Where there is heart there is love; where there is Love there is Joy; where there is Joy there is God, and all things begin with God.
My purpose in life is to live it, to taste it and experience it to the fullest, reaching out eagerly without fear for newer and richer experiences. Discernment for my vocation is not a goal that I pursue, rather, it is a calling that I hear. It does not come from a distant voice, somewhere out there, calling me to become someone I am not. It comes from a voice within calling me to be the person I was born to be.
My experience with the Joint Sending Orientation Program (JSOP) in Fiji has been the most precious and memorable experience of my life so far. The happiness and challenges that I face has strengthened me to become a more mature person. It has allowed me to broaden my understanding and know myself more deeply.
The Clinic Pastoral Education (CPE) has taught me to be aware of my feelings and how to deal with them. I have discovered many things about myself that I wasn’t even aware of before such as understanding my personality and behavior. For me, being able to understand the differences in the personality and behavior of others was challenging, but then I learned that everyone is different, when our differences come together we can help each other grown.
Working together as a team can be very challenging also, but when we come to understand each other and what we have been through, it encourages us to engage better and help each other. The program has helped me to relate to people of other nationalities and get a better understanding of their culture. I am so grateful to be part of their life and also to learn new things from them.
The doubt and struggle in my own journey during this past few months reminds me that God sees me with a perfect and holy love that I cannot even begin to imagine or understand. He wants to mold me into a better person to do His work by reaching out to the needy. I fall often; I am not perfect. I’m aware of my shortcomings, but I know for sure that God continues to work in me. It’s truly a blessing to learn new insights and to discover my strengths and my weaknesses.
The JSOP has awakened me to what is going on around me, and in the people I meet, and those I work with. It has also opened my eyes to those who are in need, to hear their cry and be moved with compassion to do something to help them. Words are not enough to express my gratitude to those who accompany me on the JSOP
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.