Spices of life: July 2009

Enjoying Each other

At the moment we are enjoying each other's presence(most of the time during the day) as Raymond is still waiting for his school to start on the 21st of July.At some point we are getting bored and missing the community life, but we take this opportunity to enjoy each other as we are aware that when Raymond will start to work we may not be able to spend as much time as it is at the moment.We are alos trying to explore some possibilities of having partial job...hope to find one fitted to Raymond's schedule.

Grace & Monique wt their new hair cut

Its very hot here in Manila so I decided to cut twins'hair for the second time...not so bad I think....(what do you think?)its good to discover hidden gifts and motherhood gives opportunity for it.I'm thinking to explore sewing children's clothes- simple ones...hmmm

Our Visit to our Family in Indonesia

We thank the Lord for the three weeks visit to our family and friends and Indonesia.
We had also had the chance to share our testimonies to few bussinessmen and a group of young professionals.Its always a joy to share the mighty deeds of the Lord in our lives.As we proclaim His goodness we are expressing our gratitude to His faithful love.

Monique and Grace had so much fun meeting the Umah and Upah,Kempo and Kukong,aunties,uncles and cousins.We believe that its a gift that they can be in touch with the family and share moments with them even for short while in thier young age.

Welcoming the Lord to Dwell in our new Home

On June 2,2009, Fr. Mark Grima (MSSP) blessed our new home and the journey that we will travel throughout this phase.Fr.Mark mentioned that when we bless whatever is dear to us we are welcoming God to dwell in it.

Two Bedrooms in the second floor

The Kitchen and Dining Area

New Phase of our Journey

We believe that we are all pilgrims journeying toward our final destination....
As pilgrims, we have stop overs...or different phases in our journey.

It has been two years since we felt as a couple that the Lord is calling us to a new experience or a new phase in our journey.After seven years of being in the ICPE Missionary community, we felt the call to move out to a new territory.To experience how to live in a secular world.

We had a blessed and meaningful phase living in the ICPE community as God was so gracious to us, gifting us with brothers and sisters from different parts fo the world with whom we have shared our lives, formation and beautiful experiences. Our deep thanks to God and to all our brothers and sisters for thier love and thier sharing of life.

At the moment, God has provided for us a new home. We are renting a house wt two bedrooms, receiving room, kitchen and dining and two toilets.We believe that God has chosen this house for us and we look forward on how the Lord will show us His kindness and faithfulness as well as His will in our lives as we start this new phase in our journey.

Our Call

Each one of us is called for a mission….in different fields. Some in the medical field, in education, science, etc, and some to the field of evangelization - to spread the Good News of salvation through Christ. We see that our world today is in its spiritual crisis. Men are seeking happiness in the wrong places and worshipping different gods, turning their back to the One True God who can truly bring them to life.

"The sense of sin is lost because we have lost the sense of God".

For this, we who believe are all called to prepare the way of the Lord for His second coming in the way that God has called us. To help others find the meaning of their life in God.

FOLLOWING A CALL

I’m Joy Cea from Philippines. I've heard my call for mission since I was young.Though I graduated as a physical therapist, I decided to follow my heart’s desire to do mission work. In year 2000, I attended a three months School of Mission run by ICPE, a lay missionary community. Since then, I have served in the mission until May 15,2009.

Being in a missionary community for nine years, I've grown a lot in my relationship with the Lord, in knowing Him,others and my self. I thank God for the gift of faith and the gift of Himself to all humanity.

My deepest desire is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom in the ways that the Lord will call me and my family. One way I pray and hope is to sing songs for the Lord.May God be glorified in my life and in my family.

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

I’m Raymond Tedjaindra from Indonesia. I am an ex drug addict for five years and I have experienced how to be in the state of “dead life”. Life for me before was meaningless and no direction. My emotions were numb, I can’t feel sadness nor happiness. Everything is flat. I even did not know how to receive love from my family.

All I wanted is drugs….drugs…it was the only thing that was important to me. My relationships were in a mess, my life was in a mess…I attempted suicide for few times but the Lord has saved me. I thought I can never escape from this state until I came to experience the loving touch of the Lord in year 2001.Since then I decided to seek more of Him although with a lots of hesitations and struggles. I went for the school of evangelization in India and there I received a lot of God’s healing in my life.

I managed to stop taking drugs (with a lot of struggle) and continued to be in ICPE Mission till May 15,2009. I’m still in the process of healing and growing in my relationship with the Lord and I would like to share to others this healing and love that I have experienced and most of all the meaningful life that I’ve found in Jesus.

PREGNANCY, A WAY TO HOLINESS

I (Joy Tedjaindra) think I understand a bit why many women in our modern world does not want to get pregnant. It is because it needs sacrifice and sacrifice is not much welcomed in our generation today. Since I came to know that I’m pregnant I have to give up some food that I like, some activities that I used to do.

My husband has to stretch his patience because my emotion easily goes up and he has to do more household chores that I used to do myself. My body starts changing, stretch marks became evident as my tummy starts growing. My sleeping routine changed and as the month proceeds, even breathing becomes difficult.

For the meantime, I have to slow down in my public ministry which I enjoy so much and have to postpone some plans and dreams if not to be totally given up knowing that the coming of our babies means giving them most of my time as they become now my first ministry.

I say that it is a way to holiness because I experienced more the dying to my self so that these two precious lives may live. Something that is not easy but by God’s grace, my heart was able to understand that pregnancy is an opportunity to become more like Jesus. Aside of course from the fact that I am cooperating with the creating power of God for these two lives that He entrusted to us.

Spices of life