocations soon and continue to do the work of evangelization. I sat beside Nanay Isabel Baguio at lunch today (November 29/2nd day of our Encounter).
As we sat together to enjoy a Thai inspired meal, I learned that Nanay Isabel has been a Verbum Dei disciple for 18 years now. Wow! Truly a faithful servant of God. She is still working as a Junior High School teacher at Cebu Institute of Technology University, teaching Cookery (Home Economics) and Values Education for the past 34 years now. Really amazing! When asked how she remained faithful to being a VD disciple, she mentioned, it is because of God’s faithfulness, even though she could be unfaithful at times. She strongly believes that God has been with her in her journey through thick or thin. Had it not for God’s faithfulness, she and her husband could have separated a long time ago due to relationship problems. And although they have not been blessed with children of their own, her being a teacher and a disciple has made her a mother and guide to many more children and youth in her lifetime. Amen. Thank you Mila Abigan from VD Tagaytay for sharing this interview with us! 11/30/2019 1 Comment AAE Day 2 - Morning BlessingsFriday morning in Betania Retreat House. We were blessed very early by the arrival of the delegates from Australia and Singapore, who graciously participated in the dancing of animation songs together with the participants from Verbum Dei Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and Philippines. They were all then formally and warmly welcomed by Sr. Jem of the Betania Retreat House Tagaytay City.
Shortly after, Sr. Amy of VD Manila-Pasig gladly recalled the series of previous encounters the community had in the past making the current Asian-Australian Encounter 2019 the fifth and a beautiful addition to the Verbum Dei Family History. Sr. Amy started the little push from the shore by giving the first talk centered on Lk 5:1-3. She reminded the crowd that the response to the mission is not done individually but is continuously shared and is communitarian by nature. She then invited everyone to be open in welcoming each different culture and way of living by appreciating each other’s presence. After the short break, Christel from VD Manila-Pasig then shared her testimony of life by sharing the lives of the two people who first pushed their boats a little further which in turn inspired her to do the same – her mother and her patient Manuel. She concluded her talk by inviting the delegates to learn how to push their own boats further not only for themselves but for the lives of the people around them. The morning was capped by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist led by the participants from Taiwan and Japan; and was officiated by Fr. Iwao Ikegami, concelebrated by Fr. Bong Guinoo, Fr. James McTavish and Fr. Daniele Sollazzo. Fr. Iwao’s homily stressed about how following Christ entails unending patience, including humility – that we are most humble in knowing when to turn to Jesus. We continue to pray for Mary’s accompaniment in this journey. "I am Sr. Evelyn Wong, Verbum Dei Missionary assigned in Taipei, Taiwan. I am Malaysian born and now I'm doing mission work in Taiwan. I brought with me 5 persons from the VDTaiwan community – one couple, 2 youth and 2 of them VD missionaries.
Being in VD community since 2001, has brought me to many places of the world and allowed me to see not only places, but have experienced many different cultures, bringing people closer to Jesus in many ways. As I continue to journey with the VD community, I pray that we may we be given by the Holy Spirit the fruit of joy to remain faithful servants of God." On behalf of your Verbum Dei community, we wish you joy and peace, Sr. Evelyn in your missionary journey! 11/28/2019 1 Comment AAE Day 1 - The Kick OffIt finally started! The Verbum Dei Asian Australian Encounter with the theme “Push out A Little From the Shore” (Luke 5:3) started yesterday Thursday, November 28. The participants were welcomed by the kind people of the Betania Retreat House.
The encounter opened with the Holy Eucharist officiated by Fr. Bong Guinoo, concelebrated by Fr. Iwao Ikegami and Fr. James McTavish. Fr. Bong shared in his homily the importance of being one as a family in mission not only here in the Philippines but in other parts of the world. He invited the people to “Push Out a Little From the Shore” in our following of the Lord. Before the end of the day there was a formal welcome of the different communities here and abroad. There was a skit, videos from the President of Verbum Dei, Fr. Rodrigo Carrizo; and from the head of the male branch, Fr. Ismael Barros. Sr. Antonieta Vargas, the General Superior of the Female Branch. addressed to us her message personally, as she is currently visiting the female communities in Asia. The program ended with a prayer of thanks giving leaded by Fr. James McTavish and Sister Rachel Lumain, the hosts of the encounter. It was a great day for the participants. It's sure that a lot of surprises await us as the encounter unfolds and the other delegations arrive. Here are some photos of our first day: Hello participants, friends and the whole Verbum Dei Family! As we continue our preparation for the Asian-Australian Encounter, you may check out the schedule of the different activities during the event: Asian Australian Encounter (AAE)
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November 28 (Thursday):
PM - Arrival 6:00pm - Mass 7:00pm - Dinner 8:30pm - Welcome 9:30pm - Prayer to close November 29 (Friday): 7:00am - Breakfast 8:00am - Animation / Games
12:00nn - Lunch 2:30-5:00pm - Presentation of community 6:00pm - Rosary 7:00pm - Dinner 8:30pm - Adoration 9:30pm - End |
November 30 (Saturday):
7:00am - Breakfast 8:00am - Games
12:00nn - Lunch 2:30pm - Workshops 6:00pm - Time to prepare for fiesta 7:00pm - Dinner 8:00-10:00pm - Cultural festival December 1 (Sunday): 7:00am - Breakfast 8:00am - Talk 3 10:45am - Mass 12:00nn - Lunch |
For the ones who will be tuning in via live streaming, take note of the schedules of the different talks as these will be the moments that will be included in the live streaming.
Let us pray for one another, specially for the participants that we will spread love and push out further in our faith!
Let us pray for one another, specially for the participants that we will spread love and push out further in our faith!
Announcing the winner of the Theme Song Writing contest for our Asian-Australian Encounter 2019:
"Cast Your Nets" by Elaine Seow from the Verbum Dei community in Taiwan.
Listen and sing along to the lyrics on the video below.
"Cast Your Nets" by Elaine Seow from the Verbum Dei community in Taiwan.
Listen and sing along to the lyrics on the video below.
Here is the audio and the lyrics of the song:
Cast Your Nets
by Elaine Seow
Chorus: Cast your nets into the deep Be not afraid, come follow Me! Hear my Word and you will see Oh…cast your nets into the deep 1. The harvest is plenty but those who trust me are few To reap the promises of My eternal Word come true Labour on and on with Me Take my yoke and learn from Me, free in love for Me Chorus: Cast your nets into the deep Be not afraid, come follow Me! Live my Word and you will see Oh…cast your nets into the deep | 2. Do not be troubled, in Me you’ll find your peace It is I who’ve chosen you to share My life with Me Here, there’ll be no place to rest But in our Father’s heart you’ll be blessed for all eternity Chorus: Cast your nets into the deep Be not afraid, come follow Me! Live my Word and you will see Oh…cast your nets into the deep |
About this blogThis is the place to read about the Asian-Australian Encounter like updates, articles, photos and more as it comes. About the eventThe Asian Australian Encounter is an international gathering of lay members and missionaries of our Verbum Dei community from Thursday, November 28, 2019 - Sunday, 1 December 2019, in Tagaytay. Representatives will be coming from our communities all over the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and Australia.
The theme of the encounter is “Push out a little from the shore” (Luke 5:3). Our Lord is inviting us to go for more, and to go deeper. The 4-day gathering includes reflections on pushing our boat out further, prayer times, sharing, adoration, Holy Mass, presentations of our countries, music, as well as cultural presentations. Overall it promises to be a fun filled and meaningful encounter! |