Nothing can separate.
Even if I ran away,
Your love never fails.
(Your Love Never Fails by Elevation Worship)
This was the song that I kept on listening to as I prepared myself for the MFC Youth Mission Volunteers Retreat that happened last February 10–11, 2024, and that took me to a place of both excitement and gratitude.
The said event will be the last MV retreat that I am going to attend because I will already be transitioning and will be moving on to the next chapter of my life. People kept asking me what I felt as I was going to face this change. Honestly, I could not feel any different that time, and I kept telling them that I did not instill expectations in my mind. I just wanted to enjoy and be surprised by God during the retreat.
Our retreat was entitled “Fools for Christ,” and connecting it to the theme of the community in 2024, which is “Unchanging God,” led me to recall the fire and foolishness I had for the mission He has given me—going to missions without money, continuing the service despite the unsettled and unending family issues, and a lot more. Looking back, from 2015 to 2024, 9 years in MFC Youth, the Lord let me experience a lot of things with a bottom line that He truly never changes. This MV retreat is my concluding activity for it all; it helped me realize three things:
When He calls, He is always up to something good.
Cliché as it may sound, I have no idea what my life would be like if the Lord had not called me to live a life unlike any other. Session 1 (God’s Foolishness) made me realize that God trusted and believed in me despite my past life. Because of this calling, I was able to make many new friends, create many happy experiences, and know that I am capable of accomplishing great things for God.
When He chooses, He will never let go.
I will not wash my hands clean in this reflection, but even after being granted this amazing opportunity, I still fall short. His greatest gift to me is that he never let go. From 2015 to 2024, the Lord kept that string linked to me to keep me anchored. Because of everything I’ve learned in this ministry, I know the string will always be God’s channel of love for me, and it’s an incredible reminder that He always has me and continues to bring me back.
When He comes to you, He is sure of you.
As I look back, I think His way of calling me usually seems quick, but it all happened at the perfect moment. Little did I know, it had already been nine years. Throughout this retreat, I was reminded that He had called me years before. It has not changed, even when He calls me to a new responsibility in life. He continues to choose me to serve Him, not only through MFC Youth, but also by influencing the lives of young people as a personal educator.
I will be always grateful that I listened to and responded to His call of “My daughter, come follow me” by becoming a mission volunteer because I gained an abundance of valuable experiences that I will apply to various aspects of my life.
This retreat was a bittersweet moment for me, sad because it was a two-day encapsulation of my entire MFC Youth life, and victorious because I had completed the race that God had set for me as one of his missionaries here on earth.
My one prayer right now is that I make the Lord proud and reciprocate the favor of His calling me. And I wish for Him to say to me, “Well done, my faithful servant.”
God bless sailing off my co-missionaries! I always keep you in my prayers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ate Jesusa is now a former Mission Volunteer. She served as part of the Luzon Mission Team as a mission volunteer for Palawan.
