A first time RECON (Regional Conference) participant has been a blessed and joyful experience. This year's theme is Blessed (1 Thess 5: 16-18)- Be joyful, prayerful, and grateful. This was held in the
Island of Siquijor- this is the out of town that I have mentioned on my last post by the way...:) This year's RECON is all about recognizing all the blessings that we have received from way back when we are little- remembering all those is a challenge- exactly the point! There is a lot, right? It is being said that recognizing and claiming those blessings is the first step in sharing it. This 3-day event has 5 talks, Holy Eucharist celebrations, sharing, and workshops.
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| The venue! |
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| My 3-day kit is ready! |
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| I am ready! |
Day 1: Be Joyful/ I am blessed
The first day and the first talk is all about recognizing your blessings and that realizing all blessings comes from the Father. The first day has activities that would help everyone to recognize all those, and how we can be a blessing to others as well. This is for us to realized that the greatest blessing humanity has ever received is Jesus.
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| Praise and worship- always powerful and my favorite. |
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| We have an activity to write down the blessings that you wish your seat mate could get. We are as well to mingle with other participants. |
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| Blessed to bless! Meeting new people. |
On this day, I have also learned the difference between happiness and being joyful. Happiness is something that is temporary. It's a kind of feeling that you get to feel whenever you are pleased on that certain moment. Being joyful is a gratitude of God's blessing. A joyful feeling is something that is permanent. Example: We rejoice in the happiness of others. Being self-less so to speak. It is less to do with emotions but with what you believe in. Joy is a result of our actions...:)
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| One of our sisters has shared about how her disability brought her to the Lord. How she sees God amidst the darkness. I was amazed by her life experience, and how God called her for a mission. God definitely works in ways we cannot understand. |
Day 2: I am Prayerful
The second day talks are about being prayerful. We need to know that prayer is what connects us to God, and that prayer is an important tool in our christian life in order to respond to a call- service. Prayer also manifest our desire to seek for God. It made us aware the reason why we opt not to pray. Sins are one of the reasons. Thus, humility is required.
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| A very nice talk is given by one of our Tito's about being joyful even in suffering. His personal experience is taking his wife to the grocery store or when going out shopping. Girls are girls as he says. |
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| Praise and worship is always fulfilling. |
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| A wealthy kid turned missionary. Previously living under the comfort of material things, now living under the comfort of God's grace. |
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| This is a missionary family. How God call's this entire family for service is amazing. How they opt to be on the road and evangelize brought me to tears. |
Finding joy in service is the key. The sharers then showed that God provides to His people who is willing to help Him carry the cross and proclaim His mighty. Responding to the call is not an easy "Yes". However, if God calls you, who are we not to respond, right? Only few are called, so be grateful for it.
Day 3: I am Grateful
This day is about being grateful to the Father. For all the things that He has done to our lives. Sometimes, were are all caught up with our every day lives that we forget to thank Him for everything that keeps us busy. We somehow need to take a glimpse of the past, what we are doing at present, and how we see ourselves with God as the center of our lives in the future.
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| We started the day with a mass. |
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| We are to bless everyone around us. Share hugs and prayers to everyone. |
The last event that we have is the praise fest. I personally love this part of the conference. The greatest form of prayer for me is by singing. I don't have that wonderful voice, but it's different when you sing. I can feel His presence in every line of song I utter. It's just an amazing feeling. Incomparable I may say!
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| For further inquiries about what Singles For Christ is, you may visit our website (here). |
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| So it's over..:( Blessed campers we are! |
We are all blessed in every way possible. God has loved mankind to send his son Jesus to save us from our sin. Our greatest challenge then is how to respond to the call, and how to pass those blessings forward. I'm a newbie here guys, and I just think, hey! we are all newbies. We need to keep learning, we need to keep yearning for something that money can't buy. Something permanent....till next post...xoxo!
Photo of the entire RECON:
This has been a long post. Please bear with me...haha
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| Someone proposed! Envy much. |
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