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IN
THIS ISSUE:
Cover
Page
by Bro.
Pete Lapid
Our
Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place
of Refuge
By
Philip Yuson
Surabaya
Corner
By
Ramon Martillano
Sharing
By
Kathy Quiano
Here's
the Latest
Sharing
By
Dhany Handoyo Saputra
Sharing
By
Raul Loria
Sharing
by
Chris Kamaruddin
Saint
for the Month
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 - PROFILE
OF THE
- GENESIS
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
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THIS WEBSITE
IS A PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE
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- SURABAYA
CORNER
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  - Give
till it hurts! Love is not real unless it costs us something… love
always involves a
sacrifice on our part. It is a great
challenge to our faith to be generous with our money……
give cheerfully.
(Lifted from the Companion Catholic Scripture Diary.)
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- Every
first Sunday of each month, the Works of Mercy Ministry of the
Genesis Surabaya collects donations from the parishioners of the
Redemptor Mundi Church in Surabaya for the benefit principally
of the Bhakti Luhur Orphanage
(BLO) situated in Malang. In behalf of the Genesis Community,
once again, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those
who have donated for the cause of the BLO.
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- For
BLO, we cheerfully collect
other people’s money to give to their orphans. Little did we know
that the Lord would test us, if we would also cheerfully give
additional amount from our own
money for another purpose.
A few weeks back, our maid Enam
was hospitalized and the doctor’s findings culminated with the
removal of a “tumor behind her cervix.”
Before the operation, we thought that it was just a normal,
few days confinement.
As her employers, we were more than willing to shoulder her medical
expenses. However,
because of the operation,
the resulting expenses were expected to be much higher. The cost of
the medical operation was unexpected and came at a time when we were
also preparing for the payment of Ramon Jr’s
tuition and other fees in college. Initially we could not get
ourselves together with the impending higher medical costs. True
enough, as days went on, the medical bills kept coming.
And to be honest, we felt uncomfortable as the bills piled
up. My wife and I prayed each day for peace and joy in giving. Then
we read the above introductory words from the Companion and the following verses from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “Consider
this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already
determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver.” These verses inspired us so much and could not have
come at a more perfect time.
(These were exactly the same daily Gospel readings when this
incident happened!) We
sensed that the Lord was talking to us through these verses from the
Bible. He instilled peace in our hearts and taught us the true
meaning of giving, the
true meaning of “sharing the
gifts we have” with the less fortunate. And not only that, a
few days before our maid was released from the hospital, several
sisters and brothers
were also touched and volunteered to solicit donations from members
of our Community. The response was spontaneous- Works of Mercy in
action! In addition, Sis. Delia, a Filipina nun assigned at the
hospital was also very generous with her time and effort to reduce
the medical bills by talking to the doctors and the hospital
administration. In fact, she also solicited
donations from her friends. In behalf of our maid, we would
like to extend our sincere thanks to our generous brothers and
sisters.
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- However,
the job is not yet finished because the result of the biopsy
revealed that our maid was suffering from an advanced case of
cancer. We did what we could under the circumstances and all we
could do now is to pray that the Lord will heal her completely.
Enam is now in her
hometown waiting for God’s miracle.
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- The
above experience instilled in our hearts a valuable lesson, i.e., to
give generously and cheerfully. And this experience reminded us once
again that God can never be outdone in His generosity! (As I am
writing this article, my boss just approved a request for financial
assistance in relation to my son’s tuition fees.
Praise the Lord!!! Alleluia, Amen!!!) Brothers and sisters,
if you are not practicing it yet, may this sharing also touch your
hearts to give generously and
cheerfully, without counting the cost, for the greater glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Provider. Amen!
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- Bits
and pieces:
- As
of this writing, Jourdan & Jingle Polotan are now back in Cebu.
Jourdan will be moving to Kuala Lumpur to on take on
a new position. Jourdan and Jingle are both members of the
group who started Genesis Surabaya a little more than 6 years
ago. And like I said in our despedida (farewell) party given in
their honor, the choir
and the Community’s prayer meetings will never be the same again
after Jourdan and Jingle have left Surabaya.
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- Jourdan
kidded that if we can afford to invite other preachers from the
Philippines, we could also invite him and pay for his plane ticket,
then he could
come to visit us in Surabaya and give a talk. Likewise, the
Olivas (Cora, Boy, Anna, TP) will soon be leaving us. Anna will
pursue a degree at the University of Alberta in Canada while Cora
and TP will move to Ecuador together with Boy, who will assume a new
assignment. Another regular Community member, Sai Lim, has recently
moved to Jakarta. To all of you brothers and sisters, may the good
Lord bless and protect you always wherever you are.
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- (Ed's
note: The whole Genesis Community sends our condolences and prayers
to Bro. Ramon and his family for the death of his brother, Chito.)
- For comments, suggestions or
ideas,
- Write us: Jl. Bacang
No. 20 Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia
- Call us: (6221)
720-3824
- Fax us: (6221) 662-7384
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- Genesis
Catholic Community
- All
Rights Reserved 2001
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