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Before the new
decade and a new year come, let us take a quick look at some of the highlights
in the past ten years of this God-blessed life.
2010 marked
the beginning of my two-year work project with WVI in the Asia Pacific Region
and the Philippines. Working as the Channels of Hope (CoH) HIV Coordinator has
given me opportunities to work in a multicultural and international
environment. It has become a training ground that enhanced my facilitation and
speaking skills. Also, it has brought me to New Delhi and Jaipur City in India,
Nairobi, and Mombasa in Kenya, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Busan in South
Korea, Indonesia, and back in Bangkok, Thailand and Chennai, India.
My four-year
journey at Asian Theological Seminary has begun in 2011. Taking up my masters’
degree in Pastoral Counseling was almost every single moment, truly a joy.
Also, counseling is both a calling and a passion that God has placed in my
heart.
Towards the
end of 2013 was another encounter with God where He took away the shame out of
being true to myself as I speak and teach about His goodness and faithfulness
throughout my life. It was the year when God has shown me how I was taking the
glory and honor away from Him whenever I keep untold a part of His precious
story through my life where His amazing grace is so much abounding! What a
tough call, however, rewarding and liberating!
The following
year, 2014, was the launching of that tough call. God has sent me to Kanazawa,
Japan to teach and speak the truth in love about the unrelenting issue of
same-sex attraction (SSA) to more than 200 missionaries from around the globe
for three consecutive weeks! It has become another training ground for honing
the said gifts and fighting spiritual battles.
2015 can be
considered the highlight of this decade. Three significant things took place.
First, I finished my masters’ degree. Second, I passed the Guidance and
Counseling licensure exam miraculously. Third, our counseling center was instituted! There was a bonus. In July of that year, I have appeared
as the guest resource person in CBN Asia’s The 700 Club. I was invited to share
my knowledge and research on the issue of SSA on national TV!
The beginning
of 2016 was a war between life and death. I stayed in the hospital for 25 long
days as I combat a number of stomach illnesses such as appendicitis,
gastrointestinal infections, and pelvic abscesses to name a few. However, it
was miraculous healing for God has answered my prayer to be healed without
being opened! Moreover, it was a revelation of where my faith or lack thereof
that has elevated my journey with the Lord Jesus to the next level. He has
demonstrated through this tragic event how His Christian communities should be
coming together to help someone who was sick and could be dying.
On the
brighter side, 2016 was also the year where HIV Channels of Hope took off again
locally through WVDF and has reached the Bicol region and Pangasinan, some
parts of Visayas, and Mindanao. In addition, I got my first experience to
become a part of the training team of AIDS Link International (ALI) when the
seven-days CoH certification training was held in Kuala Lumpur.
Another
milestone happened in 2017 when I started my doctorate studies in Clinical
Christian Counseling at Asia Graduate School of Theology! Another tough call in
which I have to say yes. Through Narramore Christian Foundation’s scholarship,
I have a little over a year left to get my Ph.D. and be an excellent God’s
“channel or agent” of healing and transformation to His people as a
Counselor/Psychotherapist and Psycho-educator. Furthermore, another
certification training by ALI was held in Cebu where I got my first diving
experience!
In 2018 and
2019, more organizations have come to seek our partnership through our counseling center such
as Philippine Retirement Authority, Church Strengthening Ministry, other
programs of CBN Asia, schools, and churches. And finally, after 13 years of my
diagnosis, I have shared God’s story through my life in the World AIDS Day
celebration at San Lazaro Hospital before 250+ people from all walks of life!
What a way to cap the year and the decade off!
Undeniably,
there is so much to be grateful for the past ten years. Certainly, God’s hands
were all in it and He will continue to lead the way this coming 2020 and the
new decade! “As we sit on the edge of a new year, we are hemmed in by the
faithfulness of God. Behind us are his wondrous deeds. Before us are his
merciful plans. Both of them are marvelous and more than can be told. The past
and the future belong to Him – and most importantly, so do we” (Hubbard, 2019).
Soli Deo Gloria!
