To our dear AMICUS Friends,

Christian Greetings!

Last Dec. 4-12, 2009, the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) had experienced a foretaste of Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) (check out www.gycweb.org) through Philippine Youth for Christ. Speakers coming from the United States mainly, Dr. Samuel Koranteng- Pipim, Pastor Randy Skeete and Pastor Karl Tsatalbasidis delivered timely messages that revived AUP Students in the whole campus. And now through the working of the Holy Spirit, the whole Philippines is about to experience a GYC Philippines that serves as a movement to encourage young people to take part in hastening the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, on Dec. 17-22, 2010 at the AUP campus.

It is our earnest desire for our AMICUS friends to be part of it also.

Please do reply in this email that we may work together for God's cause.

Thank you so much and may our good Lord bless AMICUS!

P.S.
more details to be followed


Jazel May B. Martinez  
Director in Communication
GYC Philippines

The AMiCUS-MCAC Chapter, in production of the Seeds of the Ministry, now Season 2, would feature “The Seeds of the Thoughts” deriving from Matthew 13:1-23, The Parable of the Sower. This will be an AY program this 20 February, 2010, Sabbath, 1:00pm at the Main auditorium of Manila Center Adventist Church located at D. Tuazon corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

“The Seeds of Thoughts”, with Empowering the Youth, Empowering the Church as its theme has objectives such as:
a) to give thanks to god for all the talents and blessings he had given and poured on us;
b) to use our God-given talents in His own service;
c) to inspire others that they may also share their hidden talents in their own ministries;
d) to spread the gospel in the way God wanted to through the youth; and
e) to bring forth souls at the foot of the cross that they may also be saved by God’s loving and merciful grace.

This program will be showcasing the God-given talents poured on the youth, especially performances of original Godly and Scripture-related presentations that they themselves made. Categories to be presented will be short skit, sign language, human video, hand mime, choric speech, song, musical act, speech, argumentation…

The program proper will be interwoven by a pantomime playas its background featuring the four scenarios given in the parable, i. e., The seeds the fell along the path (people who had heard the word yet did not understand it); the seeds that fell on rocky places (people who had heard the word and received it with joy, but when persecution comes they quickly declines); the seeds that fell among thorns (people who had heard the word, but are worried with this life and the deceitfulness of wealth made unconducive to bear the fruits of the spirit); and the seeds that fell on good soil (people who had heard the word and understood it , spreading what they have known and bring forth souls at the foot of the cross).

We would be glad to see you AMiCUS clan to come with your whole chapters, alumni associations, conferences’ directors, chaplains, advisers, and pastors. It would also be better if you would come together with your family, friends, classmates, church mates, associates, etc. so that they may also be blessed as well.

LET US SING PRAISES TO HIS NAME IN THE HIGHEST

“Seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in the minds well-prepared to receive them.”

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken from him.” Matthew 13:12

PS: We would like to know those who are interested to share their talents in this no-speech play, yet characters will be portrayed by their costumes and attitudes. Interested parties may contact Cielo at 0905-5757-667 until the first week of February 2010 before we start our workshop sessions. We encourage the whole CLC AMiCUS (MCAC, UPD, PUP,…) to enjoin in this activity.

We gladly welcome supports (i.e., talents, food, artistry, programming, public relations or communications, equipments, finances, or whatever you have from your hearts to bring forth to God as offerings in His service). The Alumni Associations are much welcomed to participate and share. Let us build the church together in anticipation of the near advent of our Lord.

Proceeds of this event will be allocated for the outreach programs and the gift-giving activity at the end of the year.

"Where did you graduate?"

I struggled to answer the question. I have never felt more awkward than this.

It was my first day in college. God answered my prayers of landing in a good school for my last lap in the educational race. I didn’t know If He was joking but he didn’t just send me to a good school, He sent me to the best (sfx: UP Naming Mahal…).

I was in the top university in the Philippines. Being on top meant that this lap would be the fiercest there ever is or ever was. It was the medical arm of the university, too, so you could just imagine what I was going through.

So there I was. After learning that most of my classmates pranced around the valedictory or salutatory race of their respective high schools, I felt like burrowing my head on the pavement to dodge any question they may pose about where I came from.

I really had no choice but to get along with these people whose heads were still full of joining premiere competitions or standing on the stage for too long. Personally, I never even made it to the top ten of our school and the only moment I went up the stage was when I got my diploma – less than 5 minutes of stage presence. So until now, even after more than a year of graduating, it was still the mystery of mysteries how I landed in that school.

That was how I spent my first few weeks. I kept on dodging questions like Keanu Reeves dodging bullets. It was always high pressure when I was asked. Much more when it was about religion. I tried to avoid it as hard as I could, not because I didn’t want to, but because the explanation was more like a boring lecture.

I am a Seventh-day Adventist. A religion where most people would remember the things we eat rather than what we believe in. They had no idea how much fun they were missing with what they didn’t know. Yet somehow, it made me feel quite alone.

Just when I thought that my whole college life would be spent like an island amidst an ocean, I found a smile. It happened as I was about to go up the steps in the RH building of AS. There she was, an upper classman whose face seemed vaguely familiar. I smiled on thin air while racking my head on who this person is. It was amazing when she smiled back.

There was no tingling sensation the way you get when someone you like smiles back at you. It was somewhat a comforting smile – something that that tells me I am not alone at some point.

The Sabbath after that fateful week, I was surprised to see the same girl. This time she was surrounded by people I seemed to have bumped into once or twice around campus. They were in church! And they belong!

One of the prettier ones approached me and said, “Are you from UPManila? Would you like to join AMiCUS?” It turned out that her name was Abbie. The one I smiled at was her older sister Shelly. That was the start of the saga. My saga.

After that point, I found myself in the pulpit more often as a participant in various church activities. I also found myself having that special place of service to other people, when I joined my first Voice of Youth and Medical Mission in Baler, Aurora. There I met others from other schools.

I have heard about the struggles of a lot of Adventist Youth. That lonesome feeling when you learn that you’re the only SDA on campus. The life of hiding from the world what you really are. Or the opposite, showing the world what you really are and get humiliated.

I have tried both. It wasn’t nice. Especially when you are on fire and feeling that you could share the whole Bible in one go, that was when reality hits you that your classmates don’t like listening to a pastor or they misunderstand you for trying to win them over to your side. In the end, it’s not a power struggle but an identity crisis.

From what I learned all throughout my days outside the Adventist world, you were never alone. NEVER.

I’m supposed to say that other people from non-SDA schools have the same feeling as you but that wouldn’t help at all. If it does, it would just be relief that somewhere on this planet is another lonely person brooding over similar problems. Yet that is not usually the case.

What I wanted to point out is that God never sends you to war without any equipment. He wouldn’t send Jonah or Elijah without preparing the way beforehand, right? Have you read about Moses getting lost along the way to the Egyptian Pharaoh? Have you heard about John the Baptist going hungry?

Now that’s something to think about.

So now think. What has God given you to make you ready for war? Hint. It’s not supposed to make you feel lonely.

Praise be to God for allowing such an event to happen. We believe that everyone has been blessed and inspired during the weekend, and we pray that we would be able to carry the fire in bringing God's message to our respective campuses.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. We hope that our brief stay in Tagaytay has made us young Seventh-day Adventists ready and eager to do more for God's Ministry! God bless you all and more power to your respective chapters. Let's keep in touch.